CSR at AI Digital
“AI Digital has a negligible impact on the environment and society so why bother”. Our approach is a little more positive than that! We believe that we can improve society and our environment through our work and we actively seek out opportunities to do so. In our own modest way, we encourage others to do the same and hope we can help to create momentum amongst our customers, suppliers, partners, employees and their families.
So what does AI Digital do?; we’re about building long term digital relationships and providing multiple award winning services for clients including the National Trust, Fujitsu, Stannah, Specsavers, Cancer Back Up, ECPAT, Home Office, UNICEF, Department of Health, Damovo and others who share our values.
Back in 2006, AI Digital’s e-learning division Academy Internet engaged with the Brighton and Hove Business Community Partnership (BCP) to help us achieve the Business in the Community (BITC) CommunityMark. We did an audit on what we were currently doing and found that we were spending 50% of our net profit on random donations, contra deals, discounts and pro bono working with no measurable benefit to the company whatsoever and with depressingly minimal impact on those we donated to. We identified an opportunity to have a more significant impact by being strategic about our CSR.
The Three Themes of Education, Environment and Employee interests
We decided to pull together a strategy which allowed us to focus our investment into three themes; Education, Environment and the personal interests of Employees through 4 CSR Partner organisations:
Education theme: University of Brighton – AI provide work placements, course sponsorship and other support in exchange for exposure to top digital media talent to fuel our growth
Education theme: Young Enterprise – AI provide tutors, presenters and support for Young Enterprise projects, particularly at the local Falmer High School; helping AI staff to build their confidence with public speaking and organizational skills
Environment theme: Sussex Wildlife Trust – AI provide internet marketing support including e-newsletter production in exchange for environmental and development opportunities for staff
Employee Interests theme: Action for Change – AI are working with this alcohol abuse advice charity to convert some of its intellectual property into e-learning with the potential for generating sustainable long term revenues
Building a better business through Trust. Leadership and People - As a Director and business owner, the drivers for paying attention to CSR lie beyond the moral arguments which are difficult to disagree with. In business today Trust is the most cherished prize we can earn from our customers yet it is hardest to win and incredibly easy to lose in a flash. Our CSR work helps to build trust with employees, potential employees, customers, prospects, suppliers, investors and other stakeholders. We have enjoyed, having won the BITC award, taking a leadership position amongst SMEs and the digital sector on CSR issues which has improved our reputation and opened up new opportunities. And lastly, being a People business, I know our current and future employees want us to be involved in CSR and that enthusiasm can be harnessed in the workplace to help build a better business.
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