Zhytomyr authorities and business representatives had a round table discussion about the importance of corporate social responsibility.

Representatives of local authorities and Zhytomyr business had a round table discussion where they analyzed why it is important for companies and enterprises to pay attention to corporate social responsibility. The meeting was initiated by a municipality representative Maryna Bilous who participated in the program ‘Young Generation will Change Ukraine 2019’ funded by Bohdan Hawrylyshyn Family Foundation. As explained by Maryna Bilous, the main objective of such meeting is to support business that is already implementing social initiatives in the city and to involve new enterprises.

“When I talked to entrepreneurs, I understood they do not perceive it as a corporate social responsibility. It is more about charity. And there are very few people who would like to bring up this issue and to show that they exist because they think that the society will treat it as a publicity move at the cost of someone’s problems. And we have to change it; we have to show that today it is a real trend incredibly popular in the world, that there are huge corporations where special departments are created and funds are allocated for these purposes. And they talk about it because other businesses join them and together they develop their area”, says Maryna Bilous, a participant of the program ‘Young Generation will Change Ukraine 2019’.

At the same time, Zhytomyr business representatives are convinced that corporate social responsibility starts with the relationship between business and employees, business and customers and so on.

“Corporate responsibility infers that when a business starts operating in a certain area, they need to have a responsible attitude to the community they work in. First of all, they have to provide formal employment; this is a contribution to the social development of the community. They have to take care of their employees and create proper working conditions, provide them with special clothing. This is also an element of corporate responsibility. Businesses need to have a responsible attitude to their customers, that is certain requirements to quality. Businesses have to filter out their suppliers and make sure that organizations they work with are not corruption-ridden, but decent organizations that also take care of the community where they operate. And the charity direction is a separate component which most companies in Ukraine start developing”, says Halyna Fesiuk, Chief Human Resources Officer at PJSC “BioMedSklo”.

During the meeting, representatives from different companies shared their experience and best practices in the field of corporate social responsibility. Organizers of the round table discussion say this is just the first step on the long way, where more experienced and responsible enterprises will be able to show the way to those who already operate in Zhytomyr or plan to invest in business here.

“Today it’s our first attempt to talk with businesses and find out how they join in corporate social responsibility. There are examples when the city implements such projects in cooperation with business. One of the recent and recognizable projects is the project TsiaTorba. It is an environmental and social project implemented in cooperation. There are other cases. Today we will present not our research, but the national level research, the catalogue of corporate social responsibility, initiatives, examples how it works in Ukraine. Thus far, we do not have such a catalogue in Zhytomyr; it might be the first step to show business in Zhytomyr to citizens, city visitors, people who plan to invest in Zhytomyr; to show that there are also businesses of various size that have not only a commercial component, but also transform the city and its citizens by means of their projects”, says Mykola Kostrytsia, the Director of the Department of Economic Development of Zhytomyr City Council.