During a time when many people are having difficulty providing for their families due to the pandemic, some corporations are making an effort to provide much needed holiday cheer. Here are some examples of the most poignant stories in recent corporate social efforts according to our Safeguard ESG Impact platform.

By
Sam Leavitt
|
December 22, 2020

ESG Spotlight: Amid Pandemic Corporations Give Back for Holidays

Article
ESG Spotlight: Amid Pandemic Corporations Give Back for Holidays

Over the past month mentions of corporate philanthropy have doubled on the Safeguard ESG Impact Platform. As we approach the holidays, here are the strongest examples of recent corporate social efforts highlighted by our platform. Microsoft leads the way with a $110 million effort and other notable companies with initiatives include Mattel, Duke Energy, and Salesforce.

Microsoft's Three-Pronged Approach

Microsoft announced a $110 million initiative last week to aid the state of Washington in pandemic relief efforts. The monetary contribution is part of a three pronged approach. The first area of focus is to continue paying the wages of vendors who provided services on Microsoft’s campuses, but who have lost jobs due to the pandemic. A second area of concern is providing local nonprofits with $60 million in funding over the next six months. Lastly Microsoft is committed to helping schools reopen with financial support going towards protective equipment and free data tracking for Covid cases. Microsoft’s latest effort comes two years after they completed a massive $500 million initiative for affordable housing in the Puget Sound area.

Salesforce Helps Small Businesses and Non-profits

Salesforce is wrapping up its Dreamforce to You 2020 Campaign with a focus on small businesses and nonprofits. Since the end of October Salesforce has committed $2 million in relief for local Bay area businesses that have been affected by Covid-19. Much like Microsoft, Salesforce has taken an interest in watching out for the community it calls home. An additional $3 million has been directed towards nonprofit organizations fighting the pandemic like World Central Kitchen and (RED).

Safeguard ESG Impact Platform: Corporate Philanthropy Mentions, Past 2 Months

Duke Energy Brings the Heat

Duke Energy is continuing their “We Are All Connected” initiative to provide relief on heating costs for their customers. Over the past five years the utility company has contributed $22 million across six states in heating relief. The recent contribution of $2 million will go towards providing warmth for households in the most need of economic support. They also encourage customers who are able to give back and make it easy to contribute via their billing system.

Mattel Continues Supporting First Responders

Toy company Mattel donated $3.5 million in toys and masks to the First Responders Children’s Foundation. The Foundation was started shortly after the September 11th attacks and has been providing necessities and coverage of education expenses for children of frontline workers. Operating for nearly two decades the Foundation has helped thousands of families of first responders.

Quantifying Good Will

If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that making the extra effort to acknowledge the needs of others can go a long way. The initiatives led by these companies will make the holidays a little more special for the families impacted by the pandemic. Efforts like this don’t always show up in earnings calls or quarterly reports but the communities that these corporations call home will remember who helped them out down the line.

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Amenity Analytics is the industry leader in providing insights from unstructured text by using Natural Language Processing (NLP) assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML). Amenity’s NLP system is a sector-agnostic, language-dependent tool for quantitative text analysis that is deployed across the financial services industry and beyond.

This communication does not represent investment advice. Transcript text provided by FACTSET and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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