Corporate Social Responsibility: “Who Cares”

18 January 2018

One of the main motivations for me to get involved with “Who Cares?” was the desire to get more out of my job than just a salary. In my first few years at Cmotions, I had focussed mainly on personal and professional development and thought it was time to look beyond that. And I wasn’t the only one!

Being both a commercial business and a social business

Besides the commercial side of Cmotions, many of our colleagues do find it important to also be contributing on a social level towards a better society. Actually, the commercial side and the social side are not necessarily mutually exclusive, so “besides” isn’t really the best word to use. Therefore management were immediately enthusiastic and so, together with our colleagues Hanneke Bosman and Nieck de Groot, we started the “Who Cares?” CSR programme in early 2017.

In no time, a number of smaller issues had been picked up and the first seeds of big ideas were planted. Meanwhile, the details were put into writing to outline the basic framework for the programme. Colleagues took notice and came up with more ideas. Before long, the first initiatives were already underway. The great thing about most of the initiatives is that a lot of them were not launched directly by “Who Cares?” but, instead, you notice that the CSR aspect is being taken into account with decisions and activities. That is obviously the ultimate aim: for CSR to run through the veins of Cmotions and everyone who works here, rather it being an “extra” or a separate entity.

2017 Campaigns

In 2017 we picked up a number of policy areas and organised a number of activities. On a structural level, in the area of employee fitness and energy, we now have a sabbatical policy, standing desks, a desk bike and more. In terms of sustainability, we now have a clear-cut public transport policy alongside the lease car scheme. And under the motto of “both fun and health together”, we entered 3 teams in the Tilburg ten miles. The icing on the cake was a mapathon that we held right at the end of the year. Our colleague Wouter van Gils has written a blog about it.

2018 Campaigns

In 2018 – and beyond – we have decided to focus on the theme of: “Education for the next generation”. After all, knowledge is one of the most important cornerstones of Cmotions. We believe that knowledge should also be available for future generations. Firstly by passing on our own knowledge, and secondly by opening up access to education for more children. The first initiatives on this aspect have already been planned or launched. We have decided to take part in the NL-doet volunteering programme, for example, by helping a school. In addition to that, we are also going to host a workshop at a secondary school to introduce students to artificial intelligence. More about this will follow soon!

All in all, we can look back on a good year – a year when Cmotions made some great steps forward in terms of CSR. Thank you all! Here’s to building an even better society, for now and for the future.

Find out more about Who Cares?