Last month, the company launched Singapore’s first Cyber Wellness Toolkit for special education schools, a customised programme to educate students with special needs on the importance of developing safe online habits and identifying imminent dangers of the internet world. These students typically have easy access to technology at home, with minimal or no supervision. Hence, they are easily susceptible to media influences and undesirable behaviours without being aware of the dangers. The toolkit will help the teachers deliver these important lessons in a fun and engaging manner. All these CSR initiatives are underscored by the company’s belief that its strategic, holistic and collaborative approach will catalyse more cause-based partnerships, especially between government, the non-profit and the private sector, resulting in greater and sustainable impact for its beneficiaries and the community. The company’s three-pronged approach has also stimulated deeper and meaningful engagement with its employees. This is evident as CSR has become the top staff engagement driver for the Singtel Group in its latest annual staff survey.

Singtel rallies employees to contribute to the community in various ways. This creates greater awareness of social issues while building character and empathy among its people. VolunTeaming, the company’s teambuilding initiative with a CSR or volunteering element, is a great platform where employees volunteer as a department to build rapport and foster inclusion. For example, at the 4th Singtel Carnival held on 13 October 2016, 1,700 Singtel staff volunteers organised game, activity and food stalls and hosted 1,000 students with special needs from all 20 special education schools in Singapore. The company clocks over 15,000 staff volunteering hours from its Singapore workforce annually. Singtel is the first Asia Pacific company to join IMPACT 2030, a global business-led effort to advocate and promote corporate volunteering activities in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Singtel is also represented on the Volunteer Resource Committee spearheaded by the National Council of Social Service, a cross-sector committee involving government, voluntary welfare organisations and corporates to develop a framework for promoting skilled volunteering between corporates and charitable organisations in Singapore.

Committed to community support and development, the Singtel Group spent close to S$36 million on community investments in the last financial year. This amount includes direct financial support, in-kind charitable sponsorships and paid staff volunteering hours.

The company’s CSR and sustainability strategy, programmes, targets and performance can be found in its annual Sustainability Report.