Novartis’ Giving & Volunteering wins ACCP’s 2023 Corporate Social Impact Team of the Year Award

The Novartis Giving & Volunteering (G&V) Team are the proud recipients of the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) Corporate Social Impact Team of the Year Award 2023. The award recognizes a team of Environmental, Social, & Governance (ESG) and/ or CSR practitioners whose collaborative and innovative approach to a project or program generated significant business results for the company and/ or social impact in the community.

The award is part of the ACCP’s annual Purpose Awards for exceptional leaders in corporate social impact. Since 2016, the ACCP, a global community of more than 240 companies and 2000 CSR / ESG professionals across more than 20 industry sectors, has celebrated corporate social impact professionals that serve as beacons of excellence in their field. ACCP’s Purpose Awards is the only awards program that recognizes individuals or a team helping to catalyze change within their companies.

Novartis was specifically honored for reimagining and scaling our response to the global refugee crisis: going beyond monetary and medicine donations to offer an innovative approach that is holistic and sustainable – including a new commitment this year to hire at least 150 and train at least 150 refugees over the next three years.

The Novartis approach to help tackle this humanitarian crisis targets four refugee groups, via five interventions, with six of our non-profit partners. Our people, amongst other actions, mentor LGBTQI refugees with sessions on career planning, resumés, interview skills and networking; upskill and reskill refugee entrepreneurs with social media and digital marketing expertise; and assist refugee women with integration via our mentorship program across 11 countries. In the past year more than USD 3 million was also raised via our first global giving and matching campaign and our employees offered a huge amount of emergency support and longer-term assistance to help refugees adjust to their new lives.

However, the response to the refugee crisis is just one example of the far-reaching impact of G&V at Novartis. Through employee giving, community initiatives and our skills-based volunteering program, our people can give back to partner organizations across 63 causes and beneficiary areas. As one of the most inclusive programs, with no upper limit on the number of giving or volunteering hours and volunteering permitted on company time, the Novartis G&V program was also featured as best practice for impact measurement & valuation and for non-profit partnering at the 26th World Volunteer Conference in 2022. Example projects globally include mentoring health tech entrepreneurs; encouraging women’s economic empowerment through skill sharing; developing long term communications strategies with partners; helping design and build a smart health management tool for a leprosy center in India; supporting environmental sustainability in the supply chain; and driving innovation in the UN system.

We are honored to receive this prestigious award, which reflects the hard work and dedication of the Novartis Giving & Volunteering Team and many others,” said Michelle Weese, Head of Corporate Affairs. “Bringing their passion and dedication to purpose to the forefront, our people have worked to make a difference in ways that are not just impactful, but inclusive and innovative.

At Novartis, we actively nurture a culture of giving and volunteering. In the past year our people have given to, and volunteered for, many of our strategic partners such as Switzerland for UNHCR and various UN agencies and organizations, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative, International Rescue Committee, The Max Foundation, Medicines for Malaria Venture, Mercy Ships, Save the Children, the Swiss Red Cross, the Tent Partnership for Refugees and the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition.

ACCP is thrilled to shine a spotlight on these exemplary leaders in the field of corporate social responsibility,” said ACCP President and CEO Carolyn Berkowitz. “Their dedication and innovative approaches to the work inspire us all as they represent what’s truly possible when business and social goals align in creative ways.

Partnerships and collaborations

Our projects are partner-led and we are committed to listening to partners’ needs and collaborating fully with them on an end-to-end journey. As a global company, we have a great responsibility and an even greater opportunity to lead the world in creating a positive social change, embracing societal impact as a core business objective, and can match our strengths with society’s needs. Novartis has a wide range of skills, knowledge and expertise to share – find out more about Novartis Giving & Volunteering here.

If you are interested in partnering with Novartis, visit our non-profit partnering for positive, sustainable social change page.