SCA is involved in a range of issues at international, national and local levels. In issues that have close links with SCA’s business, such as women’s health and the taboos related to incontinence, the Group often has long-term commitments. In many regions where SCA is active, the company is a large – and sometimes the dominant – employer that actively contributes to local development.
Social partnerships and sponsorship should add value to the business. To gain a general understanding of the Group’s community initiatives, a web-based system was introduced in 2010 to register all projects and their costs. The new system makes it possible to identify various patterns and themes in activities and to effectively disseminate experience and the lessons learnt through the entire Group. It also provides a basis for recommendations regarding the focus of projects.
Various types of commitment
In 2010, SCA’s costs for social initiatives amounted to SEK 35m. Although most projects are carried out in the hygiene area, sports sponsorship accounted for a significant share of costs.
SCA’s commitment takes many different forms. It could, for example, involve direct financial contributions, product campaigns in which a certain portion of the sales generated by a product is donated, product donations, training or partnerships with organisations and companies. New projects can be launched and pursued in all parts of the Group using the guidance of the sponsorship policy that was drafted in 2009.
Focus on educating young women
SCA has sponsored the Libresse School in Russia since 2006, where teenage girls learn about puberty and menstruation.
SCA’s feminine care products provide the company with a natural link to the issues of personal hygiene and women’s health. Consequently, SCA is involved in a range of efforts to improve the everyday lives of women around the world.
One example of SCA’s far-reaching commitments is the Libresse School in Russia. SCA has sponsored this educational programme for teenage girls at their schools since 2006. Specially trained psychologists speak to the young women about physiological and emotional changes during puberty, and educate them about menstruation and hygiene protection.
Launched in Moscow, the Libresse School Programme has since spread to 14 other major Russian cities, effectively reaching out to 175,000 girls in more than 3,000 schools.
A duty to speak out
About 5 to 7% of the world’s adult population suffer from incontinence. Despite the extent of the problem, few talk about incontinence. As the world’s largest supplier of incontinence care products through the TENA brand, SCA has worked for many years to break the taboos that surround this condition.
This work is highly diverse. SCA supports the Global Forum on Incontinence, a conference that attracts participants from across the globe.
2010 was the first year that TENA sponsored a festival in Estonia in which more than 4,000 people – 60 years of age and older – participated. The programme contained a range of activities, including lectures, performances and handcraft, and the day was rounded off with a large dance party. The aim of the festival is to generate awareness of incontinence issues and break taboos.
In Kenya, it is common for girls to get married between the ages of 12 and 14, which often means that they give birth to their first child at an age when their body is not sufficiently mature to cope with this stress. It is not uncommon that injuries in connection with childbirth result in the girls suffering from urine and faecal incontinence. TENA supports hospitals in Kenya by providing them with incontinence care products, and by supporting training in incontinence issues and related healthcare.
Supporting the fight against cancer
Each year, SCA participates in a variety of activities and initiatives to raise awareness of various forms of cancer and help in their early detection.
SCA is a major supporter of cancer research and cancer organisations in Australasia. Since 2007, SCA has joined forces with Australia’s Cancer Council to support its annual Daffodil Day event, donating over AUD 400,000 for the cause to date. In addition, SCA has been a sponsor of The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) since 2006, and committed AUD 100,000 in 2010 towards research into an early detection test for ovarian cancer.
In the UK, TENA sponsors the The Prostate Cancer Charity to raise awareness of prostate cancer and the incontinence problems that arise in conjunction with treatment of the disease. Sponsorship covers a range of activities, including donation of a share of sales of TENA products.
Other examples of community involvement during the year:
- SCA has entered into a three-year partnership with the NGO Oxfam Novib with the aim of improving the hygiene situation in Sudan and Niger. In south Sudan, SCA is supporting the installation of latrines and handwashing facilities in schools, and is granting scholarships and sanitary products to young girls, enabling them to attend school. In Niger, SCA supports young women suffering from incontinence due to giving birth at a very young age. SCA provides annual sponsorship totalling EUR 250,000 to the project.
- In the US, SCA Tork donated wiper products for a value of USD 200,000 to disaster relief efforts in the wake of the oil spill in the Mexican Gulf. The products are usually used in industrial environments to absorb large spills and grease, and, in the clean-up work, they were used onboard vessels to sanitise equipment and clean deck machinery and tools .
- Following the earthquake disaster in Haiti in January 2010, several initiatives were taken by SCA to provide relief to those affected. Employees of SCA Americas donated about USD 17,000, which was matched by SCA Americas, thereby increasing the total amount of the donation to just over USD 35,000. A further USD 50,000 was donated by SCA. Donations were made to the Red Cross and Direct Relief International. Aside from financial aid, SCA also contributed hygiene products.