Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of Fly540 Kenya

Transcription

1 Corporate Social Responsibility Policy of Fly540 Kenya Contents 1) Our Organisation 2) The Airline Industry & Macro Environment 3) Our CSR strategy 4) Social 5) Environment 6) Accessibility 7) Long-term vision FIVE FORTY AVIATION LTD. Head Office: Palm Suite, Riverside Drive, Kileleshwa P.O.Box Nairobi, Kenya Tel: /2/3 Sales: Fax: Website:

2 Our Organisation As the Chief Executive Officer of Fly540 Kenya, Don Smith provides over 20 years of extensive commercial experience within the East African Aviation industry. Such a wealth of experience grants exclusive added-value and in-depth understanding to Fly540 Kenya, a relatively young company and one of the very first to enter Africa s low cost budget airline industry. Fly540 Kenya is a no frills budget airline offering affordable city-to-city air travel. Its vision is to alleviate the problems of poor rail and road infrastructure by offering its customers a more competitive and efficient mode of transport that is still affordable. Hence, Fly540 Kenya provides flights to seven domestic destinations and a further two regional destinations. In 2011, Fly540 Kenya was honoured at the East African Community Conference in Kampala for its contribution to economic growth in Africa based on the rapid expansion of its air services in the region following its establishment in 2006.

3 The Airline Industry & Macro Environment The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast annual economic growth of 6.6% in Africa between 2011 and In conjuncture with Africa s economic growth, air travel over the past two years has increased by 11.5%, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Therefore, in spite of high operating costs on the continent, the air transport industry has provided in excess of 6.7 million jobs, generating revenue of $68 billion for the African economy. Aviation connectivity in Africa is strongly enhanced by airlines such as Fly540 Kenya. Thus, in the words of Tony Tyler, Director General of IATA: With a few kilometres of runway, the most remote region can be connected to the global community. Fly540 Kenya is a significant contributory agent to the expansion of aviation connectivity, which benefits African development through providing flights to areas previously not connected by scheduled services, such as Lodwar.

4 Our CSR Strategy Investing in the heartbeat of the local communities in which we operate and beyond Our strategy adopts a three pronged approach: contributing to the social and environmental aspects of the local community and wider region, and providing greater accessibility for our customers. Fly540: CSR Strategy Social Environment Accessibility for our customers CSR forms an intrinsic part of our business strategy. We recognise that CSR is not only a business imperative to create sustainable growth, but an essential component to engage with the communities in which we conduct our day-to-day business operations. Without this engagement, we cannot successfully and wholly attain our business goals. Giving something back to society empowers our workers to connect with their local communities and become proud employees of the company that they represent, which drives long-term profitability. CSR is more than the maintenance of an ostensibly healthy image. Instead, it commands action coupled with passion and dedication to activate systemic change. It is not merely a hollow statement, but is the cornerstone of our business that sets us apart from our competitors.

5 Social Fly540 Kenya s CSR policy grants financial and physical support to local community projects and institutions such as schools, hospitals, children s homes and hospices. This provision aligns with our CSR strategy which is to invest in the heartbeat of the local communities in which we operate and beyond. The following details some of the projects in which we are engaged. Achievements Social programs such as the Imani Children s home offer children the chance to be loved, regain their confidence and, in the long term, re-integrate into society. Imani provides facilities where children can feel safe and secure and explore. As a registered charitable institution with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Development, Imani is widely recognised for its impact in the local community. Fly540 Kenya has chosen to engage and assist Imani due to the wide scope of its work and the continued change that it engenders in the lives of local orphaned children. We have provided financial support for three welfare programmes and we hope that our partnership will continue to evolve so that we can help more vulnerable children. The Mama Ngina Children s Home provides a safe place for orphaned children, as well as facilitating vocational training, which gives children an opportunity to develop essential life skills. In recognition of the significant impact that the Mama Ngina Children s home has on the lives of the children, we have donated financially as well as providing Fly540 Kenya tickets to be used in charity auctions to generate funds. The Nairobi Hospice is an integral part of the local community that supports patients and families facing life limiting illnesses such as cancer, HIV and AIDS. The hospice provides care for inpatients in addition to people still living in the community within a 20km radius. Fly540 Kenya provided financial support to the hospice in order to further its work and impact on the local community. Fly540 Kenya is also a proud supporter of Bright Girls Shella Secondary School in Lamu where we funded the purchase of text books as well as the construction of their new science block.

6 Environment Fly540 Kenya recognises the importance of reducing its carbon emissions and contributing to a greener and more sustainable economy. Building a greener airline requires an integrated approach and takes time to achieve. However, we aim to advance towards our goal with passion and dedication. In addition, the environmental arm of our CSR strategy encompasses NGOs who work to preserve and protect the natural reserves of Kenya, including Mount Kenya and endangered species of elephants in the Mara. Achievements The Mount Kenya Trust has been supported by Fly540 Kenya since 2008 and is in continuing partnership today. The Trust is dedicated to helping preserve and protect Mount Kenya, which is recognised by The United Nations Educational and Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a world heritage site. Fly540 Kenya s engagement offers the Trust increasing publicity in their in-flight information pack. Details of the Trust are also displayed on Fly540 Kenya s website under the Sponsorship section. It is imperative that local airlines, such as Fly540 Kenya, display their support for local projects that preserve Kenya s heritage, which forms an intrinsic part of the Kenyan culture. Fly540 Kenya supported Fly4Elephants, a German-based non-profit organisation seeking to protect elephants from poachers. Fly4Elephants sought to preserve the local Kenyan reserves by patrolling the airspace above areas where poaching is most common and liaise with security teams on the ground that can address the issue. Fly540 Kenya donated funds sufficient to provide 1.5 hours of airborne activity daily as well as contributing to raising public awareness about the problem of elephant poaching.

7 What are we aiming for? Carbon offsetting is used to compensate for emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere. Whilst a carbon offset programme would not be the solution to climate change in isolation, we are exploring the feasibility of various options that will enable us, and our passengers, reduce their carbon emissions. Fly540 Kenya aims to select eco-designed products to replace current in-flight products. This will reduce landfill and create less waste in the long term. Fly540 Kenya recognises the paramount importance of not only educating its staff and customers about sustainability, but the community beyond. Offering workshops to local schools about the importance of the environment and how to become more green will raise awareness amongst the next generation of sustainability issues. Ultimately, education will empower customers, staff and citizens to opt for a greener airline because they understand sustainability and how it impacts the climate in which we live. Investing in People Fly540 Kenya is proud to support the professional development needs of businesses and organisations in the community it serves. Every year, the company provides apprenticeships and training to 50 people without any, or only with minimal, qualifications - half of which end up being employed by the company after completion of the program.

8 Accessibility Fly540 Kenya aims to foster a direct relationship with its consumer base and to utilise a co-creation approach when deciding next steps. This requires a strong focus on asking customers what they want and striving to meet those demands. Hence co : a reference to the collaboration between the organisation and the customer. Achievements Fly540 Kenya currently operates a twitter feed that customers can access through clicking a link provided through the website s homepage. The twitter feed enables customers to follow the latest developments and to engage directly with the company in real time. Similarly, Fly540 Kenya has a facebook page that provides a further means of interaction. Our new website enables customers to sign-up to receive alerts on latest developments and benefit from special offers. What are we aiming for? We will soon be undertaking an extensive customer survey to gain feedback from our customers on how we re doing and how we can improve. We are in the process of launching a newly designed platform at our call centre that will enable our customer service to be more responsive and accessible as well as establishing SMS alert technology. Celebrations, such as the flight of our 1 millionth passenger in August 2011, will be utilised as an opportunity for customers to donate alongside Fly540 Kenya to their local projects, such as the Imani Children s Home. We are always seeking means to reward our loyal passengers. Our new website enables customers to sign-up to receive alerts on offers which we want to expand to create a loyalty points scheme.

9 Long-term CSR Vision Fly540 Kenya is a socially responsible airline with a pulse that is deeply connected to the surrounding communities in which it operates. As our flight services expand, our CSR will become more expansive, encapsulating regional as well as local communities. Currently, we are at the start of our journey, but so far our engagement with projects has been exciting and rewarding and we believe beneficial for those communities. As a company, we hope to see, and be part of, a positive change, bringing inspiration to others in the aviation industry to connect and engage with the communities, and preserve the environment, in which they operate.