Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Growthpoint is about demonstrating a long-term positive change in society and the environment around us. Our approach begins by identifying challenges faced within our context and the adoption of an integrated methodology in mitigating them. Growthpoint takes responsibility seriously and makes risks and opportunities an important part of decision making processes. There are a number of drivers and barriers to the effectiveness of our CSR at Growthpoint, some of which are within our control and others over which we have limited control. “When the communities we work in succeed, we know that we are working strongly as partners towards sustainable development, and this means healthy success for our business too. Growthpoint believes in the future of South Africa and drives effort towards creating it” SHAWN THEUNISSEN, HEAD OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY We acknowledge that the property sector plays a significant role in socio-economic development of the country and deem our responsibility to be linked to community investment, industry transformation and environmental accountability. Corporate social investment remains a great demonstration of Growthpoint’s commitment to uplifting local communities. Our investment intention towards socio-economic development includes entrepreneurial development, education, social infrastructure projects, staff engagement, and rental subsidies. For FY15 we have invested R15 million on programmes across the country and particularly in our three major regions: Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. The total budget for FY15 increased by 15% from FY14 and was allocated towards the Group’s focus areas. The administration of these areas is guided through the CSR policy, with the budget managed by the CSR team and reported to the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee on a quarterly basis.

CSI 2015 BUDGET

CREATING SUSTAINABLE SOCIAL CAPITAL

Growthpoint CSI’s impact statement is to be a contributor in areas with business footprint that ensures:

•	children have access to quality education
•	youth are upskilled to actively participate in the marketplace and to be value-adding citizens
•	communities realise asset ownership that benefits social upliftment programmes
•	NGOs have centralised facilities that enable local development
•	staff engagement promotes awareness of Growthpoint’s values of being socially responsible
•	sustainable SMEs that create jobs in the country.

Growthpoint’s approach to the performance of the social investment portfolio is material to value creation and stakeholder engagement plays a significant role in making this effective.

We consider stakeholder engagement to form part of our non-financial value that enhances business performance. Some of our key stakeholders include our staff, communities, NGOs, the government and industry bodies. We engage with the identified stakeholders through different and suitable platforms that include, but are not limited to; surveys, site visits, project status meetings, research and reports; and seminars and conferences. We are pleased to have participated in the development of the CSI Benchmarking Tool by NationBuilder. This was a collaborative effort by various corporates and NGOs to provide guidelines for implementing CSI in the South African context.

FY15 SOCIAL INVESTMENT RESULTS

Our approach towards long-term value creation has presented an opportunity for us to focus on social impact measurement. Although not all our programmes have rigorous impact assessment tools, there is a high level of monitoring and evaluation. We acknowledge that social impact is not achieved in isolation and cannot be expected over a short period of time due to the complex nature of social development, thus our focus on the introduction of the Theory of Change in our work. Challenges and successes of this approach will be shared in our short case report for Growsmart.

Factors influencing CSR at Growthpoint

ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT Value created SMEs on the programme have secured R122 million worth of contracts across various sectors. This means that the average turnover and profitability improved for most businesses, allowing for economic empowerment of not only the businesses, but the households that benefit from this activity.

ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT

PROPERTY POINT

This is our enterprise development programme that has been effectively achieving consistent success for seven years. As a ground-breaking programme that was initiated with the intention to transform the property sector’s supply chain, the programme continues to promote collaboration for greater impact. In 2015 we welcomed the opportunity to partner with one of our industry peers, Attacq, for their enterprise development initiatives. In line with the programme objectives, we worked with black-owned SMEs within property services to support them as emerging suppliers. This has resulted in:

 

 

Programme impact analysis

	FY14	FY15	Cumulative to date
Contracts accessed through Growthpoint Properties supply chain by beneficiary companies	R24,3 million	R93,7 million	R186,0 million
Value of contracts awarded to Property Point beneficiary companies, excluding Growthpoint	R24,3 million	R27,8 million	R119,9 million
Total number of full time equivalent jobs created by beneficiary companies	113	237	1 141

Growthpoint’s value chain for education

EDUCATION

The priority of quality education remains prevalent in South Africa’s journey towards economic stability.
At Growthpoint we adopt a longitudinal approach to providing access to quality education. Our programmes provide touchpoints for the improvement of standards within the areas that we operate. Through various channels we are able to influence the factors that contribute to the provision of quality education. We work with partner organisations to facilitate comprehensive programmes needed at every educational level.

GROWSMART

A five year review

Upon inception of the Growsmart programme our objective was to create awareness about literacy in the targeted Western Cape primary schools. We are pleased to report that there has been positive feedback about the role that the programme has played in facilitating learner involvement.

Input	Throughput	Output	Direct outcome	Indirect outcome
Financial	R12,5 million	70 000 learners reached School upgrades worth R3,5 million Bursaries for six learners	Better learning facilities for 15 schools	Promotion of leadership and accountability within the schools
Human	Programme coordination from launch to final competition	Annual National Assessment result	Increased focus on literacy improvement	Increased teacher and parent involvement in the learner’s education
Material	Mentoring	Newsletter	Increased awareness of literacy	Dependency on the Growsmart newspaper as a method of promoting engagement

Towards impact . . . a monitoring and evaluation case During FY14 we conducted a critical assessment of our education flagship programme, Growsmart. Our observations indicated that we had previously been focusing on input and output reporting with minimal focus on the outcome as well as impact realised from the investment in the programme. Working together with the Western Cape Department of Education, we facilitated workshops that presented a five year review of the programme. The assessment included questions around the literacy problem and Growsmart’s role in addressing it. After much deliberation, the problem was identified to still exist in the targeted communities, therefore, the impact of the programme may not have been as great as previously considered. Our interventions needed supplementary inputs that would preferably be sourced with other partner organisations. The revised objective statement for the programme was concluded to be about enhancing the literacy, learning abilities and experience of participating learners of the programme. Indicators were then decided upon and monitoring and evaluation techniques formulated — we will report on the findings in the next financial year.

As part of our increasing awareness on refining the effectiveness of inputs in our programmes, we partnered with iSchool Africa for the iPad Learning Lab and also launched a story writing competition. The winning Growsmart school for the 2014 competition, Primrose Park Primary, is our first school to be exposed to the digital solution of learning as part of our efforts to equip the teachers and learners with tools that will enhance learning experiences.

Our efforts towards social responsibility are internationally benchmarked

In addition, we have also identified two schools, one in KwaZulu-Natal and the other in Gauteng, that will be part of our iPad Learning programme. We will report on the results in FY16. These initiatives have resulted from the lessons learnt and successes of the Growthpoint project.

THANDULWAZI MATHS AND SCIENCE ACADEMY

“The achievements and progress made by the Thandulwazi Maths & Science Academy over the last year would not have been possible without Growthpoint’s significant and generous support and its commitment to providing access to and quality education for all.”

Bev Johnson, St Stithians
Foundation director

Our continued support towards Thandulwazi demonstrates our belief in the future of our youth. We contributed R250 000 towards various skills development programmes facilitated in Gauteng. Growthpoint’s focus on quality education in this sphere provides emphasis on teaching quality and is achieved through the Teacher-Intern programme. We have funded an intern for the past two years and look forward to his graduation and qualification as a teacher in Early Childhood Development phase.

EDUCATIONAL BURSARIES

“This bursary has provided me endless opportunities and is putting me one step ahead as I am exposed to the best in the industry. I am now working towards my dream of influencing [the property] industry.”

MTHUNZI NHLAPO, 2ND YEARBSC. PROPERTY STUDIESSTUDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF WITWATERSRAND

Our bursary programme enables the development of professionals within the property sector. We have an internal bursary programme that supports students at tertiary level. We also work with the South African Property Owners Association in identifying deserving students for a bursary. The support has been predominantly for students studying at accredited universities in Gauteng. We are however looking at expanding our geographical footprint. Our total contribution for FY15 towards bursaries amounted to R400 000.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

Social infrastructure development remains core in our social investment as it is linked with our primary business. Types of projects within this focus area allow us to engage with our suppliers and to make use of our internal expertise to deliver spaces for communities to thrive. In the previous reporting period we communicated our R1,7 million investment into the Loaves and Fishes Network. The completion of the development of Phakamani and Khanya Educare centres in Newlands has enabled the facilitation of access to quality education for the children in the rural areas of East London. The project has also created the necessary structure to help support parent and community participation in the caring, nurturing and wellbeing of the beneficiaries.

COTLANDS

Cotlands Early Learning Playgroups offer high impact stimulation sessions to children where new concepts are introduced, explored and discovered through play. Our contribution of R250 000 was towards the sponsorship of a playgroup in Hlabisa KwaZulu-Natal. The programme’s output will be reviewed annually.

RENTAL SUBSIDIES

As part of Growthpoint’s CSI strategy we provide rental subsidies to registered NGOs. We have built relations with various NGOs through this form of funding and appreciate the avenue through which we can positively change the lives of communities that these NGOs service. During FY15 we supported Opera Africa, Field Band Foundation, Education Africa, Stop Hunger Now and Tomorrow Trust. These NGOs rely on the subsidy as an anchor to their day-to-day business and it is important to us to see these organisations advance their efforts towards sustainable development.

Name of organisation	Focus area
Opera Africa	Youth development through arts and culture
Field Band Foundation	Youth development though arts and culture
Education Africa	Education
Stop Hunger Now	Food security
Tomorrow Trust	Poverty eradication through education

COMMUNITY WELFARE

Taking care of the basic needs of the community is essential in delivering comprehensive social development programmes. We will be launching a more active staff engagement programme in FY16. The staff volunteerism and engagement programme, called Growthpoint Gives (also known as Gsquared), allows staff to participate in various organised projects. As part of our greater good towards the community welfare we have committed 6 700 hours of volunteerism. This campaign was inspired by Mandela Day. For FY16 each employee will be allowed up to eight hours towards volunteerism, and collectively we aim to reach a target of 6 700 hours.

Rental subsidies offer direct strategic business and social benefits while reducing property vacancies. We enabled NGOs to impact over 10 400 beneficiaries.

For the past four years we have met and exceeded the targeted procurement spend on B-BBEE suppliers with R2,7 billion being spent in FY15.

SUSTAINABLE TRANSFORMATION

“Growthpoint has a deep understanding of transformation. The social investment programmes are directly linked to the business and the needs of the community.”

PORTIA TAU-SEKATI, CEOOF PROPERTY SECTORCHARTER

In the FY14 we reported that our B-BBEE score was under review due to the conversion of the business to a Real Estate Investment Trust. A few challenges were identified that would impact the sector’s B-BBEE scoring and diminish the progress made by various sector players towards transformation. We therefore requested the SA REIT Association and Property Sector Charter Council to review the factors contributing to the scorecard. The result of the previous period B-BBEE rating was a Level 6. We have however been able to put measures in place such as improvement in our skills development and economic development scores. Our improved ranking for the reporting period is a Level 3 under the Property Sector Charter.

We do not know the full extent of the impact of the Revised Property Sector Charter on our score card, but are working together with various stakeholders on material matters that contribute to transformation.

GROWTHPOINT’S B-BBEE RATING HISTORY

Year		B-BBEE Level
2009		Level 5
2010		Level 3
2011		Level 3
2012		Level 4
2013		Level 5
2014		Level 6
2015		Level 3

GLOBAL RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP

Accountability is important to us and we constantly advocate our conduct in line with the principles set out in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as the United Nations Global Compact framework.

Growthpoint has for the fifth consecutive time been included in the JSE Socially Responsible Investment Index (SRI) receiving best performer scores within the Environmental and Climate Change elements. We also received an inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).

In FY15 we have faced no issues of non-compliance, fines or prosecution through our engagement in community support projects.