Citigroup Corporate Social Responsibility Evalutation

Citigroup

Mini Corporate Social Responsibility Evaluation

Corporate social responsibility has become a hot term in the past few years as corporations have become larger and even more powerful. Watch-dog organizations have been formed to monitor the actions of corporations and report “rogue” companies who do not mean their standards for being socially responsible. Recently, many companies have started to issue corporate social responsibility reports along with their annual reports. Citigroup, a financial services firm is one of these companies.

Citigroup is one of the largest companies in the world. Citigroup provides a wider range of financial services from insurance to financial advisory service. According to Forbes, Citigroup is the largest financial services corporation in the world with revenues over $130 billion dollars worldwide.

The company is 14th on the Forbes 100 list and employers over 300,000 employees. Perhaps, most important the company has been rated by Fortune magazine as one of the top 50 most “responsible” companies in 2007 . Citigroup’s rankings are based on the extent to which Citi has incorporated responsible practices into its business and how well they account for the effects of their actions on stakeholders. Citigroup also made the list in 2006 .

In its Corporate Citizenship executive summary , Pamela Flaherty director of corporate citizenship at Citigroup, highlights three initiatives Citigroup has undertaken to make a positive impact on society. These initiatives are a(n)

• Issuance of a statement on climate change

• Statement on human rights

• Program to help families who face foreclosure in our U.S. consumer business

The first two initiatives detail the company’s views on climate change and human rights and how they relate to its business and its clients. Citi has made serious attempts to incorporate “green” and energy saving policies into its business practice. Major initiatives in 2006 included the following:

• Commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 10% of our 2005 baseline by 2011

• Establishment of a Global Energy Council to implement measures to meet our GHG reduction and green power procurement goals

• Purchase of 52,283 MWh of green power for our operations

• Commitment to target LEED Silver certification for construction of new office facilities

• Evaluation of our largest facilities to understand how to attain LEED status for our existing buildings

• Purchase of 200% more FSC certified paper (for a total of 557 metric tons)

• Purchase of 8,186 metric tons of 30% post-consumer recycled copy paper (netting 2,455.8 metric tons of recycled fiber), as well as 682.5 metric tons of recycled fiber for use in corporate marketing materials.

The last initiative comes on the heels of the recent rise in foreclosures on homes in the US due to subprime loans. The program provided counseling services to families facing closures in the eight to ten markets affected most by foreclosures. Citigroup has also adopted a corporate responsibility mantra known as “Our Shared Responsibilities”.

We have a responsibility to our clients

We have a responsibility to ourselves

We have a responsibility to our franchise

-Our Shared Responsibilities

Internal CSR

Citigroup’s approach to social responsibility is two-fold. The company takes a proactive approach in accommodating the personal needs of its employees. Often times at large companies the voice of employees often falls on deaf ears. In order to combat this, City conducts the Voice of the Employee survey every year. The purpose of this survey is to allow management to hear candid employee opinions on how the company is running. The company listens to the employees’ opinions and uses them as a tool to evaluate and make changes in management. According to the Corporate Citizenship summary 94% of Citigroup employees participated in the survey.

External CSR

Citigroup has been very proactive in making an impact on the world at large. Some of the projects the financial services company is involved in are:

• Habitat for Humanity International

• Member of the Clinton Global Initiative

• Citigroup Foundations supports Micro Finance Institutions and Networks

• Monetary Support of Financial Education

“Over the years, the Citigroup Foundation has made grants totaling more than $20 million to Habitat for

Humanity International (HFHI). “ A large percentage of this money is designated for the “Citi Builds Communities” employee volunteer program in the US. Citigroup has also formed partnerships with the Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) and the Financial Services Roundtable Community Build Day to broaden its reach in this endeavor.

Citigroup is also a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. Citigroup joined this collection of private, public, and non вЂ"profit institutions in 2005. The Initiative was created by former US president Bill Clinton, in order for world leaders to address the most pressing current world issues. In 2006, the company donated $ 5.5 million for micro-entrepreneurs in 24 countries and to provide two million of the world’s poorest people with financial education.

The Citigroup Foundation also supports micro finance institutions and networks. The company's motive is to help low income families