Boris Krasnyansky explained Group DF’s corporate social responsibility strategy

Group DF has announced its priorities in corporate social responsibility for the coming years. These priorities include promotion of Ukraine’s image internationally (cultural diplomacy), education, environment, and regional development, with the latter focusing primarily on nine single-industry towns of the Group’s operations. This statement was made by Group DF CEO Boris Krasnyansky at the 7th “Businesses’ Responsibility to the Country” International Conference held by Expert Ukraine magazine on 21 May 2013.

Krasnyansky also said that Group DF’s companies spent around UAH 500 million on social and environmental initiatives in 2012. The social aspect has been originally integrated in the Group’s mission and strategy, and now the time has come to systemise this work and set priorities to achieve the maximum effect in the identified areas.

“If you think of the CSR as a pyramid, its foundation is the compliance with legislative requirements in form and substance, that is, paying taxes and meeting environmental requirements. It would suffice to observe them in form, but how responsible would it be? The middle level of this pyramid represents the company’s voluntary commitments usually focusing on its employees and local communities. In our case, these programs are focused on social infrastructure and cultural development of small towns, as well as reducing environmental impact of our operations. Another important area for us is education, because we are interested in attracting qualified personnel. The top of the pyramid is the corporate philanthropy, i.e., investing in social projects which have nothing to do with the business and which have no direct impact on it. Here we focus primarily on the cultural diplomacy as a way to form a positive image of Ukraine abroad,” explained Krasnyansky.

The Group DF CEO is convinced that businesses must continue implementation of their on-going corporate social responsibility projects despite weak markets and the need to cut the costs.

“Businesses have an obligation to contribute to the economic development of their country, to improving the quality of life for its employees, their families and the society as a whole,” said Krasnyansky. He believes that corporate social responsibility projects will only be efficient if top management and owners of businesses are involved in it. “That’s why we have chosen to be the general sponsor of this conference,” he concluded.