As a foreign business which has operated in Vietnam for over 22 years, Savills Vietnam considers corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a key part of its success, and has therefore sought to make increasing contributions to society.
Savills Vietnam launched the Savills Cares program in 2017 to support local residents and charity organizations. A core activity of the program is to help children and adolescents improve their living quality through education and training programs.
Scholarships for underprivileged students
Within the framework of the Savills Cares program this year, Savills Vietnam has awarded 40 scholarships to disadvantaged students in Hanoi and HCMC through two charity units—Saigon Children’s Charity and Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation.
Savills Vietnam on May 11 signed an agreement with Saigon Children’s Charity to give scholarships to 20 students from difficult backgrounds so that they could pursue higher education, thus having more chances to improve their lives.
On May 13, a similar agreement between Savills Vietnam and Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation was concluded in Hanoi. Through the foundation, Savills Vietnam offered another 20 scholarships to students.
Savills would sponsor tuition fees and living expenses for the 40 students in the 2022-2023 school year. The long-term cooperation with Saigon Children’s Charity and Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation demonstrates Savills Vietnam’s commitment to nurturing future talents of Vietnam.
In addition, the company has carried out career guidance, vocational training and job introduction activities for adolescents.
Damien Roberts, executive director of Saigon Children’s Charity, spoke highly of Savills’ contributions to the organization and underprivileged children over the past few years.
The scholarships would motivate students who are fond of learning but find it hard to pay tuition fees, Damien added.
Regarding the cooperation with Savills over the past five years, Skye Maconachie, co-CEO of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, said Savills’ scholarships have created a turning point for many students.
“Thanks to Savills’ Scholarships for A Brighter Future program, poor students can pursue their dream of entering university without worrying about the financial burden. Besides finance, students have received practical support through skill training activities,” Skye noted.
Furthermore, Savills’ real estate management unit will this year coordinate with business partners to carry out programs on soft kills, career guidance, vocational training and job introduction for children about to come of age.
These activities are part of the Savills Cares program, which is aimed at helping children access education.
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused multiple difficulties, especially for vulnerable groups, such as children and adolescents. Therefore, Savills Vietnam has striven to come up with practical programs with both short- and long-term solutions to improve the well-being of these groups.
Savills Vietnam has also sponsored many other organizations, such as Ho Tram Water Safety, Tohe Social Enterprise, Newborns Vietnam, charity running event Terry Fox Run, Lawrence S. Ting charity walk, and the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation.
Cycle to raise charity funds
Paying much attention to CSR activities, Neil MacGregor, managing director of Savills Vietnam, cycled 354 kilometers under the Charity Cycle Adventure 2022 program to raise funds for Saigon Children’s Charity, which helps disadvantaged children in Vietnam have a better life through education.
Neil said: “I hope my efforts during the journey will help children with difficult circumstances have a better life and more opportunities after the challenging pandemic.”
He cycled through Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces within three days. Neil and 42 others helped donate over US$101,000, which is enough to build two schools in the Mekong Delta or pay tuition fees for 202 underprivileged students.
Accompanying Earth Hour campaign
In March this year, Savills Vietnam accompanied the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam in the Earth Hour campaign for the second consecutive year.
The company expects to improve the public awareness of energy saving, environment protection and response to global climate change.
In the Earth Hour campaign this year, Savills played the role of an official communications partner.
In 2022, the world is facing the climate crisis amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, at COP 26, the Vietnamese Government pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. To realize the commitment, each individual in the community needs to join hands, according to Savills Vietnam.
In the Earth Hour campaign this year, Savills Vietnam helped create a great influence on the community through its communications channels.
Specifically, Savills joined forces with the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam to share messages about emissions reduction, renewable energy use, energy saving and wildlife protection.
Within the framework of the campaign, Savills’ real estate management unit sent a notice of switching off lights between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on March 26 to residents in more than 100 property projects managed by Savills through the Property Cube mobile app and digital advertising platforms.
Furthermore, over the past few years, Savills has applied the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark and minimum energy efficiency standards in all buildings under its management.
Accompanying Vietnam’s sustainable development, Savills has acted for the environment and society. In addition to the Earth Hour campaign, the firm has launched other energy saving and emissions reduction campaigns at its real estate projects.
These activities demonstrate its efforts to improve the living quality of and spread green values among its employees, customers and the entire community.
