Impact-driven actions can have a ripple effect. This has been demonstrated by companies within the National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)’s Company of Good community, which strive to become a force for good as they make progress in articulating and activating their corporate purpose.

One such company is Dell Technologies, which employs a comprehensive environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy. This in turn helps deliver on its purpose to create technologies that drive human progress. “This commitment shapes our culture, policies and business practices,” says Mr Ng Tian Beng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Dell Technologies – APJ Channels. “It inspires our team members and guides our suppliers. It also enables us to develop innovative solutions that benefit our customers and society at large.”

To help level the playing field, for instance, the company launched a tech skills accelerator programme in February 2021 to train more than 3,000 fresh graduates, mid-career professionals and students in Singapore. And since 2014, it has donated IT infrastructure and funds to the tune of $100,000 annually to the Movement for the Intellectually Disabled of Singapore (MINDS), where its employees also volunteer as befrienders.

Beyond engendering change, Dell firmly believes that advancing its ESG goals is critical to the future of its business. “There is increasing evidence that a business strategy focused on material ESG issues is synonymous with high-quality management teams and improved returns,” notes Mr Ng. “In fact, 40 per cent of millennials — who form a substantial part of our workforce — have accepted one job offer over another based on a company’s ESG policies.

BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES

NVPC’s Company of Good Recognition System is designed to recognise organisations at a national level for their commitment to corporate purpose and positive impact in the People, Society, Governance, Environment and Economic dimensions, thereby empowering both businesses and communities.

For local fitness social enterprise Push Pull Give (PPG), this translates to equipping individuals with the knowledge to understand their bodies and move freely and pain-free.  “We empower people to build strength, endurance, and ease their mobility through calisthenics and functional training,” says founder Mr Razif Yusoff.

Working closely with local charities, PPG aims to address gaps in the community, such as “the limited community support system for disadvantaged youths, limited physical education for the elderly and a lack of experienced fitness trainers working with special populations”.

To plug those gaps, it offers initiatives such as a youth outreach programme that combines calisthenics with group therapy. “The goal is not only to improve their physical fitness but to improve their mental-well-being and goal-orientation,” Mr Razif shares. “Upon graduation, our studio doors are open to the youths for a year, under our sponsored PPG Third Space Membership, where mentoring and befriending is sustained within the PPG community,” he adds. To support the elderly, PPG partners active ageing and family service centres to train and educate them on proper exercise techniques.

Similar to Dell, PPG’s corporate purpose has proven a boon when it comes to attracting the right employees while enacting good. “Our clear social mission attracts passionate individuals who bring innovation and drive, while customers who share our values become vocal advocates, amplifying our impact,” says Mr Razif.

FORCE FOR EQUALITY

A well-defined sense of purpose is also embodied by the National Library Board (NLB), which — guided by LAB25 (Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025) — aims to serve as an equaliser and a learning marketplace for all. To that end, it runs community initiatives such as nationwide reading programmes for kids, including the underprivileged. These programmes have seen significant success. For instance, more than 7,000 children having benefitted from kidsREAD, which aims to cultivate a love of reading among less-privileged children aged four to eight.

The opening of Punggol Regional Library in April 2023 marked a significant milestone for NLB, as it is Singapore’s first fully-inclusive library pioneering integrated services for persons with disabilities (PwDs).

NLB is also committed to inclusive hiring, providing employment opportunities for PwDs over the years. “They have taken up a range of roles within the organisation, which include digitising archival content to help make history and heritage more accessible to the public, and as Library Service Assistants at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library in the National Library Building,” shares Mr Ng Cher Pong, NLB’s Chief Executive Officer.

NLB’s inclusive hiring initiatives, including its collaboration with the Autism Resource Centre (ARC), earned it an Enabling Mark (Platinum) award in 2023. Moving forward, it plans to continue innovating to meet Singaporeans’ evolving reading and learning needs, through efforts such as digital inclusion.

“We believe that most organisations, including ours, can go further, when we are driven by a sense of purpose in wanting to enhance the lives and livelihood of those in the communities we serve,” says Mr Ng.

His organisation, like others that seek to do right and do good while doing well, serve as a lesson in how a well-articulated sense of purpose can catalyse organisational performance and social and environmental impact. This, in turn, allows them to actively contribute to Singapore in creating a better, more equitable shared future.