What We’re Doing

"Playing our part in the broader community is part of a standard set 150 years ago by the Cadbury brothers." Alex Cole, Global Corporate Affairs Director, Cadbury

Of course there is a never-ending list of good causes which we could support. The hardest thing is picking those things where we can make a real, sustainable difference, and where the cause is a natural fit with our business and our values. We invest in areas that are dear to us, like education and enterprise, health & welfare, and the environment, and where we can get involved, backing up financial support with time and skills.

A minimum 1% of pre-tax profit goes to community investment. It’s not all direct funding: it includes time and gifts-in-kind, such as product, equipment and facilities. We find that this approach works much better than money alone, and our people are consistently recognised for their contribution through various awards. We’ve been doing this for nearly 200 years and today our activities reach all around the world. Wherever you find a Cadbury person, you’ll find community engagement. It’s part of our job.

Video - Community 2007

Bate-Bola Brazil

Bate Bola community project was set up in 2003 to provide a haven for more than 300 local children. It's a place where they can play, eat and learn. They also get to play football in the factory grounds, where employees give up their time to help coach them. The program is part of our effort to contribute to the development of children and teenagers, through sports and by teaching values like citizenship and respect for the community in which they live.

"The programme is benefiting around 1,000 children between 5 and 18 years old. They receive sports classes, including soccer, handball, basketball, judo, athletics and volleyball; as well as arts, citizenship and computer classes. We have parents and relatives participating in special activities such as lectures on health or psychological support."

Eliane Spolaor, People and CSR Manager, Cadbury Brazil

Sarvam

With operations around the Pacific Ocean, Cadbury responded immediately to the Asian Tsunami in late 2004. After an initial emergency relief donation we established a Tsunami Regeneration Programme for essential long-term community rebuilding. Working in partnership with a local charity, the Sri Aurobindo Society, on a five-year project, we are contributing to the redevelopment of two villages in the costal region of Pondicherry. The project addresses education, health, economic development, vocational training, organic farming, water harvesting and attitude changes including the empowerment of women.

2008 marked the first time we have successfully brought together two of our community partners from different countries. A team from our community partner in Japan - Kids Earth Fund - traveled to India to work together in creating a tapestry with some children from the SARVAM project. 320 local kids participated in total and the tapestries were exhibited around the world. For many of those who took part it was an emotional occasion, the first time they had drawn with brush and paints.

We Won a Big Tick!

Congratulations to our Chirk team in Wrexham, UK, for their Big Tick Award and all their hard work; a total of 128 days of their time in 2007. They raised over £30,000 for a total of 15 local charities.

"Our team is passionate about the company we work for and we’re proud of the reputation it has as a strong market leader, both locally and nationally. We don’t just do this through money though. We get to the heart of the issues of the community and deliver sustainable solutions to the wider and grittier problems in society. We are all really proud of the work we do, and we’re ecstatic to have won this award."

Jim Davies, MRO Procurement Sourcing Group Manager, Cadbury

Chairman’s Award

The difference we can make to communities across the world is never more evident than in the entries for the Chairman's Award for Community for Community Volunteering.

The competition - established in 1999 to recognise employee involvement in the community - has again demonstrated the lengths to which our people will go to help others. The 2008 award went to Liliane Obeid.

"I volunteered for the Red Cross because I admire what they do and I wanted to do something humanitarian. Winning this award is a big surprise to me. It is fantastic news – for me and the Red Cross. I am very, very, very happy! The Red Cross will benefit from the prize to buy needed materials to better serve the community".

Liliane Obeid, Senior Accountant, Lebanon

The Cadbury Foundation

The Cadbury Foundation is our UK-based charity. As well as supporting UK charities, it has a stream of other activity in Africa and India. Its central focus is on education and enterprise, but it has also made grants to causes in health and welfare and the environment.

Young Enterprise

This year Cadbury celebrates 20 years of partnership with Young Enterprise, starting with our very first £500 donation in 1988. We believe in the mission of Young Enterprise ‘to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise’. Helping others to help themselves is an enterprising attitude that takes us back to our Quaker roots.

With support from Cadbury, the Young Enterprise Primary Programme is now in its 6th year. It is a fun and motivational learning experience for both the children in schools and also our own employees who get a real buzz out of volunteering to work with the children in the classroom. Designed specifically for pupils aged 4 to 11, the Primary Programme provides building blocks for skills development, positive attitudes and understanding of the ‘World of Work’. It brings children an awareness of the world of work and provides enterprise education to many inner city communities who otherwise might not have access to positive work role models. And what’s more, it really works.

Over the past five years it has reached 200,000 pupils, and over 120 volunteers from Cadbury have delivered the programme in schools across the UK.

Digital Links

Because of our close relationship with Ghana we share a common developmental goal with Digital Links.

School children are failing to develop computer literacy skills and for this reason it is important to ensure there are enough teachers that can pass on technological skills.

Digital Links provides facilities and training in Ghana’s 38 teacher training colleges. With support from The Cadbury Foundation, Digital Links secures redundant PCs from private and public corporations in the UK. These PCs are then refurbished and provided at low cost to schools, charities, community organisations and small enterprises. Each refurbished PC is expected to fully serve an average of 25 students during the remainder of its life, so the funding of this project by Cadbury helps reach another 15,000 students.

Trident Smiles

In the US, Trident and Save the Children teamed up for a programme to support Save the Children’s U.S. literacy and nutrition programmes.

Millions of packs of gum highlighted the Pass Along a Smile programme and raised awareness for the campaign.

The programme promotes three healthy choices – chewing Trident to help keep your teeth clean, supporting Save the Children's U.S. literacy and nutrition programmes, and showing off healthy smiles because you've done something good for yourself and others.

Good business and good citizenship go hand in hand and Cadbury selected Save the Children as its national US non-profit partner in 2006.

As more and more Americans begin to share their healthy smiles with others, they’ll be tracked at tridentgum.com. Everyone can feel great from the inside out by chewing Trident, sharing smiles and supporting a great cause.

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