Best practices for Involvement of Employees in Corporate Social Responsibility Activities

The winner: SMA Technologie, Germany

The 1.008 employees of SMA Technology AG have plenty of reasons to be proud of their accomplishments. Just 25 years ago, their company spun off from the University of Kassel to become one of the world's leaders in the field of photovoltaics, converting and storing the sun's light as usable energy.

SMA has a "culture of self-management," in which employees feel ownership over their jobs and their company's mission. At SMA, employees themselves initiate CSR projects: when they have an idea about where and how to spend money, they present their idea to others within their organization, who almost invariably provide money and/or time as needed. Upon acceptance of an idea, the employee(s) who initiated a project continue to coordinate it through completion, whether by raising funds (which are often matched by the company) or by stewarding technological expertise and labor hours.

As a result of this method, the work of SMA has been extensive across Germany and abroad. When employees wanted to offer aid to victims of a flood in Eastern Germany, the company released them from their work responsibilities. The company also works closely with select schools in the area to guide students with career choices, offering internships, and other development opportunities.

The company sponsors an orphanage in Uganda through financial donations, and also sent two employees (who donated their vacation time) to develop an insular system for drinking water purification. Following the tsunami in Sri Lanka, the company converted a cargo container into an energy container, a giant battery to support the electrical needs of disaster victims.

95% of the SMA employees responded in the Best Workplaces survey that they are "proud of telling others that I work here" and "My work has special meaning, it is not "just a job".