One Tuesday in early 2024, Rachel Cashen was out of the office. She was busy weeding in a greenhouse at Strength to Love 2, an urban farm in Baltimore City. She not only had her manager’s full support but was surrounded by her colleagues. “It was a beautiful spring morning,” says Rachel, Product Portfolio & Innovation Manager at Allianz Trade in North America. “As we worked, the director shared how proud they are to offer organic products to low- or no-income families in their community. I felt so grateful to be contributing to their cause alongside my coworkers.”
Corporate social responsibility: where to start?
At Allianz Trade, our approach to CSR is guided by our employer brand promise – we care for tomorrow. Our corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts focus on 3 main areas, tied to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 13, 8 and 17: Climate Action, Decent Work & Economic Growth, and Partnership for the Goals. We want to have a positive social impact, and strive to give colleagues in all our offices opportunities to join us in our CSR journey towards a more sustainable, inclusive world.
For Allianz Trade employees in the U.S. and France, CSR comes in many forms. “I’ve always thought it’s important to have a range of ways to get involved,” says Casey Pelfrey, VP, Regional Head of Communications at Allianz Trade in Americas. “I couldn’t agree more,” observes her counterpart Nicolas Dupont, Head of Communications at Allianz Trade in France. “We want to make sure employees can get involved in causes around : diversity, inclusion, sustainability and health, and why we build partnerships with organizations that have a variety of needs when it comes to volunteers.”
How it works
“I’ve learned there’s an appetite for CSR,” says Casey. “But we have to provide the opportunities. And people need to know it’s okay to take a few hours away from work to volunteer, even when we’re all busy.”
In the U.S. and France, Allianz Trade employees each receive a day’s annual paid volunteer leave, which they can take as a full day or divide throughout the year. What’s more, while employees can volunteer individually, group opportunities organized by the company are proving popular. “Volunteering is a bit like visiting a distant country for the first time,” explains Anna Shakulashvili, an International Debt Recovery Specialist at Allianz Trade in France. “For those who have never volunteered before, group events provide an opportunity to take that first step.”
Employees also have a choice of projects to support. “The idea is to let our people decide how to get involved,” says Nicolas. To expand its partner network, Allianz Trade in France uses an engagement platform to connect with other charitable organizations throughout the country. In the U.S., as well as the CSR team forming partnerships with nonprofits, employees suggest organizations nationwide for Casey and her team to plan volunteer days with: “Our people are located across the country, so we try to provide them with opportunities to support organizations in their own communities.”
On top of volunteering, employees in the U.S. and France can work with Allianz Trade to donate funds to causes. For French employees, a salary rounding program means that employees have the option to round their monthly paychecks down to the nearest euro – with the difference, and potential additional microdonation, donated to different charities. Meanwhile, U.S. colleagues can submit applications for their chosen organizations to receive donations through a program called the Employee Action Fund.
U.S. and France sites also run dedicated short-term campaigns to support a broad range of causes, such as benefit runs targeting hunger and illness and quarterly donation drives for essential items such as books, food, and school supplies. “For dedicated campaigns, we tend to collaborate with charities that need people for a few days or a few hours,” explains Nicolas. “Sometimes these lead to long-term partnerships.”
Countless opportunities for involvement
So far, Allianz Trade in France has established a multitude of strong partnerships throughout the region. These include mentoring programs, cancer support organizations, and a refugee-support association. “My most meaningful experience was gathering collections for a food bank, the Relais Sévrien,” recalls Anna. “It inspired me to give more of my time to causes outside work.”
Employees in France also have the option to mentor youth in disadvantaged areas. One example is through a program with the organization Entrepreneurs dans la Ville, in which employees commit to mentoring students over six months. “These mentorships really help students gain a professional perspective,” says Nicolas. “As a global business leader, for us to be able to offer this to young people is especially meaningful.”
A key focus of both locations’ CSR activities is directly supporting their communities. “We recently moved our headquarters to the city of Baltimore,” says Casey. “So we feel it’s important to be involved and give back to our local community.” She adds that the U.S. team is currently working with a local nonprofit, The Napkin Network, to distribute baby supplies in the area, and recently hosted a city clean-up day.
Allianz Trade in North America also hosts and sponsors the MoveNow Camp. This two-day camp brings together students from the Safe Alternative Foundation for Education (SAFE) with members of Bennett Blazers, a sports initiative for children with physical disabilities. By bringing the two groups together to play activities such as wheelchair basketball, campers are able to learn from one another on an evened playing field.
Latrice Dangerfield, a Surety Underwriting Assistant at Allianz Trade in North America and a MoveNow volunteer, reflects on facilitating a game of wheelchair basketball. “As the SAFE students got into their chairs, the Bennett Blazers were so helpful in teaching them how to use them on the court,” she says. “It was one of those moments where you were able to see the impact in real time.”
Building momentum
To engage their teams, Allianz Trade in France organized a two-week campaign dedicated to CSR in June 2024 called Quinzaine Solidaire. “Over two weeks, more than 250 employees supported 20 different organizations across France,” says Nicolas. “It really showed that people want to take part and have a great team spirit!”
U.S. involvement is also on the rise, with more than 380 total volunteering hours logged to date this year – exceeding Casey’s team’s goal. “We’re getting there,” she says. She notes the trend toward hybrid working in the U.S., with many employees spending two days a week in the office – and the importance of strengthening their connections with their workplace community. “My hope is that volunteering will help our people feel more connected to the world around them, as well as to their colleagues.”.
Our people drive our commitment to give back
Looking to the future, Allianz Trade teams in North America and France are inspired by this enthusiasm. They’re setting out to build on employee participation, strengthen community ties and boost the company’s social impact.
For Nicolas’ team, that starts with giving employees more agency in planning CSR activities. “Our aim is to increase early involvement, with more colleagues suggesting organizations to support,” he says. Meanwhile, Casey shares her vision for the U.S. “As we solidify our relationships with local charities in Baltimore and beyond, I want to show that we care for our community,” she says. “Having a concrete impact on people is the reason we do what we do.”
