Along with business targets, Vietnamese enterprises are carrying out social security activities as a responsibility in development commitments. Taking responsibility for the community is a way of affirming the brand and winning trust from customers.

In Viet Nam, social responsibility is a bit unfamiliar to many enterprises. However, enterprises that profit from society should contribute back to society. Therefore, in business plans, being responsible for the community is indispensable.

In fact, businesses that perform their social responsibilities well often achieve significant benefits, make a practical contribution to the community, increase business efficiency, brand value and productivity, developing organisational culture and adding opportunities to approach new markets when foreign companies give priority to CSR activities and sustainability development. Being aware of those practical benefits, in many forms, businesses have met their social responsibilities, thereby affirming their own brands in the market.

Like other Vietnamese enterprises, the social responsibility associated with sustainable development is the commitment that Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) has made. This is also one of the most important core values ​​of the bank: For the community.

Speaking about social responsibility,  Le Thu Thuy - General Director of SeABank, said: “SeABank's motto is associated business activities with contributions to the country's economic development, therefore bringing values ​​to the community. 'For the community' is also one of the five important core values ​​that SeABank employees have instilled and implemented from their mind through many different forms. SeABank's budget for social activities accounts for more than 20 per cent of the bank's marketing communication costs, which clearly shows SeABank's priority for social security."

SeABank staff members participate in cleaning and environmental sanitation.

It is not difficult to see SeABank’s employees in traditional red shirts giving gifts to poor children and people in remote areas or giving houses for families with difficult circumstances, at the same time planting trees or cleaning the environment. All of these are voluntary activities organised annually by SeABank employees such as Love Spring, SeABankers for children, Citizen Week and Warm blanket for winter with many diverse activities and targeting many different vulnerable groups with a total budget of billions of VND per year.

In addition, SeABank has also held a series of community running tournaments 'SeABank Run for the Future' from 2018 in four major cities and provinces across the country to create a playground for sports, entertainment and fundraising. Over the past two years, the tournament has attracted more than 10,000 athletes, raising funds of nearly VND6.3 billion and awarding 71 study promotion scholarships of the Dream Nurturing Fund.

SeABank is also one of the pioneering banks in calling for environmental protection for sustainable community development through a series of activities 'Let's Go Green with SeABank'. Several meaningful activities have been carried out like propagating awareness of environmental protection, life protection, donating 74,400 trees to recover Hong Linh mountain (Ha Tinh) after severe fires in 2019, as well as providing environmentally friendly gifts to customers.

The chain of community runs 'SeABank Run For The Future - The community runs for the future' to raise funds for the scholarships Nurturing Dreams

Since 2015, SeABank has run a Dream Nurturing Scholarship Fund and provided VND1 million per month for each student until the end of grade 12. Currently, the fund is sponsoring 134 poor students in 26 provinces and cities nationwide with a total amount of more than VND12 billion. With the companionship of SeABank, two students successfully graduated from high school and passed the national exam to the Institute of Cryptography Technology and Hanoi College of Pharmacy.

Not stopping there, SeABank also established charitable funds One Day One Smile and SeALove to help people in difficult circumstances in society, especially the elderly and children.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected people across the country. Joining hands with the Government to prevent the pandemic, SeABank and BRG Group donated VND6 billion and 20,000 masks to localities. At the same time, SeABank and sponsors also presented 16,052 basic gifts including 42.7 tonnes of rice, more than 115,000 packages of instant noodles and essentials such as cooking oil, soy sauce, peanuts, etc. to the poor and disadvantaged across Vietnam with a budget of nearly VND1.4 billion. To overcome the consequences of natural disasters in central provinces, SeABank and BRG Group staff ecosystem joined hands to support nearly VND4.5 billion helping people stabilise their lives and quickly restore production activities. Those charitable activities consist of giving 5,000 gifts worth VND1 billion to people in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri, Quang Binh and Quang Nam through the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, donating VND2 billion through the Central Committee of Hai Phong City Fatherland Front, donating VND500 million to Military Region 4 Command and giving gifts directly to people in flooded areas in Ha Tinh, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Ngai and Binh Dinh provinces with a total value of nearly VND500 million.

SeABank, BRG Group and staff members of BRG Group's ecosystem joined hands to support the central region.

The meaningful activities launched by SeABank spread to several golden hearts and received enthusiastic responses from the business community and customers.

“Sharing and helping difficult circumstances is no longer an obligation of each employee but has become a compassionate activity, proactively implemented by individuals and collectives throughout the system. In addition, we are happy to receive the support and companionship of customer partners such as BRG Group, Bob & Renee Parsons Foundation, Ly Khuong Company and PVI Insurance,” Le Thu Thuy shared.

In the coming time, corporate social responsibility will still be the key trend in the connection between sustainability development and core values ​​in business operations. Therefore, the concentration of resources for social security activities, volunteering is necessary. This is also a plan for sustainable development for businesses in the current economic integration context.