The branded bench was used in Qatar Airways’ social media campaign supporting its recent launch of the Malta-Doha route in June.

“Qatar Airways fully understands and embraces the importance of supporting charities and their vital work in the local community,” said Mate Hoffmann, Qatar Airways Country Manager Italy and Malta. “We strongly believe in coming together to support Hospice Malta with such a worthy cause, and are thrilled that our famous ‘selfie’ bench will continue to bring comfort and cheer to the people of Malta in its new home,” the country manager added.

“We are absolutely thrilled with the donation which was dropped off last week,” said Kenneth Delia, Hospice Malta General Manager. The bench will offer our day therapy patients the opportunity for respite and comfort in our tranquil garden space. It is a fantastic initiative on the part of Qatar Airways and we could not be happier to be chosen as the airline’s charity of choice,” the general manager added.

Hospice Malta is a voluntary organisation that offers its services free of charge through a multidisciplinary team of professionals and volunteers, providing and promoting palliative care for those suffering from terminal conditions. The patient-centred palliative care offered targets the relief of pain and other physical symptoms, as well as emotional, psycho-social, and spiritual issues.

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The course started in October 2018 and has involved a series of talks on water conservation, energy consumption, waste management and reduction, and sustainable development. 

It has been designed by Dr Alexandra Mifsud from the Centre of Environmental Education Research (CEER) at the University of Malta and Amanda Zahra from the Water and Energy Agency.

Funded by the HSBC Water Programme, this event was directed at businesses, where members of staff were trained on the change of behaviour they can make related to the safeguarding of the environment and leading a more sustainable lifestyle both at home and at the workplace, as the press release says. 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a main focus of the “Together for Sustainability” course, are in line with what CSR is all about and that is the reason why the CORE Platform was given an opportunity to speak on the subject during the last session, the press statement underscores.

CSR awareness raising

The aim of the European CSR day is to raise awareness on what CSR is, the importance of having it incorporated within a business strategy and framework, and the benefits that it yields, both to the company and its employees, as well as to the community and environment it operates in.

Helga Ellul, President of CORE Platform, explained that CSR must always start internally. From here one can then start engaging in CSR activities outside of the company. Nowadays, consumers and customers are becoming more aware of responsible corporations, in fact, many are those that choose the services of a company that engages in CSR instead of one that does not, Ms Ellul added.

Thus, CSR helps to improve the reputation of the business as well and it must also never be done solely to gain a better image as that will not work in the long-run. 

Finally, Ms Ellul focused on the misconception of CSR being charity is still an issue and that this is something that one needs to work on to overcome.

Developing sustainable economies

“At HSBC, we are proud to be playing a leading role in developing sustainable economies internationally and locally. Today, our sustainability approach focuses on three main areas: sustainable finance; sustainable supply chains; and employability and financial capability. In each of these areas, we have begun to take genuine strides forward,” said HSBC Bank Malta CEO Andy Beane.

“We have set out a series of commitments to contribute to the global transition to a low-carbon economy. We have also pledged long-term support to help people access education and training, so they can acquire the skills they need to succeed in today’s workplace,” Mr Beane added. “And through our partnerships with customers, NGOs and other key stakeholders, we are encouraging responsible business in global supply chains. Bringing together more than 500 people from over 60 organisations across Malta to learn about sustainability is core to this strategy as we need to work together to accelerate the country’s transition to a low carbon, sustainable future that we can feel proud to pass on to the next generation,” the HSBC Malta chief concluded.

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“The generous support by Nescafé 3in1 is not only in financial terms but also in the encouragement to further pursue our good cause. Thirty cyclists and five back-up team members have joined this year’s edition. We are all geared up for the four months of tough training ahead to prepare us for the Challenge,” said Alan Curry the founder of LifeCycle Malta Foundation.

“As the main sponsor of LifeCycle Challenge, we admire the strong positive attitude of the team behind LifeCycle Challenge. Their endeavours, efforts and commitment to raising money to be able to further improve the care of kidney failure patients and their relatives is simply commendable,” Mr Borg said about the sponsorship.

The charity events this year were organised in May at two places in Malta: at the University of Malta Msida Campus and at the city gate in Valletta opposite the Maltese parliament building, where €1,142 was collected for patients suffering from end-stage renal disease. Participants rode stationary bikes, turning every five minutes of cycling into a €2 donation each.

LifeCycle has organised bike challenges for more than two decades by now in different countries to generate funding for the needs and care of kidney disease patients and their families. The foundation’s work focuses on three major areas; raising awareness, supporting treatment and research, and working hand in hand with the medical staff of Mater Dei Hospital’s Renal Unit.

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MCAST launched its CSR programme on 13 February, intending to provide its students with the opportunity to complement their studies with experiences that add value to their holistic knowledge base. The CSR programme will also offer an accredited framework of knowledge and skills.

“MCAST is committed to empowering its young and adult learners to become active and employable citizens that contribute to Malta’s dynamic democratic society and economy,” the press statement says.

Michelle Muscat represented the foundation at the signing of the agreement at MCAST’s Main Campus in Paola on 21 March, at the Institute for Applied Sciences.

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