Social

In January 2021, our Indonesia practice signed a memorandum of understanding with Barry Callebaut, strengthening our relationship with the firm.

The agreement paves the way for the two organisations to pool resources and create solutions that will improve the livelihoods of cocoa-farming communities in Indonesia.

Barry Callebaut’s sustainability initiative, Forever Chocolate, has targets that closely align with Deloitte’s WorldClass goals. These targets includes lifting more than 500,000 cocoa farmers out of poverty and eradicating child labour from its supply chain.

“Deloitte remains committed to lifelong learning, talent development and helping people succeed,” said Claudia Lauw, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Indonesia. “Together with Barry Callebaut, we will make a positive impact on the livelihood of the cocoa farming communities in Indonesia.”

This is not our first collaboration with the chocolate and cocoa manufacturer. In 2020, Deloitte Singapore partnered with social enterprise Wildness Organic Chocolate and Barry Callebaut to create a range of organic chocolate bars as part of our WorldClass social impact programme.

Wildness works closely with the Association for Persons with Special Needs Centre for Adults, a vocational training centre in Singapore. It empowers trainees with skills in chocolate manufacturing as part of a drive to prepare them for open employment and lifelong learning.

“We are pleased to be collaborating with Wildness under our WorldClass initiative, where our key priority is to drive programmes for the underserved by investing in people and lifelong learning,” said James Walton, Corporate Responsibility Leader, Deloitte SEA.

“As a purpose-driven organisation, we strive to leave no one behind, and our commitment with Wildness helps connect special needs adults with resources such as job training or skills to expand employment opportunities.”

In 2020, Deloitte SEA partnered with nonprofit organisation Fund Isaan to provide Sangkha Industrial and Community College in north-eastern Thailand with IT resources.

Fund Isaan was established in 2008 by retired Deloitte partner Rony Wuytjens to support the education of children in the Isaan region, Thailand’s most socio-economically vulnerable area. Deloitte regularly engages with our valued alumni and takes every opportunity to support any social initiatives they may be involved in.

With most households living below the poverty threshold in Isaan, the quality of education in rural schools is poor and often a low priority. Fund Isaan assists with scholarships, volunteer work and computer resources for rural schools.

Deloitte’s support means that more than 1,800 students at Sangkha Industrial and Community College will be able to access the resources they need for IT education. The computers will also be used for other subjects such as languages, history, geography and Thai culture.

December 2020 saw Deloitte Malaysia named winner in the Gender-Inclusive Workplace category in Malaysia, and first runner-up in the region, at the inaugural UN Women 2020 Asia-Pacific Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP) Awards.

UN Women’s WeEmpowerAsia programme launched the WEP Awards to encourage businesses to take more visible steps to open opportunities for women in the workplace. The scheme recognises innovations in the private sector that promote women leaders, make working conditions fairer, support equal parenting and caregiving roles, and improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

Deloitte Malaysia was recognised for adapting Deloitte’s global genderinclusivity initiative ALL IN to fit a local context, and for taking steps to empower women in a traditionally male-dominated field.

The win confirms Deloitte SEA’s deep commitment to cultivating an environment that supports the development of women leaders.

Deloitte recently became a proud corporate partner of Project Awesome, an initiative from the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) and the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame (SWHF).

Project Awesome takes inspiring stories of women leaders in Singapore and turns them into teaching aids and interactive tools for schoolchildren. The aim is to encourage young Singaporeans – and especially girls – to dream big, aim high and chart their own path in life.

Project Awesome is currently undergoing a pilot run until March 2022. Feedback from the teachers and students who use the lesson plans and other tools will be used to refine the programme.

In September 2020, Deloitte Malaysia signed a memorandum of understanding with the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) to collaborate on student development initiatives. COVID-19 travel restrictions meant the arrangement was negotiated virtually.

The Deloitte-UTP Kickstarter mentorship programme is a core focus of this collaboration. Here, Deloitte consultants are matched with UTP students in a mentor–mentee relationship that can help guide the students to become successful social entrepreneurs. Deloitte’s input is helping the students develop their critical thinking, entrepreneurship, business acumen, and communication and social skills.

As Kavita Rekhraj, Deloitte Malaysia Consulting Leader, pointed out at the event, this partnership is a natural fit for Deloitte given our long relationship with UTP as a strategic transformation partner. It also highlights the clear synergies between UTP’s University Social Responsibility programme and Deloitte’s WorldClass global social impact programme.