Step 27 of 30 · Create legacy
Corporate citizenship
What it is
A deliberate, resourced programme for how the business gives back to the community, people, and environment it depends on—beyond compliance and beyond occasional donations.
Why it matters
A business that only extracts from its community loses trust, talent, and licence to operate. A real programme builds loyalty, attracts staff, opens partnerships, and increasingly matters to customers, lenders, and buyers.
What Flir develops
Citizenship charter, community-needs assessment, programme design with budget and owners, staff participation plan, and annual impact report
Target objective
Run a measurable community programme aligned with the business's purpose, funded from a set share of profit or revenue.
Bloom commits 1% of revenue and 8 staff volunteer hours a month to greening four local schools, tracks trees planted and students reached, and reports results to customers every year.
Programme pillars
- • Community: education, youth, health, or local enterprise.
- • People: fair pay, training, wellbeing, and local hiring.
- • Environment: waste, energy, sourcing, and restoration.
- • Ethics: honest marketing, fair supplier terms, and transparent tax.
Make it real
- • Tie it to what the business knows and does well.
- • Fix a budget rule (e.g. 1% of revenue) rather than ad hoc giving.
- • Give it an owner, targets, and an annual report.
- • Partner with credible local organisations.
Traps to avoid
- • Publicity stunts with no follow-through.
- • Programmes unrelated to the community you serve.
- • Claiming impact you cannot measure.
- • Cutting the programme the first lean quarter.
Monitoring brief
Signals Flir should keep checking as this part of the plan evolves.
- Community needs and local partner capacity
- Programme outcomes against stated targets
- Customer, staff, and stakeholder perception of the company's role