for six months and gain exposure through press conferences,
advertisements, special events and social media. The ultimate
Social welfare
goal is to foster the creation of a wide network of female During times of widespread economic hardship, non-profit
entrepreneurs in Germany. In 2012, 170 business proposals organizations play an important role in communities. By
were evaluated. mobilizing volunteers and resources, they address public service
gaps and tackle less popular but deeply urgent social issues.
In Austria, we held our Young Entrepreneur Conference Days,
which involved more than 2,000 participants. The event’s As a bank, we deploy our resources and expertise to support the
24 workshops and presentations provided free information work of non-profits, focusing on welfare issues, youth and the
and consultations on starting or assuming responsibility elderly, while paying attention to emerging but immediate needs.
for a company. Moreover we conducted another initiative, We do this by:
The Medical Practice - A Successful Business, a five-module • providing organizational support for fundraising and
course that trained doctors in both the business of medicine developing commercial initiatives that inspire solidarity and
and entrepreneurial skills. The program included workshops, promote our brand
presentations and lectures covering such topics as financial • supporting social enterprise projects through a mix of
planning, organization, marketing, office management and know-how and philanthropic contributions
business startups. Through this course, more than 400 • launching timely and structured emergency relief efforts to
participants received education credits from the Austrian help territories struck by unexpected hardships
Medical Council.
We place particular emphasis on employee engagement in
F CUS
solidarity-driven initiatives, which is deeply rooted in UniCredit’s
corporate culture and complements our community initiatives.
In this way, employees offer their skills and time to address
important social issue in the communities where they live
which UniCredit strongly supports. Moreover, staff engagement
2012 East Forum: New Approaches to enhances company loyalty and has a positive impact on
Industrial Policy reputation in the areas where UniCredit is present.
In 2012, more than 33,700 employees participated in our main
Organized in partnership with the OECD, the seventh
social welfare initiatives.
annual East Forum generated a high-level dialogue on
the topic, The Challenge of Economic Growth: New The UniCredit Foundation8 is our center of expertise on all
Approaches to Industrial Policy. Among the issues philanthropic activities and opportunities for employee
discussed was the role of policy to stimulate innovation, engagement. It increases the effectiveness of our initiatives
by ensuring access to necessary resources and by bridging through its large network of partnerships and communication
the gap between research and industry. UniCredit believes tools that engage our colleagues.
that promoting new ideas helps to generate commercially
viable entrepreneurial endeavors. In a knowledge-
based society, the banking system has the power to
make concrete contributions to economic recovery and
development. This involves addressing social and global
Over 33,700 employees
challenges, creating jobs and increasing productivity engaged in social welfare
through knowledge creation and diffusion. East Forum initiatives
was attended by UniCredit’s top management and senior
representatives from the EU Commission, the OECD, the
Italian government, Confindustria, prominent national and
international think tanks and academics. More information
is available on the East Forum website.
8. Refer to the UniCredit Foundation website for more information.
UniCredit · 2012 Sustainability Report 63