CESL Asia and Friends Sport Fun Day | Trindade: Companies that avoid social investment are in danger

Group photo of some of the participating children and young adults

Local companies ought to abandon the corporate social responsibility model as a justification for community engagement projects and instead embrace the idea of “sustainable, social investment,” remarked CESL Asia president António Trindade on the sidelines of the company’s Sport Fun Day event on Saturday.

The difference, according to Trindade, is that only through social investment can a company connect with its consumers on such a scale as to ensure its own survival. Corporations that fail to invest, he said, risk perishing.

CESL Asia, a solutions company specializing in environmental infrastructure, energy, facilities management and urban planning, hosted a fundraising and community engagement event on Saturday at the Macau Federation of Trade Unions Workers Stadium.

Drawing together representatives and sporting teams from more than 20 local companies, organizers claim that over 300 people attended the six-hour program, which included a five-a-side football tournament, a bocce competition and an inflatable “bouncy castle” for children.

The day raised a total of MOP80,000 for Macau Special Olympics (MSO), the beneficiary of the charity event, presented as an oversized cheque on Saturday afternoon by Trindade.

António Trindade (right) awards a trophy

Speaking on the sidelines of the event as he prepared to present the funds, Trindade told the Times that corporate entities owe their local community much more than just employment opportunities.

“The life of a company, and its role in society, has to go beyond its direct economic impact,” he said as he walked across the football pitch of the Workers Stadium. “For an event like this, it’s not only about the fundraising. […] It is as much about bonding and social community work as it is about fundraising. The focus is really not on the charity, but on the integration of all people.”

“What we are doing here is beyond corporate social responsibility,” continued Trindade. “We are making a social investment, which is a profit-orientated business concept.”

“Although we are not generating revenue from this activity, we are investing in sustainability and leadership […] and we are becoming closer to our consumers – the users of our products and services. Without this sort of investment… companies are endangering themselves.”

As in previous years, Sport Fun Day 2017 invited MSO athletes to take part in the two sporting events.

The Special Olympics differs from the Paralympics in that the two organizations cater to athletes with different categories of disabilities. Athletes with cognitive delays, intellectual or development disabilities may participate under the Special Olympics, while the Paralympics are reserved for those with physical handicaps.

Macau does not have its own International Olympic Committee, meaning it cannot compete in the global Olympic competition held every four years, but it is permitted to field its own team for both the Special Olympics and the Paralympics.

“CESL’s [program] is a good model for how businesses can do so many things; not just give money to our association, but play with the children. It’s not only about the money,” said Siu Yu Hong, chief executive officer of MSO.

“The inclusion of disabled people in society means we need to work with them. If we want our society to accept people with disabilities, then they need to learn how to interact with them,” he said. “Fundraising is important, but I think that raising public awareness is more important.”

This was the purpose behind introducing the bocce tournament for the first time this year. According to a statement issued by organizers, the activity “fostered face-to-face interactions [between] the participating teams and MSO athletes, […] as well as cultivated mutual understanding.”

Meanwhile, the football teams in this year’s tournament were comprised of representatives from organizations such as SJM, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Melco Resorts and Entertainment, PWC, McDonald’s, and many others. Several teams were awarded with cups and medals during the day’s closing ceremony.

Macau Daily Times is a media partner
of CESL Asia and Friends Sport Fun Day.