Corporate social responsibility has often played an important role in times of crisis. When fires swept through Fort McMurray in 2016, companies rallied: Suncor Energy used its online network to update residents on evacuation procedures and assist those fleeing; Airbnb coordinated emergency housing. WestJet evacuated hospital patients as needed and used flights to send supplies. Labatt Breweries shipped 69,000 cans of water to assist efforts — part of an emergency relief program they’ve had in place since 2012.

Over the past 20 years, quick, coordinated corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have helped lessen the impact of crises on both a local and global level. Corporations responded on a massive scale to the AIDS pandemic in 2001 by raising awareness, aiding in the availability of medical products, and donating to related charities. In 2004, companies donated funds, technical support, and supplies in the wake of earthquake-triggered tsunamis off the coast of Indonesia. The corporate response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was said to have “changed CSR forever,” and just earlier this year, companies’ response to the Australian bushfires were used as proof that “climate change action has gone mainstream.”

Today, as the world faces growing inequality and the impacts of climate change, corporate social responsibility feels more important than ever — and corporations have felt the pressure. Just last year, the CEOs of nearly 200 of the world’s largest companies declared that the primary purpose of a business was no longer to solely serve shareholders, but instead to create value for all stakeholders: employees, customers, and wider communities included. 

Now, with the COVID-19 pandemic having severe health, social, and economic impacts worldwide, companies have the opportunity to put that new definition of purpose into action. Across industries, they are rising to the challenge.

We’ve rounded up eight companies, both near and far, who have shown CSR leadership in response to COVID-19.

Shopify

Ottawa-based ecommerce platform Shopify is taking action to support small- and medium-sized businesses hard hit by the pandemic’s economic ramifications. The tech platform announced Monday cash advances for merchants who use its platform anywhere from $200 to $500,000, depending on the size and type of business. The advances are interest-free with no deadline for repayment. 

Shopify has also added an extra $200 million to Shopify Capital, its fund to support the platform’s merchants with small loans, in order to help those affected by COVID-19. The Shopify Capital program is meant to help merchants bypass the usual long application processes that come with business loans. Merchants use their track record with the Shopify platform to qualify, and repayment terms are flexible.

HP

Drawing on its international network, digital manufacturer HP has already 3D-printed over 1,000 medical parts for hospitals around the world. Coordinated by their research and development centres in Spain and the United States, HP has worked to produce face masks, face shields, mask adjusters, nasal swabs, hands-free door openers, and respirator parts for hospitals globally.

In an effort to further extend its impact, HP has also made its validated design files for parts openly available online, allowing 3D designers worldwide to help fight the pandemic.

Shoppers Drug Mart

In mid-March, Canadian drugstore chain Shoppers Drug Mart partnered with health tech platform Maple to launch a virtual care service for patients. Hoping to relieve some of the burden on Canada’s healthcare system, the partnership allows individuals across the country to access virtual primary care in order to have minor ailments diagnosed and medications prescribed. Shoppers Drug Mart funded a week of free appointments for Canadians in provinces where virtual care isn’t covered by provincial healthcare.

Leveraging another digital partnership, Shoppers Drug Mart is also working with SilverCloud Health to provide Canadians with an online stress management program. The program will be offered free of charge up until June 15.

Airbnb

Hosting platform Airbnb, who have coordinated emergency housing during past crises, are stepping up once again — this time, to provide free housing to 100,000 COVID-19 responders. The global initiative allows healthcare professionals, relief workers, and first responders to take advantage of free or subsidized housing near their places of work.

Airbnb hosts, many of which have open rooms due to COVID-19’s impact on travel, can offer their spaces to emergency responders for free, but Airbnb will also waive responders’ fees on stays where hosts cannot provide free accommodation. The platform is working with organizations worldwide, including the International Medical Corps, the International Rescue Committee, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, to house relief workers who have been deployed to fight the pandemic.

Spirit of York

In Toronto, Spirit of York has pivoted from distilling spirits to making alcohol-based hand sanitizers for its local community. The distillery offers its $3 hand sanitizers free to those who can’t afford to purchase, as well as to anyone over the age of 65, and is donating all profits from hand sanitizer sales to local food banks.

So far, the company has already raised over $22,000 for Feed Ontario, an organization that is preparing pre-packaged Emergency Food Boxes for food banks across the province.

Lyft

Working with its expansive network of drivers, Lyft is supporting over 500 partners across the United States — including United Way Worldwide, the National Council on Aging, the Somali Family Service, and Women’s Lunch Place — to provide free rides and deliveries to those who need them most. 

The service allows refugees, immigrants, caregivers, and vulnerable communities to use Lyft for transportation, grocery deliveries, and medical supply drop-offs free of charge. Lyft is also supporting its drivers by providing direct funds to those diagnosed with COVID-19 or under quarantine, and distributing face masks and sanitizing products to their network of drivers.

Mastercard

Partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome, Mastercard launched the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator in early March to help identify, assess, develop, and scale COVID-19 treatments. Up to $125 million has been pledged by the three organizations to help explore new drugs to combat the virus.

Implementing learnings gleaned from the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the accelerator will work with the World Health Organization, as well as government and private sector partners, to tackle everything from drug pipeline development to manufacturing to distribution. By providing flexible funding at key stages of development, the accelerator hopes to de-risk the pathway to bring new COVID-19 drugs to market.

Rogers 

Canadian telecommunications company Rogers is working to bridge the country’s digital divide, particularly for Canadian kids who can’t participate in distance learning because they don’t have access to the tools — a device or an internet connection — they need. 

The company is partnering with Apple and Canadian school boards to distribute iPads with free data plans until June. It’s also providing free wifi connections to seven homeless shelters in Toronto so that children who live there can access their online schooling. Rogers has also run a program since 2013 called Connected for Success, through which families can access subsidized internet at $9.99 per month. 

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