Divider
To start using the FAQ File, select one of the categories on the left hand side of the page. A list of questions relating to that category will appear in the right hand side - simply click on any of the questions in the list to view the answer.
spacer
Category
spacer
Local Community Impact
spacer
Pharmaceutical companies often play a significant role within their local community. Besides providing employment and contributing to the local infrastructure by facilitating transport schemes for instance, a lot of companies are actively supporting community projects and volunteering opportunities for their staff. Some of our member companies like Abbott, AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis and UCB run structured schemes for their employees to get involved in local community work and local charities; others might get their staff together once a year to help a chosen charity.

Novartis for instance runs an annual Community Partnership Day, where staff get involved in local projects to make a difference. As part of their corporate citizenship commitment Novartis encourages employees to take part in fundraising initiatives or activities like painting a local youth club, gardening at school etc. More information about Novartis

Pfizer also operates an employee scheme, the 'Reaching Out' Volunteering Programmes allows employees to take up to five days paid leave a year to work with a range of community projects. Read more about what Pfizer has contributed to the local community

A number of companies support local initiatives which help the local economy. Servier, for instance, has trained staff at their location in Black Park in Buckinghamshire to become Buckinghamshire Ambassadors, who support economic development in the local area and help raise the profile of the county as a desirable business location. Servier also sponsors the local business award. More information on Servier's commitment to the local community

Passing on skills and knowledge is also the theme for GSK's new volunteering initiative called Pulse, the GSK Volunteer Partnership. Highly qualified member staff from GSK can take up to six months to work with a chosen NGO. The company has an extensive network of staff support and initiatives to help GSK play an active role in the local community. Each year staff are entitled to one day paid leave to offer their time, knowledge and skills to a chosen local community project. More information about their activities

Increasingly a lot of companies move away from the traditional team building activities in favour of supporting local organisations. At Napp for instance teams from across the company have undertaken a diverse range of activities, including helping the National Trust at Anglesey Abbey, painting and decorating at local hospices, and creating pathways at an animal sanctuary. More information about Napp

The above illustrate of some of the examples what pharmaceutical companies are contributing to the local community. All companies play a role in supporting the local economy and most offer significant extra activities to ensure that they play an active and positive role within their local community. Many more examples can be found on our members website and company information.