Within the framework of the Conference “Building a Socially Responsible Business Environment”, which took place on 25 April in Sofia, the NASOR team presented a “Handbook on the best practices from Norwegian and Bulgarian business”, developed jointly with CSR Innovative Solutions, which is part of NASOR’s commitments under the project “Building a Socially Responsible Business Environment” with the support of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism.
The aim of the project is to identify, improve and further develop existing corporate social responsibility policies in Bulgaria by applying best practices from Norway.
In the collection are gathered 5 best practices from NASOR members and 5 from CSR Innovative Soltuions partner businesses.
The first company is Colorado Furniture Factory from the town of. The first company is a furniture company named “Kolorado” from Pazardzhik, which provides training and employment for young people deprived of parental care. For them, the measure of success lies in the team’s ability to lend a hand to vulnerable young people who may not stay working there, but will still gain more experience and knowledge that will help them in life in the future. These young people will understand how important it is to be part of the labour market and the economy of the country, to be engaged, and to start to realise their dreams through work.
McDonald’s, multinational company that provides inclusive employment and training to 50 individuals with disabilities. A few years ago, the company worked on a project with the Bulgarian Employment Agency through which it received support to employ and train these people, but this support was short-term and could not generate long-term results. Now McDonald’s
is working with the National Association of Socially Responsible Employers to implement supported employment. There are currently 2 women employed under this project who have been successfully integrated and are looking to develop their careers there long term.
The next example is the social enterprise “Chocolate House Stanimira”. The innovation in this social enterprise lies in the introductory training and specially designed mentoring programmes for people with disabilities in the enterprise. To this end, the team has collaborated and established successful partnerships with NGOs such as NASO, Maria’s World Foundation,Social Future Foundation, Synergy, Multi Cults Collective, etc. This helps their colleagues to integrate seamlessly and continuously upgrade their skills and become ambassadors of how social enterprise and its collaboration with market actors in the social economy can both benefit diversity and impact individual lives.
Interlang Ltd. – Interlang is one of the leading providers of translation services in Bulgarian, and its innovative approach manifests itself in the social cause it has. Through volunteering, mentoring and professional expertise, Interlang supports social causes and projects with a strong positive impact on public attitudes. Interlang has been providing internships and training for people with intellectual disabilities in a professional business environment for 11 years in a row. The company’s social policy includes volunteering at its core. Thanks to Interlang’s employees and their relatives, every year a “Friendship Marathon” is organized and coordinated in the city of Pleven.The aim of social innovation in this type of company is to change the public attitude towards people with intellectual disabilities and to create an accepting and inclusive environment for them.
Leoni Bulgaria – a global company in the field of building wiring systems for vehicles, which employs over 130 people with disabilities, making the plant a place of realization in various roles in the processes of the company of people with special needs. The numbers are indicative that this is an employer that has changed its outlook and attitudes and, most importantly, is consciously paying it forward. The company is the real example that will make the difference.
The examples from Norway are from the Aurland area and include sustainable businesses, from small family farms and bakeries to some of the largest tourism companies in Norway.
The Handbook is available in Bulgarian and English: