happiness | Disney's Corporate Citizenship

Hello readers! My topic of choice for discussion today is Disney’s annual environmental report: Enviroport. This is a report communicating major topics within Disney’s citizenship performance. Enviroport is available for anyone to view at the website Disneysenviroport.com. I think this report is fantastic because of how much information it provides (124 pages in the 2012 report, to be exact) on some of the Walt Disney Comapany’s projects that would normally be difficult to find information on. Disney makes a point in the introduction of last year’s report that they believe acting responsibly is an integral part to its brand.

The report lists various goals the company wishes to reach each year or by a stated date, then it provides a status for the project followed by a short summary. By writing an easily coherent report, the Walt Disney Company has obviously made its projects accessible to anyone wishing to know more of Disney’s philanthropic and environmental endeavors. Being a business student myself, I know from past experience in writing essays and doing research that not every company shares a simple, yet detailed environmental report like Enviroport. It is especially rare for a company to dedicate an entire website to its corporate citizenship report. This is exactly why the Walt Disney Company has been named one of Fortune’s top ten “World’s Most Admired Companies” in 2013.

2012’s Enviroport, the most recent report to date, included information on five major categories: community engagement, responsible content, environmental stewardship, ethical conduct and responsible workplaces. This blog has covered some of the information in the report such as Disney’s cruise line environmental initiatives and emissions and electricity conservation. But this report goes into specific details on projects that Disney has initiated in terms of philanthropy and environmental consciousness.

One project that struck me as interesting is Disney’s goal to support the creation of 50 play spaces for children by 2016. Under the status of the project lists “on track,” with a description stating that “in 2012, 22 spaces were completed.” Disney’s overall goal for its community engagement is to build on their philanthropic legacy with programs that share resources to make lasting, positive change in communities and promote the happiness and well-being of kids and families. This specific program is a great example of how The Walt Disney Company aims to positively affect its community at such a magnified level.

Enviroport also discusses the details of a broad goal for Disney: to make a net positive impact on the ecosystem. This may seem like an extensive target to reach; yet the report coherently lists projects that will achieve Disney’s goal for positive environmental impact. One plan supporting Disney’s goal is to apply the company’s integrated approach to sustainable design, engineering, and habitat protection for a pilot construction project by 2013. This project is listed as “on track.” Currently this plan is being implemented at new building sites and is experimental, but the goal of the project is to set a future standard for new construction sites in designated ecosystems. Many companies claim to be working for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future, but this project actually supports Disney’s desire to be considered a socially conscious corporate brand.

I have only mentioned a few of Disney’s target goals and projects to being a socially sound corporation. Enviroport lists a total of 139 economic, environmental and ethical impacts of the Walt Disney Company’s performance. The projects range from small-scale plans to globally designated changes. Be sure to check out the latest Enviroport yourself! (click here to view 2012’s report)

All in all, the Walt Disney Company has truly created a business focused on delivering happiness. Happiness can mean many different things, but to some a healthy planet and conscious society means all the happiness in the world. I would like to personally thank the readers of this blog and my fellow authors for taking part in learning so much about the wonderful corporation that is the Walt Disney Company and what they aim to offer to the world.

Hello readers, I am Isabel and todays topic will be labor benefits in Disney’s workplace! I am a junior at CU Boulder currently studying marketing and I have so far had five jobs in my life, and I can say that none have been with such a lovable company like the Walt Disney Company. The company is all about creativity and innovation and creating strong leaders amongst their employees so they can grow throughout their careers at Disney. I believe that a strong work environment leads to the success of a company, and the time and effort Disney puts into making their employees happy sets a solid foundation for the company and its vision. Disney is synonymous with the word happiness, so why not spread it around to those who are responsible for all that Disney has to offer?

The Walt Disney Company has three major focuses when it comes to their employee benefits: health and wellness, family friendly benefits, and retirement and savings. Health and wellness includes the obvious medical benefits that full-time employees receive while working with Disney. An additional benefit employees receive is through the program Disney calls “Disney Health Pursuits.” This is an incentive program in which employees partake in a Personal Health Assessment to qualify for receiving financial rewards in return for making healthy choices. This program not only benefits the employee in the long run by inspiring them to live healthfully, but also affects how the family of the employee eats and manages their lifestyles. To me, this program is a great example of corporate social responsibility for Disney’s employees because the incentives inspire employees to treat their bodies well and be healthier, which will benefit them and their families in the long run beyond any financial rewards.

Disney also rewards their employees with family friendly benefits, allowing employees to participate with the company’s end-result products. Families of employees receive park passes and tickets to screening of new Disney films. What fun! If my parents worked for Disney and I would have the chance to go to these fun events, I would have to say that Disney is the coolest company ever! It is fantastic that the Walt Disney Company wants its employees to share fun and happy experiences with the company, solidifying a strong foundation not only with the company and its employees but also within the families of its employees.

Disney also strives to inspire prosperity with is its retirement and savings program. This program provides aid to employees so they may plan for a strong financial future. Employees are offered to participate in a pension program once eligible, are offered to participate in 401K plans, and can even purchase stock through the Employee Stock Purchase Program. This may seem like an ordinary plan that an employer provides, but the success with the program is summarized with the 11,500 employees that participate in this program in the United States.

The Walt Disney Company is shown to strive for company well-being and . That is why this year the company has instigated its first Global Survey Program. A bi-yearly survey is administrated to all of Disney’s employees all around the world to make the voices of each and every individual involved in Disney’s endeavors to voice their opinion on the company and its operations. 82,000 individuals from 40 countries participated in 2013! The survey results spoke of the strengths Disney employees believe the company holds such as the employee pride, feelings of creativity and enjoyment during work while still being challenged, feeling respected and having strong company culture. The survey results more importantly allowed for executives to pinpoint some opportunities for improvement in the work place. This survey proved to be vastly successful with its two-thirds participation score. The Walt Disney Company is clearly a company that focuses on its employees and their well-being, realizing that they would not be the dominant company they are without each and every individual working with the Disney family all around the globe.