TOP in the Community
As a company TOP take our corporate and social responsibilities seriously. We target our corporate sponsorships and donations at the communities in which we do business. This is in the form of small things like providing financial support for local projects, schools and fund-raisers and a large part of our marketing spend is devoted to supporting hundreds of small local causes nationwide.
TOP has a developed and expanding Corporate Social Responsibility programme in place, where we pinpoint ways in which we can make a difference as part of our everyday operations. On a corporate level we have partnered with the following charities;
Junior Achievement Ireland
In 2006 we created a partnership with Junior Achievement Ireland, an organisation that helps to create a culture of enterprise within the education system. The programmes teach children how they can impact the world around them as individuals, workers and consumers and to date TOP have had 25 volunteers who have helped nearly 600 students nationwide. The volunteer taught curriculum runs from primary through to secondary level, preparing students for their future careers. TOP support is both financial and volunteer based, with over 25 top staff taking part to date, working with nearly 600 students nationwide. In 2009 our Management and staff conducted training in 10 schools nationwide and we have plans to increase this in the next school year.
Rehab Group
In 2006 TOP established a partnership with Rehab Group, Ireland. The Rehab Group is an independent, not-for-profit organisation which provides training, employment, health and social care and commercial services for thousands of people each year in Ireland. Since our Partnership commenced in 2006, we have been involved in helping to raise funds nationwide for Rehab, with a total figure of over €100,000 raised to date. In 2007 and 2008 we organised a national car wash day held at thirty of our depots and retail sites around the country. The car washes were manned by over 80 TOP Staff and Rehab volunteers. The nationwide event was an enormous success, enjoyed by both by the staff took part and people who donated funds, and was successful in raising awareness of Rehab services and over €20,000 in funds each time.
In 2009, our Winter Hyacinths, sold in our depots and Retail sites and by staff, raised over €10,000 for Rehab.
For 2010 Rehab organised a national fund raising event day, called One Day for Rehab. Once again TOP are delighted to take part, with various fund raising activities taking place around our network such as luxury hamper raffles, concert ticket auctions, busking and car wash days to name but a few. All funds raised will continue to go directly back to the local Rehab Centres and we hope this year will be another successful year for our Partnership with Rehab.
Rehab host an annual People of the Year awards. The ceremony is a much sought after event to attend and each year we purchase two tables for our staff go along. This year the depots who have raised the most funds for Rehab will attend the event.
Local GAA Sponsorship
TOP are very involved in sponsorship of our local clubs in our communities. With many of our staff either former or current players of the sport, we continue to help, support and develop these clubs through sponsorships, golf classics, fund raising events or sponsorship of teams. We are very proud of our involvement with these clubs and will continue to work alongside them in our communities.
Health, Safety & The Environment
In an industry that is highly legislated, the tendency is to focus on compliance led CSR initiatives such as HSA and Environmental legislation. While we work hard to ensure compliance with our obligations as a petroleum supplier, we also strive to be innovative and to seek to implement CSR initiatives that are led by company values and by the developing values of our customer base.
In 2008 TOP launched our Green Fuels Products. Our depots, which were traditionally “fossil fuel focused” now stock carbon neutral wood pellets and heat logs, E5 bio-ethanol, Biodiesel, Cleanburn Home Heating Oil, and Dipetane Fuel Treatments. While the market for these products is currently small, we are striving to become the supplier of choice for these products. We believe that it’s our responsibility to help build the momentum towards a tipping point in the green fuels market.