“Good corporate citizenship is important to our people, our customers, and our communities. Through Sage Cares we have an opportunity to distinguish Sage by not only providing technology solutions to businesses and nonprofits, but also solutions that address some of society’s most pressing issues.”
Pascal Houillon, president and CEO,
Sage North America
Vision
At Sage, we’re more than a business—we’re 12,000 people whose lives are affected every day by the choices we make, the customers and communities we serve, and the lives we impact. We believe in vibrant economies where everyone has opportunity. We believe in helping ensure the success and well-being of our people, our customers, the communities we are part of, and the environment that we and future generations rely on. Because, ultimately, we realize that we’re one big community, and we’re all in it together.
Mission
Across North America, Sage Cares is dedicated to supporting the talents and passion of our people to help strengthen small and midsized businesses (SMBs) and nonprofits with the goal of building and sustaining healthy communities. We realize that support for education, the fostering of entrepreneurship, and the helping hands of local volunteers are the areas that Sage and our people are best able to contribute.
Corporate Responsibility Focus Areas
Sage is committed to acting as a responsible corporate citizen. We take a pragmatic approach to Corporate Responsibility (CR), which enables us to focus our commitment on areas that are the most relevant to Sage, to our people and to the fields where we believe we can make a difference. We have four areas of focus—industry, people, community, and environment.
Industry
We are passionate about helping our customers achieve their ambitions. With more than six million small and midsized business customers globally, Sage is in a unique position to have a positive impact on the world of industry and commerce.
Since 2008, Sage North America has supported almost 2,000 nonprofit organizations with software donations, saving these organizations $1.3 million in overhead costs. By doing so, these nonprofits can devote more dollars to what really counts—helping people. Each year we also supply more than 4,500 high schools and colleges with free accounting software to support tens of thousands of students in their studies, providing practical skills that will be beneficial to them when seeking employment, starting a business, and in living successful lives.
Sage participates in Habitat for Humanity
People
Our people are the lifeblood of our business. We are committed to delivering an extraordinary experience for them as an employer, to build their careers and harness their creativity, passion, and knowledge to better serve our customers. Our benefits programs are designed to attract the best in the industry and to improve both the working and personal lives of each of our people. We’ve achieved several “Best Places to Work” recognitions (Atlanta, GA, and Austin, TX), reflecting our continuing efforts to create a compelling work environment. Our focus on extraordinary service offers a cultural bond that attracts like-minded people to Sage and unites us in working toward the success of our business and that of our customers. At Sage we work hard to develop talent, improve leadership, and cultivate a workplace that promotes our principles: Simplicity, Agility, Innovation, Integrity, and Trust.
Community
Our people and our customers are part of the greater ecosystem of communities. The work we do supporting the current and future state of SMBs, including nonprofits, leads to a more healthy and vibrant society. We develop and market the vast majority of our products locally, which means the jobs we create support local economies. Our people naturally choose to support and engage in the communities in which they live and work, and Sage supports these efforts in many ways.
Through our Sage Cares volunteer and giving programs, our people have an opportunity to join alongside the company in helping causes that are important to our people as well as those that are important to Sage. Funds raised through our Giving is Living payroll deduction plan are matched at 50% and go to organizations making an important contribution to the well-being of the communities where we operate. The compassion of our people does not stop at our local city limits, but extends around the world, helping with natural disasters and other critical issues. Time is one of life’s most precious gifts, and our people give of it generously both personally and through their paid volunteer day. Thousands of hours of service are given annually with the goal of building more vibrant communities.
Environment
We recognize that significant positive outcomes can be made through our role in helping to automate business processes for our customers, which helps to reduce their environmental impacts. This is done through new business practices that encourage waste reduction, including the movement toward more electronic transactions, electronic downloading of software, and greater reliance on electronic documents of all kinds.
We are not in an industry considered to be a high energy consumer. Nevertheless Sage wants to understand the effect we have on our environment and the opportunities we have to reduce this. Across our business we engage in daily recycling programs. In addition, as we refurbish our offices, we are guided by green principles to build with environmentally friendly materials and create energy-efficient and ergonomically positive workspaces. In 2011, two of our office projects were in LEED gold-rated properties.
Making a Difference With Sage Cares
Sage North America is an enterprise that helps businesses thrive. Our Corporate Responsibility activities have grown organically along with the company. Our incredibly smart, passionate, caring, and enthusiastic people, backed by Sage Cares, are making a difference every day.
