Global CSR trends
At UNICEF’s ‘The Children’s Festa’ on the 20th of last month, examples of companies that help children and adolescents with mental health were introduced. [사진 유니세프]
‘Children’s and adolescents’ mental health’ is attracting attention as a new agenda for CSR (corporate social responsibility). In particular, in Korea, mental health is emerging as a serious social problem, with suicide being the number one cause of death in children and adolescents, and the participation of companies is increasing.
There are three main reasons why companies pay attention to the mental health of children and adolescents. First, effects and changes can be confirmed relatively quickly. Mental health is an area where changes are immediately apparent in life and behavior after intervention (programs, counseling, education). When stress decreases or daily indicators improve, you can check the difference before and after with a simple survey.
Second, the company’s resources can be utilized efficiently. The mental health of children and adolescents is an area where companies can utilize their technology, content, space, and platforms. A variety of CSR activities are possible, such as non-face-to-face counseling using digital technology, mental health programs linked to schools and regions, and awareness improvement through campaigns.
Third, it is an agenda with high social consensus. The mental health of children and adolescents is a social issue whose importance is recognized by everyone, regardless of generation or ideology. Since a wide consensus has already been formed, it is easy to secure justification and legitimacy.
A representative example is the ‘Global Coalition for Youth Mental Health’. This alliance, which includes major companies such as Jo Malone, Spotify, and Sony, was launched in 2022 under the leadership of UNICEF headquarters. The vision is to ‘strengthen technology, environment, and policies so that 50 million children in 150 countries around the world can maintain better mental health by 2030.’ Beyond simple sponsorship, companies are playing an active role by collaborating on research, presenting international messages, and participating in global events.
Participation by companies is also increasing in Korea. Shinhan Card is carrying out the ‘Mind Health Literacy’ project with the Korean Committee for UNICEF. The ‘Mind Journey to Find Myself’ program, which helps children and adolescents maintain a healthy mind, is being expanded to elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul. To date, approximately 150,000 children and adolescents have participated in education.
At ‘The Children’s Festa’ held by UNICEF on the 20th of last month, examples of domestic and foreign companies that practice mental health of children and adolescents as a corporate social responsibility were announced. AmorePacific’s ‘Meet Your Beauty’ program, which helps teenagers discover their own unique beauty, and LG U+’s ‘Mobile Playground’ project, which protects children’s mental health at disaster sites, were introduced. VRChat, an American company, revealed an example of building a digital safety net that provides a sense of belonging and connects youth with signs of danger in online spaces with practical help.
Cho Mi-jin, head of the Korean Committee for UNICEF, said, “The mental health of children and adolescents is the most basic right that our society must protect,” and added, “We will keep participation methods open and create a model for cooperation so that more companies can join us.”
