For the second year running, the partnership between Boots UK and Macmillan Cancer Support has been voted by peers to be the ‘Most Admired’ Corporate-NGO partnership in the C&E Barometer 2020.
The report is an in-depth survey gauging the views of some of the UK and world’s foremost companies and NGOs about the partnerships that they particularly admire.
C&E Advisory CEO, Manny Amadi said of the partnerships recognised in the report: “Each of their partnerships demonstrates the clear trend towards longer-term, strategic, problem-solving partnerships that are designed to create value for society and the organisations concerned, beyond the limiting focus on reputational and fundraising gains. Their partnerships are also enhancing business understanding of social and environmental issues and helping to change business practices for the better.”
Boots UK and Macmillan Cancer Support have worked together for 11 years to improve access to cancer support and information on the high street. In-store, and now also available online, there are over 2,000* Boots Macmillan Information Pharmacists and more than 1,000* Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisors, who are trained to offer specialist support for people affected by cancer.
Lucy Reynolds, Director of CSR and Communications at Boots, said: “Boots has been working in partnership with Macmillan and providing support for cancer patients for over 11 years. Our specially trained pharmacists and beauty advisors use their Boots expertise, care and knowledge to help give cancer patients and their family’s advice and support. This year, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that this support was needed more than ever and we are so pleased that we were able to switch to digital and virtual consultations and continue to help people during these particularly challenging and difficult times. Thank you to all of our advisors and pharmacists involved and of course to Macmillan for the continued partnership.”
The C&E Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer 2020 was created with input from 110 leading UK-based and international companies and NGOs engaged in corporate-NGO partnerships. Companies and NGOs contribute both qualitatively and via an online survey during July 2020. Ranking the most exemplary partnerships, those who contributed to the report assessed the motivations, drivers, barriers, enablers, role models, trends and forecasts for corporate–NGO partnering.
Lynda Thomas, Chief Executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, says: “We’re very proud that our partnership with Boots UK has been recognised for a second year in a row. Working together with Boots helps us to ensure everyone living with cancer can access the information and support they need, in a place that’s every day, reliable, familiar and trusted. The devastating impact of Covid-19 on cancer care and treatment this year has made the support we provide more important than ever. In the face of huge adversity our partnership has adapted to the changing needs of people living with cancer, providing a range of ongoing virtual support alongside our traditional in-store services. Together we will continue to do all we can to be right there for the millions of people living with cancer, throughout this crisis and beyond.”
Through the efforts of thousands of colleagues, customers, suppliers, and partners Boots has raised over £19 million.
Coming up in second place is the relatively new Tesco-WWF partnership, which has the bold aim of halving the environmental footprint of the average UK shopping basket. And Tesco again features amongst the Most Admired, as its “Little Helps for Healthier Living” partnership with British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, and Diabetes UK which combines the expertise of these leading organisations to tackle staff and customer health challenges, secured third place in the poll.
For further information or a copy of the full report visit: www.candeadvisory.com/barometer
*At 31st August 2020