Origin Energy has beaten a field of more than 300 companies to win Australia’s Best Workplace to Give Back in 2020.

Announcing the results of the Top 40 Best Workplace to Give Back 2020, GoodCompany CEO Ash Rosshandler said it was the second year in a row Origin Energy had topped the list, closely followed by Accenture and IAG.

Frank Calabria Origin Energy CEO (pictured) was thrilled Origin has been recognised by GoodCompany for the work of our philanthropic foundation, as well as our community sponsorships and commitment to reconciliation.

“There is no recognised methodology for measuring the impact of philanthropy, which makes the analysis conducted by GoodCompany an important tool for us and others, as we continue to improve our performance.,” he said.

The Top 40 companies were deemed the best at empowering their employees to give back via Payroll Giving, Paid Volunteer Leave, Matching Donations, Fundraising, Sponsorship, Staff Rewards and other Pro-Social Activities. The results were fascinating.

The number of companies offering Paid Volunteer Leave has jumped up from 87% in 2018 to 94% in 2020.

And the generosity of the volunteer leave entitlement has skyrocketed, growing from an average of 1.5 days leave in 2018 to more than 4 days in 2020. In fact, five of the Top 40 (Arup, Origin Energy, American Express, Vitality Brands and Nelnet) offer unlimited volunteer leave along with an uncapped budget to support this volunteerism.

In more good news, also trending is the rising number of companies matching staff donations and the size of the matching per staff member. In 2020 of the Top 40 companies:

• 5 companies matched up to $500 per staff
• 4 matched between $1000 – $5000 per staff
• 4 matched between $5000 -$10,000 per staff
• 10 offered Uncapped Matching for staff donations

In 2018, 17.5% of companies in the survey offered Uncapped Matching for staff donations. This year 25% offered it!

“This year’s been a nightmare for Australian charities, with all fundraising events, fun runs, golf days, corporate volunteering events cancelled,” Mr Rosshandler said.

“Yet at the same time the demand for charities across the board, and especially those dealing with domestic violence, mental health and food security, is skyrocketing. So, it’s heartening to find that companies have not only held on, but have increased the capacity and opportunities for their staff to give back.”

Other resources and energy companies to make the top 40 included Energy Australia (5th), AECOM (8th), Sodexo (10th), AGL (16th) and Jemena (34th).