IT Ukraine Association supported the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable development of the Association’s projects

IT Ukraine Association has been implementing corporate social responsibility projects (hereinafter — CSR) since 2015. It was important to focus the potential of Ukrainian IT on strengthening the capacity of civil society as well. Therefore, one of the four key areas of the Association’s work is the work of the Education and CSR Community.

Over the 6 years of the work of the Education & CSR Community, more than 40 educational and social projects and initiatives of various scales have been implemented. Among them is the all-Ukrainian career guidance project for school children #Join_IT, the largest conference in the field of IT education Synergy. IT Business & IT Education, social projects #AntiVirus, ClickToSchool, eMalyatko, etc. The list of the largest implemented projects can be found at the link.
Our social and educational projects aim to provide equal access to IT education for children and adolescents, to strengthen existing curricula in universities that have technical specialties. We are also working hard to establish a productive dialogue between government, educators and the IT industry.
The Ukrainian IT industry is a powerful innovative tool that allows you to respond more effectively to social challenges than ever before,

— Victoria Fedorenko, Head of Education and Customer experience development, IT Ukraine Association.

SDGs in the community of members of the Association

The Association is the largest professional association of Ukrainian service and product companies, the most influential non-governmental organization that defends the interests of the IT industry. As of the beginning of April 2021, its members are 55 IT companies, at least 9 of which implement their CSR strategies following the Sustainable Development Goals: Luxoft, EPAM, TECHIIA, Intellias, Sigma Software, SoftServe, Infopulse, ELEKS, Itera.

Representatives of our member companies explain why their companies decided to join this global movement:

Lesia Mandzevych, Employer Branding Manager, Luxoft Ukraine

“The strategy of our CSR projects is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals both at the levels of Luxoft and our parent company — DXC Technology. The main areas are: health and well-being, quality of education, gender equality, improving the environment and combating climate change.

We decided to implement them because these goals are fully in line with the philosophy of both our CSR direction and the company as a whole — to create continuous growth through innovation and build long-term and meaningful relationships with our professionals, customers and communities in which we work”.

Aziza Khamidova, CSR expert of EPAM Ukraine projects:

“EPAM joined the UN Global Compact in 2017 globally. Today, EPAM focuses on 5 key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• Goal 4: Improving the quality of education, creating opportunities for lifelong learning
• Goal 5: Gender equality and empowerment for women and girls
• Goal 8: Inclusive and sustainable economic development, ensuring equal opportunities for employees
• Goal 13: Care for the environment and combating the effects of climate change
• Goal 17: Global partnership for sustainable development.

The key priority of the company is to work on improving the quality and accessibility of education in Ukraine. Thus, the company annually invests in its own free educational programs and supports higher education institutions, creating training laboratories in partnership with them. In 2020, EPAM Ukraine actively supported schools, social centers, and large families with computer equipment.

Also, the Ukrainian office of EPAM actively works on issues of gender equality and creating opportunities for the realization of women in the IT industry, regularly conducts information campaigns on the role of women in IT and combating gender stereotypes”.

Marianna Konina, Chief Public Engagement Officer, TECHIIA Holding:

In 2019, TECHIIA Holding merged more than 10 businesses of Oleg Krot and Yuriy Lazebnikov, and among the main reasons for this merger was the desire to develop a sustainable business. The holding now adheres to five Sustainable Development Goals:

• Goal 3: Good Health
• Goal 4: Quality Education
• Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

“We convey the importance of adhering to the principles of sustainable development to employees and stakeholders around the world. We are convinced that positive changes are easier to make in synergy, so we invite the members of the IT Ukraine Association to cooperate”, — adds Marianna Konina.

Here you can find the 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report of TECHIIA Holding.

Yuliya Malich, Public Projects Manager, Itera:

“Sustainable development is one of the company’s strategic goals, along with business and financial growth goals. Itera is actively involved in creating a sustainable future. For the second year in a row, we are focusing on three of the seventeen sustainable development goals:

• Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

We recognize the importance of achieving sustainable development goals for the future of our planet. As active members of society, we work together to accelerate positive change. As a company, we use our expertise in digital technology, design and consulting to help clients solve the real problems of real people”.

Vira Soldatova, Head of PR, Sigma Software:

“Sigma Software supports the basic principles of development voiced by the United Nations and focuses mainly on such goals as:

• Goal 4:  Quality Education
• Goal 5: Gender Equality
• Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Goal 15: Life on Land

Sigma Software maintains a dialogue with the government to create favorable conditions for the further development of the IT industry. Given that today the Ukrainian IT industry is recognized as one of the most dynamic, its stable growth in the future also contributes to the development of the country’s economy”.

Roman Hapachylo, VP, Talent Management, Intellias

“We are convinced that achieving the SDGs is impossible without attracting business. The main focus of Intellias CSR strategy is eco-mobility. We want to see Ukrainian cities sustainable and ecological, so we encourage colleagues to use eco-transport and create the necessary conditions and infrastructure. In this way, we contribute to the achievement of Goal 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”.

Besides, our educational initiatives help to disseminate knowledge and develop the skills needed for self-development and decent work, which are among the objectives of Goal №4 “Quality Education”. We also actively cooperate with partners from the public sector and government organizations in various formats, so we support Goal 17 “Partnership for Sustainable Development”.

In the future, we only plan to increase our contribution to the achievement of the SDGs, for example, in the company’s immediate plans to strengthen work to achieve gender equality (Goal 5 “Gender Equality”). In early April, we signed the The Women’s Empowerment Principles, initiated by the UN Global Compact and the UN Women. Thus, we became the first IT company in Ukraine to join the global movement for gender equality in the workplace and society.

I urge other businesses to join the support of  SDGs to create a better future together!”

Kateryna Andruschenko, Head of Employee Relations, ELEKS

“Eleks has always supported the Ukrainian medical system, and in 2020 it was critical for us to provide physicians and hospitals with all necessary protection and equipment, including oxygen concentrators — the company raised more than 117 thousand dollars for medical needs.

In the ELEKS CSR policy, we pay a lot of attention to projects and initiatives that come from our specialists, because the involvement and development of corporate social volunteering is very important for us.

We also focus on practices:

• Goal 1: Overcoming Poverty (Charitable Fundraising)
• Goal 4: Quality education (Educational projects for children)
• Goal 8: Decent work (Improving working conditions and development of specialists)
• Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities (initiatives aimed at helping regional initiatives, as ELEKS has offices in Lviv, Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil; Practical volunteering (arrangement of parks, painting of hospital premises)
• Goal 13: Climate action (Green Office or Eco-Initiatives)
• Goal 17: Partnership for Sustainable Development (Intellectual volunteering) (pro bono)

How to join the global movement now

Your company can also integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into its activities. To do this:

1. Get acquainted with the key provisions for the implementation of the Global Goals by following the link;
2. Choose the goals that best fit your current or planned projects;
3. Place the logo of SDG and selected Goals on your resources and information materials;
4. Share the news that you support the Sustainable Development Goals with your customers and partners;
5. Effectively implement your CSR projects and communicate successes!