Trialogue is pleased to present its 24th consecutive year of research into the state of corporate social investment (CSI) in South Africa. This chapter outlines the most noteworthy results from the 2021 primary research as well as Trialogue’s secondary analysis of CSI expenditure. Note that ‘2021’ refers to data from the 2020/21 financial year, which differs across organisations, depending on the month of financial year-ends.
Estimate of total CSI expenditure
This estimate is based on analysis of the CSI expenditure of listed South African companies and multinationals operating in South Africa, as well as state-owned enterprises. It includes an extrapolation based on the total number of companies operating in South Africa and is thus an estimate for CSI expenditure by all companies in South Africa. Trialogue’s analysis considers:
This estimate is based on analysis of the CSI expenditure of listed South African companies and multinationals operating in South Africa, as well as state-owned enterprises. It includes an extrapolation based on the total number of companies operating in South Africa and is thus an estimate for CSI expenditure by all companies in South Africa. Trialogue’s analysis considers:
- Year-on-year changes in the CSI expenditure of 121 companies and the net profit after tax (NPAT) of 201 companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, using publicly reported data.
- A triangulation of published CSI expenditure as a percentage of published NPAT with SARS data on total company taxable income and tax.
- Year-on-year changes in the CSI expenditure of the 40 companies that participated in Trialogue’s 2020 and 2021 primary research, as well as the proportion of companies in our 2021 sample that reported increases and decreases in CSI expenditure.
- A comparison of the combined CSI expenditure of the top 100 companies and scenario analysis of how much of the total market the top 100 companies represent.
- An extrapolation of total expenditure based on the number of medium and small companies in South Africa.
Growth in total CSI expenditure
- Growth in CSI expenditure has not shown a consistent trend since a period of growth in real terms between 1998 and 2013. In 2014 and 2015 CSI expenditure experienced negative growth in real terms. In 2016 and 2017 real growth flattened, and in 2018 and 2020 it showed a slight increase.
- In 2021, our CSI estimate showed a 4% decrease from the previous year, to R10.3 billion. This equates to a real decline of 7%.
- Although the NPAT of listed companies rebounded somewhat this year (with a median increase of 19% across the 201 companies with published data for two years), its deterioration last year led to decreased CSI expenditure this year. CSI budgets are often determined as a percentage of NPAT based on the financial performance of the previous year, resulting in a lag between NPAT and CSI expenditure.
- Further, over half of companies with published CSI expenditure reported year-on-year decreases, as did over half of Trialogue’s 2021 primary research sample. Where significant increases were reported, these were most commonly driven by non-cash giving, especially in the retail and media sectors.
CSI spend by industry sector
- Based on available CSI expenditure data of 191 large companies with sector classifications, the top three sectors remained the same in 2021 as in previous years.
- Basic materials, which is made up of mining, chemicals, water and forestry, accounted for the largest portion of CSI expenditure (33%) in 2021.
- Consumer services – constituting retail, media, travel and leisure – was the second-largest contributor at 27% of CSI expenditure. The increase from previous years was largely driven by product donations and the inclusion of the media sector, which made significant investments in the form of public service announcements in 2021.
- Financials were the third-largest contributor at 22% of CSI expenditure.
CSI spend across the top 100 companies
- CSI expenditure remained concentrated with the top 100 companies (by available data on CSI spend) accounting for 68%, or R6.9 billion, of total CSI expenditure estimated at R10.3 billion. This is down from the R7.4 billion spend of the top 100 companies in 2020, reflecting the decreased expenditure by many large companies.
- Of the total R6.9 billion spent by the top 100 companies, almost two-thirds (65%) was spent by the 19 companies whose CSI expenditure was more than R100 million in 2021.
Respondents
Corporate
Between April and August 2021, professional researchers conducted virtual interviews with CSI representatives from large South African companies. Companies also had the option of self-completing the questionnaire, which was then verified by the researchers.
- There were 69 participating companies. Of these, 59 (86%) also participated in 2020.
- Since it was first measured in 2011, the financial sector has been the best-represented sector in the corporate respondent sample (29% in 2021), followed by consumer goods (16% in 2021).
- The surveyed companies were large, with two-thirds (66%) having an annual income of over R1 billion in their latest full financial year, and over a third (38%) having an income of over R10 billion. Forty-two percent of the companies employed more than 5 000 people, with 17% having more than 20 000 employees.
NPO
Information was collected from non-profit organisations (NPOs) between May and August 2021, using the online survey tool Qualtrics.
- A total of 117 NPOs participated in the 2021 research. Of these, only 16%, or 19 organisations, also participated in 2020.
- In 2021, more than half of participating NPOs (53%) were small organisations with an income of less than R2 million. Almost a third (32%) had incomes of less than R500 000. Nearly three-quarters of participating NPOs (74%) employed fewer than 30 people.
