This article provides an overview of the national context, as well as the fiscal and corporate social investment (CSI) spend on 12 development sectors. CSI spend is based on data from the 75 large companies that participated in Trialogue’s primary research survey. The sectors are reported in order of average CSI expenditure, from highest to lowest spend in 2024.
- Similar to 2023, companies supported an average of five development focus areas in 2024, with 30 companies (40%) supporting more than five areas.
- Education remains the most popular development area for companies to support. While 92% of companies invested in education – a significant increase from 78% in 2023 – the average CSI spend in this area decreased to 45% in 2024 from 48% in 2023.
- Social and community development remains the second most popular cause, supported by three-quarters of companies (75%) in 2024. The average CSI spend on social and community development increased slightly by two percentage points to 15% in 2024.
- Food security is the third most popular development focus area, supported by 67% of companies with an average spend of 11%, up from 9% in 2023.
- The percentage of companies supporting the health sector decreased marginally from 38% in 2023 to 36% in 2024, continuing to decline from 43% in 2022. However, at 9% on average, CSI spend on health was higher in 2024 than in 2023 (6%).
- The proportion of companies supporting disaster relief declined from 62% in 2023 to 57% in 2024, with the average CSI spend on the sector also decreasing from 6% to 4%.
- Support for environmental causes increased from 37% in 2023 to 44% in 2024, with the sector receiving on average 5% of CSI spend.
- Although 16% of companies reported support for housing and living conditions, consistent with 2023 results, the average CSI spend fell to 1% in 2024 (from 4% in 2023).
- In line with results from 2022 and 2023, a fifth of companies (20%) supported arts and culture, but the sector still receives just 1% of CSI spend on average.
- More companies supported the social justice and advocacy and safety and security sectors in 2024 than in 2023. However, the average CSI spend in these sectors remains at 2% or less.
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2024 (27th edition).
