Outstanding BEE rating rewards transformation efforts for Mutual & Federal
Mutual & Federal, a member of the Old Mutual Group, has achieved a level 2 B-BBEE rating on its implementation of broad-based Black Economic Empowerment. This rating is the second highest level out of a possible nine levels as outlined in the Department o
Vuyo Lee, Executive: Brand, Customer and Transformation at Mutual & Federal, says: “We are proud of reaching this level as its shows that our plans to become a truly transformed South African company are bearing fruit. We have moved from a level 4 in 2008 to level 2 for our performance in 2011. This is a major achievement for us, as for the first time it puts us on the same level as the rest of the Old Mutual Group – namely Old Mutual and Nedbank.”
Lee explains that achieving level 2 means that companies that procure from Mutual & Federal receive R1.25 worth of recognition for every rand of their BEE spend.
“What is important to us is that we proactively drive and invest in activities that make a meaningful contribution to the economic transformation of the country, rather than simply comply with legislative requirements. We did not follow a checklist attitude, we wanted our strategy and its outcomes to capture sincerely the essence of transformation,” says Lee.
The areas where Mutual & Federal scored particularly well coincide with the areas of strategic importance to the business. These include the Socio-Economic Development (SED) and Skills Development pillars.
Lee explains: “Our SED contribution, through our corporate social investment programme, has seen us becoming more involved in community upliftment initiatives focused on education, social welfare and agricultural socio-economic development.”
Mutual & Federal also has been previously recognised in the short-term industry as having one of the most progressive skills development programmes for their staff, including training and employing people with disabilities.
“To build on these wins, we also strive to maintain performance in other pillars such as enterprise development and procurement through assisting small companies within our industry to enter the mainstream economy, and by ensuring that they have the right credentials and accreditations to compete with more established companies in procurement.”
Lee recognises that with this accolade, Mutual & Federal cannot rest on its laurels; there is more that can be done to progress on its transformation objectives and become a company of choice for its customers, brokers and staff.
“The challenge, of course, is to maintain level 2 given the new thresholds set in the Code, and then aim to improve on our performance. Ultimately, the true test of success for us is the extent to which we see South Africans benefit from the interventions of our company as well as those of like-minded organisations that are focused on broad-based Black Economic empowerment.” Lee concludes.
