Community Development

In the rich democracy that South Africa has become since the advent of Nelson Mandela, as our first truly democratically elected President, it is necessary to sustain the development of our Nation, and in addition to embracing Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, we ensure opportunity is placed in the pathway of previously disadvantaged individuals who received neither the benefits nor the opportunities for growth prior to 1994.

This is encapsulated in the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Initiative and it is regarding that The Inside Edge fully embraces in all its aspects and to this end we are proud to record that we have been judged a Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment - Procurement Recognition Level 4 (100%) company.

Corporate Social Responsibility Policy

The Inside Edge, as part of its founding principles over 20 years ago, has always believed that one must recognise the dominant realities of the community in which it is allowed to operate as a business, and that the sustained development of that community is as paramount as the cause of good business principles, and not merely one of those principles.

If we are to perpetuate and flourish as a society, then all elements of that society should be recognised in an effort to build a harmonious, sustainable and developmental ethic that uplifts and preserves within the spirit of UBUNTHU – sustainable self-development.

In order to make an effective contribution towards this goal, The Inside Edge commits itself, its members, and its shareholders to:
MINIMISE WASTE – of material, human and spiritual resource.
MAXIMISE OPPORTUNITIES - to develop and build community elements.
RESPECT VALUES – of the different entities that make up our community.

CREATE AWARENESS – among our clients and suppliers of the priorities facing our communities so as to extract maximum yield and focus of efforts.

CONTRIBUTE MATERIALLY – from internal and external sources towards the upliftment of the community and the environment.
The Inside Edge realises and appreciates that it works and operates in a privileged position in our society, interacting as it does with a diverse clientele, themselves engaged primarily in the business of recognition and reward combined with the strategic development of human and material resource. This ethic serves as our foundation of approach towards our communities – not merely to be charitable without responsibility – and to recognise that a footprint left behind after an event or a programme serves as the first step towards a sustainable future for the community that encourages and supports the very operation of that event or programme.

Southern Africa is a land of diversity, and while this holds true for the venues or areas in which to hold an event or programme, nowhere is this more apparent than in the communities themselves, with a multiplicity of opportunities and challenges in evidence, some specific, some generic. It is however, not feasible to be exact in the allocation of priorities or the methodology in which to maximise them as the community realities in a rural area, for instance, differ markedly from those of an urban area.

The Inside Edge however commits itself to the dissemination of the opportunities that exist for clientele to engage with at their discretion dependent on the area and nature of the event/programme. This however will be in addition to certain broad based initiatives that The Inside Edge will undertake to adopt in each and every instance that their services are engaged as a Destination Management Company in Southern Africa.

Among these initiatives will be:
The reclamation of any material to the local community that is event specific and intended for restricted once off usage ranging from stationery, through props and support material, to flowers and admonishments used in formal dinners.
The recycling, for the benefit of the local community, of all beverage dispensers, plastic ware and the like consumed or utilised during an event.

Wherever possible, local communities to be engaged first for the production of welcome gifts, room drop items and the like, so as to channel benefits directly.
Engage the local community, especially children and/or the aged to provide assistance in the compilation and operation of the programme/event, for direct reward.
Sustainable development is not merely a vision in Southern Africa – it can be a reality. The Inside Edge commits to responsible and consistent support of this principle, and to the dissemination among clients of the opportunities that exist for the furtherance of our communities.