Letter from Social Responsibility Officer Victoria Dinges

What do you stand for? It’s a question consumers and citizens ask of companies all the time. And one that companies must ask of themselves every day, in many different ways.

At Allstate we stand for making things right. For keeping our promise. To our customers, of course. And also to the wider world. Giving back has always been important to us as a company, and is a core part of our culture. We take social responsibility seriously. We take it personally.

We have a “hands on” approach to helping communities and those in need. It starts close to home. Literally, in the places where we live and work. And figuratively, by focusing on issues where we have long-standing experience and expertise.

A few examples:

As a major insurer, we’ve been an outspoken advocate for auto safety. We know motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among teens. That’s why we’re passionately committed to creating the safest generation of drivers. Result: Our multi-faceted, sustained advocacy and communications efforts have helped contribute to the reduction of teen driving deaths in America by nearly 40 percent over the past five years. But, we have more to do to make sure teens return home safely from every car ride.
As a leader in financial services, we advise people every day on their finances. We know learning how to make and manage money is key to helping survivors of domestic abuse rebuild their lives. That’s why we work with not-for-profit organizations to provide direct services and financial education. Result: We’ve helped more than 30,000 survivors break the cycle of violence through financial education, matched savings and job readiness training.
Given our presence in cities and towns across the nation, we see the problems and opportunities firsthand. We know the best solutions come by empowering those who live there. That’s why we target giving and community involvement programs through the involvement of our local employees and agency owners. Result: We're putting millions of dollars into local communities, and thousands of our employees and agency owners serve as enthusiastic volunteers in hometowns across the country.

In all these cases and more, we work to identify specific societal needs and problems. We listen carefully — to experts, to innovators, to colleagues and to those we hope to help. We develop strategies, set goals, and we report on our progress publicly, just as we do with our business results. As this year’s Social Responsibility Report shows, Allstate is striving to be a force for positive change in many ways and in many venues. To help ensure we make good on those commitments, we focus on four major areas:

The Environment

We’re committed to managing operations in ways that minimize our impact on the environment. That means reducing energy use in our facilities, stressing sustainability in building construction and renovation, cutting paper use by employees and in communications with customers, and maintaining or lowering our overall carbon footprint. In all these areas we’re on target to meet aggressive goals. Last year alone, we reduced paper use in our Home Office by 41 percent and in our Field Offices by more than 50 percent compared with our 2008 baseline.

Stakeholders

Understanding and responding to stakeholders — customers, consumers, employees, agency owners, investors, opinion leaders and policy makers — is essential to Allstate’s success. Informally and formally we interact with stakeholders daily to identify their key expectations and encourage input. Combined, these stakeholders expect Allstate to offer great value and service at a competitive price, act ethically, and support causes beyond the bottom line. These interactions also help us create and refine products and programs to improve the customer experience, set and measure standards for service and satisfaction, and measure our goal of increasing reputation across all stakeholder groups.

Business Practices

Be truthful. Be trustworthy. Be transparent. Beyond our legal and contractual obligations, Allstate also understands that how we do business affects larger relationships and responsibilities. One example is our socially responsible investment portfolio — where shareholders get a good return and at-risk communities get much needed affordable housing and community health facilities. Another example is our commitment to inclusive diversity in every aspect of our operations — where we’ve set aggressive goals to promote diversity among our workforce and within the ranks of our suppliers.

Social Impact

Every day, Allstate is a catalyst for change in communities across the country. It’s a decades-long tradition backed by contributions, grants, volunteer programs and partnerships with local and national groups. The work we do close to home is appreciated by those whose lives we touch in a personal way. Nationally, our efforts to reduce teen driving deaths and empower domestic violence survivors include public awareness programs, alliances with other advocates and organizations, legislative activity at the state and federal level, support for ongoing research, and more.

In all these areas, our aim is the same — make a real and lasting difference. We’re driven to do more, to do better. Not only because it’s essential to the success of our country, but also because it’s essential to the success of our company.

The links between the two are clear. We know better neighborhoods become better markets. We know energy efficiency bolsters our bottom line. We know community involvement makes potential customers more likely to give Allstate a try.

We know one thing more, and it affects everything we do. At Allstate the desire to help defines us, as individuals and as an organization. Our commitment in the community is a natural extension of who we are and what we do on the job.

Allstate’s values create value for the customer who suffers a devastating loss. For the teen who avoids a deadly auto accident. For the investor whose support is rewarded. For the student inspired by new ideas. For the employee who develops new skills while contributing to the greater good of his or her community, or the mother raising her children in safety, and on her own.

For these and millions more, Allstate’s commitment to social responsibility is one more important way we live up to our brand promise and our potential. One more important example of how and why we serve a greater good.

Victoria Dinges
Vice President
Public Social Responsibility