The tradition of giving back inherited
Photo: Oda Hveem
“I was a feminist before I could talk,” says Elisabeth Grieg.”
For several generations, Grieg Foundation has collaborated with SOS Children's Villages to contribute to a more just society. We do this through a special focus on education and gender equality.
We are sitting in a meeting room at the Grieg Group's office at Aker Brygge in Oslo, surrounded by art owned by the group.
- I have always been concerned with imbalances between genders. When the statistics tell us that there is an imbalance here, I think it is natural to try to do something about it. I thought that if the Grieg Group gives seven million kroner a year to SOS Children's Villages, then I want the contribution to have a stronger focus on gender equality. Now, we also have this on the agenda within SOS Children's Villages International.
The Grieg Gender Challenge is the project that the Grieg Foundation and SOS Children's Villages have started together. The program supports activities in four African countries to provide boys and girls with equal access to education, health care, political participation and economic independence.
Elisabeth Grieg has been a driving force for including gender equality on the agenda in SOS Children's Villages International.
- It is mainly about getting girls in school. Then, we must ensure that they can travel safely to school, that their families understand the importance of education, that there are hygienic facilities for them at school and that they get food there, says Elisabeth Grieg.
We are very interested in contributing to self-help. This is in many ways the common thread in our philanthropic work.
- Elisabeth Grieg
- It is said that if you educate a man, then you educate a person, while if you educate a woman, you are helping to build a society. We know that boys to a greater extent leave home to pursue careers, while girls stay behind to take care of the family and the local community.
Giving back
It was at a time when very few women worked and even fewer had political influence that the young Bergen native Joachim Grieg started his ship brokerage firm in 1884. In 1975, the mechanical engineer and ship architect, Per Grieg, took over the family business and ensured that it grew into one of the country's largest maritime businesses. He also came up with the idea of giving back to society.
- By then, I had already had contact with SOS Children's Villages for many years, says Per Grieg Senior.
- It started when we invited Herman Gmeiner, the founder of SOS Children's Villages International, to discuss our wish to provide educational support for talented young people. We thought that SOS Children's Villages could be a good place to start. The proportion of gifted young people is at least as high among children growing up in SOS Children's Villages in developing countries, as in the rest of the world.
This educational support paved the way for the idea of formalizing the Grieg Group's community involvement into a foundation.
- We have a tradition of giving back to the community in our group, and I feel that it has almost become a trend that successful companies at some point think that they must do something more than just make money. The most important driver for me is a desire to make other footprints than just in business. We also feel that the employees have a high degree of pride in what we do through the foundation. It creates a sense of belonging to the company and adds an extra dimension to the work.
I feel that it has almost become a trend that successful companies at some point think that they must do something more than just make money.
- Per Grieg Senior
A new generation
In 1999, it was time for a generational change in the Grieg Group. Per Grieg's four children Per Junior, Elisabeth, Camilla and Elna Kathrine took over the management, a transition that was planned over a long period of time.
Photo: Hilde Ulsted
- One of the first things we did was to establish a large cultural project in the Grieg Group to define who we would be, says Elisabeth Grieg.
- What should we stand for today? We did extensive work to establish our values, during which all the employees in the company were involved for several years. At the same time, we also established the Grieg Foundation as an extension of my father's involvement.
Through the foundation, the Grieg Group continued its collaboration with SOS Children's Villages. It turned out that their idea of building society through education and health coincided with the Grieg Group's own thoughts on philanthropic work. The great revelation came to Elisabeth Grieg when she read the book Three Cups of Tea by the mountain climber Greg Mortenson. In the book, Mortenson describes how he was separated from his group in an attempt to climb mountain K2, and is taken care of by people in a small village in north-eastern Pakistan. Mortenson discovered that there was no school in the village and to show his gratitude to the people, he promised to build one. Soon, Mortenson had built not just one, but dozens of schools in the area.
- What he understood was that by ensuring that children and young people receive an education and a safe upbringing, you also contribute to building society. His main focus was to get the girls to school, because without schools in the local community they would not go to school. The boys could go to the nearest village, says Elisabeth Grieg.
- It is in many ways also the common thread in our philanthropic work. We are very interested in contributing to self-help, which is also the way SOS Children's Villages work.
Influencing the development of society
The Grieg Foundation currently owns 25 percent of the Grieg Group. The group is concerned not only with creating value for itself, but also for society. This is where our conversation turns to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which Elisabeth Grieg calls “a fantastic toolbox” consisting of 17 common goals. These goals, adopted at the UN General Assembly in 2015, lay the foundation for a tremendous effort to eradicate poverty, fight inequality and halt climate change by 2030.
- We spend a lot of time discussing these goals and how we should link them to our strategies, she says.
- We talk about it at all levels, with the leaders, the employees and on the board. We have five thousand days. In other words, we don’t have much time.
Soon a new generation will make its mark on the Grieg Group. They are made up of 13 individuals, who, like Elisabeth Grieg, have grown up in a family where it is natural to participate in discussions. For her, the desire to help build tomorrow's society has been there from the very beginning.
- I come from a family where we are concerned about the society around us and cracking down on things we think are unfair, she says.
- Why in the name of heaven should there be a difference between people? In our country, we are in many ways all born with a silver spoon in our mouths, and my driving force is to help make the world a more sustainable place. Not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do a little. It is my own personal vision: I want to help influence the development of society.
Written by Kristin Valla, SOS Children´s Villages, Norway
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