Companies in Action: Case Studies in Effective Corporate Disaster Relief

Sep 6, 2013 2:00 PM ET

Prove Your Purpose

When disaster strikes, the demand for company involvement in relief efforts is astounding – with nearly 90 percent of global consumers looking to companies for help. Although there's a fine line between authenticity and exploitation, companies have the opportunity to make a real and lasting impact in the lives of countless individuals. Some companies have a proven legacy of providing needed assistance in times of disaster, others are just beginning to understand how their assets could be used to help. Here, we've rounded up a handful of innovative corporate disaster relief efforts:

The Campaign: Dawn Saves Wildlife


Why it Matters: The Dawn Saves Wildlife campaign is one of the longest-running disaster relief efforts and also one of the most recognized. From the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill to the 2010 BP oil spill, Dawn's standing pledge to help wildlife rescue efforts sprouted from the discovery that Dawn soap was unmatched at removing oil from animal feathers. Dawn has even expanded the effort to the "Dawn Everyday Wildlife Champions" campaign, showing that saving wildlife is a full-time job, not only in times of disaster.

The Campaign: Tide Loads of Hope

Why it Matters: In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, executives at P&G asked themselves what they could do to help; their answer was Tide Loads of Hope.

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