Building the Business Case for Volunteering:
How DHL Group Leverages the B4SI Framework
The Challenge
With over 600,000 employees across 220 countries and territories, DHL Group has long recognised its potential to drive meaningful social impact. Corporate citizenship at DHL goes beyond charitable giving—it’s a strategic commitment to creating societal value by leveraging employee time, skills, and passion.
To embed employee volunteerism into the company’s culture, DHL needed a credible, consistent way to measure the impact of its social programmes. This meant capturing robust data to inform strategic decisions, demonstrate value to the business, and strengthen the case for continued investment in volunteering.
The Solution
DHL adopted the B4SI framework to measure and manage the impact of employee volunteering in a structured, transparent, and scalable way. The framework breaks down impact into three categories: community, business, and environment, and enables DHL to assess both the depth and type of impact created.
DHL applied this approach to initiatives such as the GoTeach program, in which its employees mentor and support young people preparing to transition into the world of work. By aligning volunteerism with business-relevant skills and tracking participation, outcomes, and benefits, DHL collects credible management data that informs internal strategy and supports the business case for promoting continuous employee engagement.
The Impact
Each year since 2008, DHL has invited its global workforce to volunteer, in line with its mission to connect people and improve lives. Using the B4SI framework, DHL has identified clear benefits for volunteers (impact for business) — including personal growth, professional development, and increased job satisfaction.
Notably, employees engaged in skills-based volunteering (such as through GoTeach) consistently scored higher across all impact indicators than those in non-skills-based activities, including increased self-confidence, increased job satisfaction, strengthened ability to respond in critical situations and increased appreciation among colleagues. The data has strengthened DHL’s business case for volunteering, enabled closer collaboration with HR, and helped scale the internal promotion of opportunities.
“By integrating the B4SI framework into our initiatives, we are not only enhancing our employees’ engagement and development but also solidifying our commitment to creating meaningful social impact. This approach empowers us to demonstrate the tangible business value of our corporate citizenship efforts, ensuring that our investment in volunteerism continues to drive positive change both within our communities and our organisation.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
FRAMEWORK-DRIVEN:
The B4SI model ensures consistency, scalability, and data integrity across global volunteering efforts.
DATA-INFORMED IMPACT:
Participation and outcomes are tracked to evaluate effectiveness and capture meaningful impact.
STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT:
Volunteering initiatives are aligned with DHL’s broader sustainability and social impact goals.
BUSINESS VALUE:
Demonstrating a clear business case strengthens internal buy-in and supports program growth.
LEVERAGING ASSETS:
Employees apply their professional skills to address real community needs, enhancing both social and business outcomes.