2018 Sponsor of the Year, Budapest Airport

The 2018 Sponsor of the Year of the Robert Burns International Foundation was Budapest Airport. We talked to Kam Jandu, Chief Commercial Officer, to find out more about their CSR activities.

How important is corporate social responsibility to Budapest Airport?

It is fundamentally important to BUD for many reasons.  For example, being one of the largest single site employers in Hungary (supply chain wise, we have almost 11000 people), we have a huge responsibility towards society and in particular the local community where a sizeable chunk of our workforce comes from. Moreover, aviation is associated rightly or wrongly with environmental issues and of course noise related matters which is why we invest considerable time and energy with multiple stakeholders to both educate but also to listen to any concerns related to our sector.

You have been a long-standing supporter of the RBIF. What prompted you to partner up in the first place?

I was an invited guest one particular year to the Burns Supper and was pleasantly surprised by the occasion, calibre of guests, sense of community and above all the work of the foundation which was clear for all to see.

How does Budapest Airport benefit from its association with the RBIF?

In addition to bringing some aviation-related clients to the annual Burns Supper which is a wonderful evening in itself, we also found some great projects last year which talked to the ideas which are important for BUD from a CSR perspective, whilst still generating significantly to the RBIF. As the airport is located across districts 17 and 18 it is important for us to work with local causes in partnership with the RBIF. Two such projects in 2019 included a Children’s Home namely Gyöngyvirág and a children’s ward at the Bajcsy-Zsilinszky hospital.

What would you say to any other company that is considering sponsoring the RBIF and its activities?

I would wholeheartedly encourage it, because not only do you get considerable corporate benefit when helping a great cause, the level of personal satisfaction is also highly significant too.  We are proud of our association with RBIF and look forward to continuing to work with them on mutually beneficial contracts.