Corporate social responsibility may have risen to the top of the agenda for many businesses but is nothing new, nor is it the exclusive domain of larger companies, delegates at a CBI conference have been told.
David Clarke, managing director of Clarke Associates, the communications and public relations specialists, said that increasing numbers of businesses are becoming conscious of the need to examine their role in the community.
David, at the conference held at The National Motorcycle Museum, near Birmingham, said: "FTSE 100 companies have led the way in stating their CSR policies and increasingly, other businesses are doing likewise, recognising that, if effectively implemented, CSR activity can improve customer loyalty, employee productivity and retention. CSR can also help a company become significantly more attractive to prospective employees,"
He was one of a panel of top level speakers including Sir Digby Jones, Director General, CBI and Nigel Griffiths, MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with special responsibility for CSR.
David said: "Most businesses do not yet have a CSR policy but many are undertaking activities that, if properly structured, could considerably enhance their standing in the community and marketplace.
"However, CSR - or being a good neighbour as I would prefer to describe it - is not something that can be bolted on. It has to embody the ethos of the business itself and it must therefore come from the heart of the company.
"Our role is to help identify that ethos, existing activities, rationalise as necessary and then communicate them effectively to stakeholders.
He also told delegates that CSR should not simply be used for PR.
"Too many still confuse CSR with giving to charity. It might well involve that type of community activity but it needs to be at the heart of the organisation, coming from the top but delivered by all. Those who utilise it correctly reap long term benefit and enormous satisfaction for employees. It instils pride in the business and encourages customer loyalty."
Clarke Associates has already undertaken studies of a number of businesses to evaluate their CSR activity and provide a structure in which it can benefit the business and community as a whole.
More than 120 delegates from the East and West Midlands, attended the seminar that was organised by the CBI's West Midlands office.
