Archives: 2014

Who’s attending the Responsible Business Forum 2014

Hundreds of professionals from some of Ireland’s leading businesses such as Bord Gáis Networks, Diageo Ireland, ESB, IBM Ireland, Tesco

Making consistent impact: Environmental Trends, Best Practice and Supports

As part of our mission to inspire companies to adopt best practice in Corporate Responsibility and help them benchmark their activities in this area, Business in the Community Ireland has published the report“Making consistent impact: Environmental Trends, Best Practice and Supports” which highlights the trends, challenges, best practices and behaviours of our members in relation

Responsible Business Week 2014

Every year many of our member companies participate in Responsible Business Week. This year the week will take place from the 10th to the 14th November and will be launched on Friday the 7th with a special e-zine. Responsible Business Week is a key platform to raise awareness about your Corporate Responsibility practices by engaging

New transparency rules on social responsibility for big companies

Last week saw another step towards mainstreaming responsible and sustainable business practices.

Responsible Business Forum 2014

Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI) has confirmed a major Corporate Responsibility (CR) conference exploring and inspiring responsible and sustainable business practices that will take place on Tuesday 11th November 2014 at Dublin Castle. The conference entitled, Building Trust, Reputation and Culture, is expected to feature over 20 expert national and international speakers including: Centrica,

What would you do if you were the CEO of this company?

The Responsible Business Lab will premiere at The Responsible Business Forum 2014 . The Lab is a unique and interactive workshop that will provide a platform to think about and discuss in groups, the everyday dilemmas facing businesses that want to operate responsibly. Taking real life scenarios, such as the one below, all delegates will have the opportunity to investigate

SMEs “Making the Most of Green Credentials” in Wexford

Business in the Community Ireland gave a talk about the benefits of “Promoting Sustainability to your Customers” at a breakfast seminar in The Irish National Heritage Park , Wexford on Thursday 25th September. Many SMEs are already involved in responsible and sustainable business practices; however, SMEs often don’t connect these activities to business benefits. Communicating sustainability to customers can help

Business Leaders highlight employment and commercial opportunities of climate action

On 18th September, The Irish Corporate Leaders on Climate Change presented its report – “ Unlocking Opportunity: the business case for climate action in Ireland” to An Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Ms. Joan Burton TD. The Report identifies up to 90,000 new jobs that would be created by clear climate action by Irish business and Government. These gains are underpinned by significant innovation

Intel employee pedal power raises more than €23,000 for charity

Each year Intel Ireland selects two signature charities in order to give employees the opportunity to dedicate their efforts towards providing volunteer time and funds, raised through specially organised activities, to these chosen organisations. For 2014, Irish Autism Action and the Jack and Jill Foundation, were selected and employees have been taking part in numerous

BT returns to charity shops challenge in support of Irish Cancer Society

BT staff are taking up the challenge of managing charity shops to raise vital funds for the Irish Cancer Society. Families encouraged to visit shops and to check out the wide variety of stock on offer. BT, Ireland’s leading communications provider, has once again partnered with national cancer charity, the Irish Cancer Society, to run

Smurfit Kappa Group is added to the FTSE4Good Index!

Smurfit Kappa Group plc has announced that it has been added to both the FTSE4Good Global Index and FTSE4Good Europe Index, effective from Monday, 22 September 2014. The index inclusion recognises the consistent application of best in class standards of sustainability practices and corporate governance throughout the Group’s international operations, and follows closely the Group’s nomination

Transdev wins new Luas operating contract

The new Luas Operating Contract means a new era for Luas – Transdev Dublin’s goal is to Transform Dublin Together, achieving the very highest levels of quality and delivery for our client Railway Procurement Agency and the National Transport Authority by aspiring to create the Perfect Journey experience for our passengers every day. Our unique

KPMG supports Merchants Quay Ireland

This year KPMG Ireland celebrated the 8th annual Denis O’Connor Walking Festival raising over €25,000 Merchants Quay Ireland, which offers homelessness and drugs services through programmes spread over 14 counties. Merchants Quay Ireland is well established and has a proven track record in providing residential drug and alcohol treatment. A national voluntary organisation founded in 1969,

Sustainability Report 2013 Outlines Coillte’s Commitment to the Business of Sustainability

Coillte, Ireland’s leading natural resources company, recently launched their Sustainability Report for 2013. The report maps out the sustainability of the organisation’s economic, environmental and social performance, as measured by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework – an international standard for sustainability reporting by companies and a way for organizations to become more sustainable. The

The path to best in class CSR: Boots Ireland

Good corporate citizenship runs deep in pharmacy chain Boots. In a mission statement drafted before the term was coined, its founding family made a pledge: “We declare – for pure drugs, for qualified assistants, for first class shops, for reasonable prices, for your good health and for moderate profits” to “minister to the comfort of

2014 Philanthropist of the Year – Call for Nominations

Nominations are invited for The Community Foundation for Ireland’s 2014 Philanthropist of the Year Awards. Categories for nominations include National, International and Corporate Philanthropist of the Year.  The awards, now in their seventh year aim to publicly recognise people and companies whose giving has made an outstanding and lasting contribution in their communities and to

“Making the Most of your Green Credentials” Free Breakfast Seminar for SMEs in Wexford

Are you an SME who wants to find out about the benefits of being a sustainable and responsible business?

M&S Ireland Wins Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility Award

Marks and Spencer Ireland has won the Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award at the 2014 Chambers Ireland CSR Awards, held in Dublin last night (18/09/14).

Back to Work – Business Supporting Work Placements

Business in the Community Ireland ‘Back to Work – Business Supporting Work Placements’ documenting the experience of providing work placements for people facing labour market disadvantage by 11 top companies. First publication to share  experiences and document practical advice on providing work placements for people facing labour market disadvantage.

A New Era of Doing Business

Being on the front-line of corporate social responsibility, you will know that the way of doing business is changing.

Invitation to enter Better Together Business Award

Business in the Community & the Community Foundation for Ireland are delighted to be a non-profit partner of the Wheel’s Better Together campaign. Entries for the Better Together Business Award opened on Monday 15 September and will close on the 21st November. Presented by The Wheel, a national body representing 1,000 charities, the Award offers

Tesco Ireland donates €10,000 to the Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association

Tesco Ireland head office staff in Dun Laoghaire recently took part in a group ice bucket challenge following CEO Phil J. Clarke nominating colleagues and pledging to personally donate an additional €5 for every colleague that participates. The video of Phil J. Clarke’s challenge yesterday can be viewed here< http://youtu.be/ecHtCyUmOkw> . Head office staff took the

Sustainability Reporting for SMEs

Sustainability is as important for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as it is for large companies (see 10 reasons why here ). There is a growing awareness about the importance of sustainability in small business SMEs. However, sustainability reporting is still dominated by larger companies. Business in the Community Ireland believes that Sustainability Reporting in smaller

KPMG Mentors and Westland Row Students ‘Survive’ Kippure Fun

KPMG and Westland Row CBS have been in partnership for over ten years, working together on the student mentoring programme which provides support to senior cycle students in the school. The one-to-one mentoring programme matches volunteers and students at the start of 5th year and they meet every three to four weeks, excluding summer holidays, for

Communities addressing disadvantage and social exclusion

Business in the Community is starting a 2-year consultation initiative looking at disadvantage and social exclusion in designated areas around the country.

CSR Shortlist 2014

The shortlist for the 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards was launched on Wednesday 16th July. The full shortlist is below. Click on the category link below to learn more about the projects: Excellence in CSR Communication •    Bluebird Care – An EngAGEment with Bluebird Care •    Dell – Spread the word for Daffodil Day 2014

Our Sustainability Report 2013

As we deliver our mission, we are committed to exhibiting best practice in our work with our members and to that end this year our sustainability report applied the GRI framework and to date, we are the only small organisation in Ireland to do so. Please click on Down to Earth to download and view

September Members Network Meeting

Business in the Community’s network for responsible business has over 70 members. Would you like to hear more about what other members are doing? What challenges have you in common and what solutions have others found? We would like to invite our members to join this discussion at our third Member Network Meeting of 2014,

Intel showcases responsible, sustainable practices to Government & CSR Stakeholder Forum Representatives

Intel’s Global Vice President, Director Legal & Corporate Affairs, Shelly Esque recently (June 2014) met with representatives of government departments and agencies including then Minister of State (R&D) at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mr. Sean Sherlock TD (now Minister of State at Department of Foreign Affairs). Ms. Esque showcased Intel’s international leadership

CRH 2013 Sustainability Report

Last week CRH has published its Sustainability Report 2013 – Responsible Performance & Growth.  Sustainability is at the heart of CRH’s strategy and business model and seeks to create long-term value for all its stakeholders.  The Group is committed to safeguarding its employees, enhancing the environment, ensuring strong governance and risk management and supporting and