CR Week 2009: Ireland's first Public Exhibition on Corporate Responsibility Launched as part of National CR Week 2009

Ireland's first Public Exhibition on Corporate Responsibility (CR) launched as part of National CR Week 2009

Dublin, 7th October 2009: Employees from 25 separate companies were today recognised for their outstanding contribution to society and to their workplace. The employees are part of a public portrait exhibition on Responsible Business which was opened today in the CHQ building in the IFSC. The exhibition was part of the launch of Business in the Community Ireland's third annual National Corporate Responsibility Week 2009 which showcases best practice Corporate Responsibility in Ireland and encourages more businesses to get involved in such practices. The third National Corporate Responsibility Week runs from the 12th-16th October and the theme for this year is “Rebuilding Ireland's Corporate Reputation”. The week is based around a number of events and seminars which serve to educate businesses on how to improve their relationship with their community, their workplace, their marketplace and the environment. One of the main events being held during the week is a National CEO Forum on Climate Change which will be attended by over 100 of Ireland's top CEOs. Commenting on the week, Tina Roche, CEO of Business in the Community Ireland said “This is the third year of the awareness campaign and we finding more and more that major Irish businesses are embedding strategic corporate responsibility throughout all their practices. If corporate responsibility is seen as just helping the community then a company is not embedding responsible business practice. It is much more than that. It is the impact that a business has on the environment, on the marketplace, on its suppliers and on its employees in the workplace. It is the way a company is governed and the accountability of those who manage the organisation. So for companies who take their reputation seriously they have to be integrating responsible and sustainable business practices. The employees featured in this exhibition are deserving of recognition and will hopefully serve as an inspiration to other employees and companies to think about CR in a strategic way”. Other events during the week include the launch of an interactive online database called the Community Impact Map which will show on a national level the impact that various companies are having on their communities. There will also be a workplace event focusing on practical skills for first line managers dealing with staffing issues in the recession and a marketplace event which will focus on sustainable procurement. National Corporate Responsibility Week runs from the 12th-16th of October and is a unique initiative led by Business in the Community Ireland and its 56 member companies. The week-long series of events aims to highlight key issues on sustainable practice and how they affect business, as well as showcasing best practices from our member companies. Ends For Further Information please contact: Una O' Murchu Business in the Community Ireland Tel: 01 874 3821 Mob: 086 780 8762 Email: uomurchu@bitc.ie About National Corporate Responsibility Week National Corporate Responsibility Week (October 12-16th) is a unique initiative led by Business in the Community Ireland and its member companies. The week-long series of events aims to highlight key issues on sustainable practice and how they affect business, as well as showcasing best practices from our member companies. This will be the third year of the awareness campaign and this year's theme will focus around “Rebuilding Ireland's Corporate Reputation”. Reputation has never been such a valued commodity in the business world as it is today and embedded corporate responsibility can play an essential role in building up a bank of trust with key stakeholders. Key highlights of the week include: Ireland's first public exhibition on corporate responsibility (running from October 7th to October 16th), a major CEO Forum on Climate Change, events and seminars for members on workplace and marketplace issues, launch of new online tools and much more. About the Exhibition Business in the Community Ireland is a unique movement of leading companies across Ireland committed to responsible business practices. This exhibition showcases employees from 25 of those companies. The exhibition consists of unique portraits taken by photographer Kevin Fox in the studios of the National Gallery of Photography. Each portrait is accompanied by a caption explaining why this particular employee was nominated to take part in the exhibition. The exhibition simply provides a snap shot of the work being done by hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide on a daily basis and recognises these employees and the contribution that they make to Irish society. They demonstrate that corporate responsibility is everybody's responsibility. Companies involved are: Abbott, ACC Bank, Boots, CPL, CRH, Diageo, eircom, ESB, Glanbia, IBM, Intel, Janssen, Irish Life & Permanent, KPMG, Manpower, Marks & Spencer, Microsoft, National Irish Bank, Oracle, Pfizer, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sodexo, Ulster Bank, Vodafone and Wyeth. Photography by Kevin Fox. OUR SOCIAL INCLUSION PROGRAMMES Business in the Community Ireland in addition to it work on advising members on corporate responsibility also run a number of innovative social inclusion programmes focusing on education and employment. These programmes are as follows: Schools' Business Partnership, Linkage, EPIC, Ready for Work, The Mentoring Service and Prisons Project. For more information on the programmes Find out more our programmes