November 2007: BITCI Member Companies Explore New Approaches to Corporate Responsibility at the European MarketPlace on CSR

The European MarketPlace on CSR took place on 29th November 2007 in Brussels, organised for the third time by CSR Europe, the leading European business network for CSR and partner of Business in the Community Ireland. BITCI Members Coca Cola Bottlers Ireland, Glanbia plc, Permanent TSB, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland and Ulster Bank Group were among the record number of 650 representatives from companies, NGOs, national governments, media and the European Commission who attended. Günter Verheugen, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Enterprise and Industry, and Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, opened the event and visited the MarketPlace where participants from all over Europe, the United States, Japan and China had the opportunity to explore 90 company CSR solutions and 16 CSR Laboratories where companies and stakeholders explore new joint approaches to CSR challenges. BITCI member companies were among those presenting their CSR solutions which included the following; - Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland: Designated Driver Campaign - Glanbia plc: IS393 Energy Management Certification - Permanent TSB (Irish Life & Permanent plc): Ireland's first green loan - Pfizer Healthcare Ireland: Personal Information System (PIP) - Ulster Bank Group: YouthBanks "Businesses' cooperation and the involvement of stakeholders can make a key contribution to the uptake of CSR in Europe and helps to advance corporate social responsibility in the EU as a tool to strengthen the competitiveness of our economy", commented Günter Verheugen. He also stressed the important role that companies' CSR initiatives play for the success of the European Strategy for Jobs and Growth. "Therefore, I am delighted to hear that CSR Europe and its members have now made their more than 600 CSR solutions accessible to the public via a new website. This is for me a telling example of the strong CSR commitment by European big and small companies." The Commissioners also stressed the need for closer cooperation between all actors in society - a goal that the European Alliance for CSR, launched in 2006, has set out to pursue. This was also underlined at the afternoon session by Richard Howitt, Member of the European Parliament, who handed out awards for the most outstanding CSR solutions and Laboratories at this MarketPlace event. The winners were chosen by the public and by an international stakeholder panel.* On the occasion of the MarketPlace, CSR Europe also launched its new website (www.csreurope.org) featuring a publicly available database of more than 600 company CSR solutions and a special section for the European Alliance for CSR. For further information, contact Moira Horgan, Marketing Communications Manager at 01 874 7232,or mhorgan@bitc.ie