Archives: 2016

Q4 Network Meeting: ‘Excellence now and in the future’

On the 7th December 2016, Business in the Community Ireland held its Annual Member Network Meeting kindly hosted by A&L Goodbody . The meeting involved presentations and discussion on the topic of excellence in CSR, now and in the future.

BITCI Impact in 2016 infographic

WBCSD’s beta version of the Reporting Exchange will be launched on 7th December.  

Available from Wednesday 7th December, the Reporting Exchange is an exciting new online tool that helps to make sense of over 1,000 reporting requirements and resources on sustainability reporting from around the world. Developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development , the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, Ecodesk and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, it’s a comprehensive global resource that connects

Galway Wind Park – Sustainability Impact Report

    First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon and Denis Naughten, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment were in SSE’s Dublin offices on Monday 28 November to launch a Sustainability Impact Report into the 169MW Galway Wind Park which is being jointly developed by SSE and Coillte. The report outlines the valuable economic, environmental and social impacts

Bank of Ireland staff volunteering on a high!

The staff of Bank of Ireland undertook the single biggest “Give Together” Volunteer Day on Wednesday 30 November 2016. “Give Together”, the Bank’s charity and community investment initiative in operation since 2007, is employee-led and is supported by the Bank through the provision of one day’s paid volunteer leave annually, matched fundraising and payroll-giving. For

Business Action on Employment: A Success Story from Sodexo

How Tony’s success story started: BITCI’s Ready for Work programme Tony had been looking for work for over 4 years when he was referred to Business in the Community Ireland. As well as handing out CVs to various employers, he completed a number of training courses to improve his employability,but he reaped little benefit from

Stimulating Businesses and the Economy: How large companies in Ireland are supporting Small to Medium Enterprises

SMEs are often quoted as ‘the lifeblood of a country’s economy’; they are essential to generating good jobs, currently employing almost seven out of every ten persons in the business economy. [i] Hence supporting the growth and development of SMEs can have far-reaching economic and social impacts – for example, stimulating the economy. Governing bodies are

Stimulating Businesses and the Economy: Supplier Diversity Programmes

Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), as the network for responsible business, identified a growing trend of large companies undertaking initiatives that support Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Hence it undertook preliminary research to explore this topic in more detail to uncover exactly the types of initiatives large companies are carrying out to support SMEs

Stimulating Businesses and the Economy: Examples of companies’ initiatives to support SMEs

Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), as the network for responsible business, recognised a growing trend amongst its members of initiatives being implemented that are aimed at supporting Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These initiatives aren’t driven solely by Business-to-Business (B2B) companies who would potentially have SMEs along their supply chains as both customers and

Stimulating Businesses and the Economy: Business Case & How To Set Up Initiatives To Support SMEs

Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), as the network for responsible business, identified a growing trend of large companies undertaking initiatives that support Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Microsoft Codess – Supporting diversity in the tech sector

Codess is a “community for female coders initiated by Microsoft, established to explore ways to promote gender diversity in the engineering field”. Codess delivers a series of worldwide events and workshops from academia through to the executive level.

In Conversation with Michelle Toner Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at eir

In this month of our In Conversation with series we are delighted to talk to Michelle Toner Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at eir.

Launch of Career Leap

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016 – Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe TD, launched ‘Career LEAP’ a pioneering programme to help young unemployed adults in Dublin’s North Inner City gain employment today.

From spending 7 years job seeking, to full-time employment, this is Palwasha’s story

The best way to describe the impacts of our programmes is to hear from one of our clients. Since 2008, EPIC has worked with over 2,600 unemployed people from 101 countries, building their skills and confidence and helping them integrate in Ireland. Over 1,000 of these have progressed into paid employment, with a further nearly

Compass Group Ireland partners with Temple Street Foundation to support healthy lifestyle programme

The leading food services company, Compass Ireland, has announced an exciting partnership with Temple Street Foundation , the charity of Temple Street Children’s University Hospital. Not only has the organisation been identified as the company’s chosen charity, but the partnership will also see Compass bringing its culinary expertise to its W82GO programme – set up to provide families

eir Fund – Connecting Communities

In March of this year eir introduced a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) investment programme, the eir Fund – Connecting Communities. The Fund was designed to support eir employees who work with community engagement projects and to enable eir to do more to support charitable causes throughout Ireland. Over the past 8 months, eir has provided

CSR Award for PM Group

PM Group, the International project delivery specialists, was delighted to receive the South Dublin Chamber CSR Award 2016 at a ceremony in Dublin recently. “We were really pleased to be recognised for our contribution to the local community in South County Dublin. We tend to focus on two main areas – education and probono services

What works: Gender Equality by Design

“What Works: Gender Equality by Design” by Iris Bohnet, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, looks at the challenges underlying gender equality in the workplace. The book debunks many myths and is open about areas where studies have been inconclusive. Throughout, it bases its conclusion on evidence, case studies meta-analysis and behavioural experimentation.

Nominations Open for the Corporate Philanthropist of the Year Award

The 2017 nominations are now open for The Community Foundation’s Corporate Philanthropist of the Year Award. Individuals, charities, community organisations and employees can nominate a corporate whose philanthropy is focused on local, regional or national projects in Ireland or overseas.

Dress for Success Dublin partners with A&L Goodbody to create Steps to Success

Dublin women participating in labour market activation programmes will avail of mentoring under a new partnership between Dress for Success Dublin and leading law firm A&L Goodbody . Under the partnership, women taking part in labour market activation programmes – such as JobBridge, Community Employment schemes and Tús – will avail of mentoring and career progression advice from experienced A&L Goodbody

In Conversation with Niall Gleeson, Managing Director for Veolia Ireland

    In this month of our In Conversation With series we are delighted to talk to Niall Gleeson, Managing Director for Veolia Ireland.

14 Companies in Ireland achieve the Business Working Responsibly Mark

Over 200 senior business leaders gather for Business in the Community Ireland’s Annual Sustainability Forum The Mark is operated by Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), the non-profit organisation dedicated to corporate responsibility and third-party audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).

Congratulations to all our member who have won the Chambers CSR Awards and GLEN Workplace Awards

Chambers CSR Awards ESB won the Outstanding Achievement in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award at the 2016 Chambers Ireland CSR Awards. ESB was selected by the judging panel for having CSR practices embedded at the company’s core and for its ongoing dedication to community engagement and responsible business practices. Our congratulations to ESB

Deloitte IMPACT Day

Deloitte Ireland runs an annual volunteering day called IMPACT Day which allows the people of Deloitte to give back to the local communities by providing their time, labour and expertise to nonprofit organisations. Some of the projects are nominated by staff, others are selected by Business in the Community. Deloitte also has long-held relationships with

Gender Equality at work

We’ve been talking about this for decades and yet progress is slow. Why? We hardly need another report on the business case for diversity. Added to this, developing and retaining employees are perennial priorities, employee engagement is high on the agenda and businesses are spending time and money on building their employer brand.

Kemmy Business School, Limerick is holding a Responsible Business Breakfast networking event on October 19th

You are warmly invited to register for a Responsible Business Breakfast networking event to be held with the support of CPA Ireland at the Kemmy Business School, Limerick, on Wednesday 19th October, 2016. The event addresses two questions: What is a responsible business? and How do you account for that responsibility? Our speakers on the

In Conversation with Lorraine Shiels, Head of CSR & Government Relation at Tesco Ireland

In this month of our In Conversation with series we are delighted to talk to Lorraine Shiels, Head of CSR & Government Relation at Tesco Ireland . Please describe your role and responsibilities and how many years you have been in the company As Head of Corporate Social Responsibility and Government Relations for Tesco Ireland I lead the development

BT-Shop for Change

BT Ireland survey reveals the nation’s love of de-cluttering, yet Wardrobes remain full of under-used or never worn clothes   Irish Rugby captain Rory Best helps kick off BT Shop for Change; Over 110 BT employees to take over Irish Cancer Society shops on October 13  September 27, 2016 – 49% of people surveyed in

National Reuse Month – Repair Remake Reimagine

We often hear the phrase “waste? Oh we have that sorted; we’re at 95% recycling!” It’s true that Irish businesses for the most part have embraced recycling and the days of everybody having a bin under their desk is gone. But have we got waste sorted? The answer to that is most definitely NO! Recycling,

Merck Publishes 2015/2016 Global Corporate Responsibility Report

Report Highlights Company’s Long-Standing Commitment to Discovering Innovative and Sustainable Solutions to the World’s Greatest Health and Development Challenges KENILWORTH, N.J., Sept. 13, 2016 – Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today issued its 2015/2016 global corporate responsibility report. The report reflects the company’s performance in the areas of