Archives: 2016

Promoting confidence in young women through ‘KPMG Ignite’ programme

KPMG Ireland just completed a programme called ‘KPMG Ignite’ aimed at empowering young women by improving their self-confidence. The firm linked with the Jesus and Mary School in Goatstown targeting 30 transition year students from the school. The initiative exposed the students to female role models and helped participants to maximize their individual potential and

eir launches new Corporate Social Responsibility programme the eir Fund Connecting Communities

eir recently launched a new Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, the eir Fund – Connecting Communities. This new programme is a key element of eir’ s CSR strategy, designed to enable eir employees make a positive impact in their community and to enable the company to do more to support local community causes throughout Ireland.

Accenture released its new Corporate Citizenship Report “Making a Measurable Difference”

Accenture released its new Corporate Citizenship Report, “Making a Measurable Difference,” which explores their progress, performance and goals across their global operations. The report highlights their efforts to collaborate with other organisations to make a difference in the communities where they work and live, including: The Skills to Succeed initiative, which has equipped more than 1.2 million people around the world with the

Sustainable Supply Chain: Sodexo UK and Ireland supporting coffee farmers

This Fairtrade Fortnight Sodexo UK and Ireland is highlighting the importance of Fairtrade to support the livelihoods of coffee farmers in Peru who produce the beans for Sodexo’s Aspretto coffee brand. Sodexo hosts Peruvian coffee farmer Kim Reeves, Retail Category Manager Hot Beverages for Sodexo, travelled to Peru in August 2015 to trace the coffee

Ulster Bank and Young Social Innovators project gets underway and Ulster Bank Academy wins at the Irish Institute of Training and Development Awards

Ulster Bank launched its new three year partnership with Young Social Innovators(YSI) in January. Through its support the bank will be helping to ensure the continued success of Ireland’s largest social innovation programme where young people tackle the social issues facing them locally, nationally and globally. As the programme gets underway, twenty teams of students from around Ireland

Accenture Women on Walls Campaign

Accenture are delighted to announce the launch of Women on Walls.   The genesis of the idea came to Eithne Harley and Michelle Cullen during a visit to the Royal Irish Academy (RIA), one of Ireland’s foremost institutions for learning and academic excellence. Not a single portrait of a woman adorns the walls of the

On our CSR radar this month

To help you stay informed on all things CSR please find below a collection of recent national and international news items and reports that we have tracked and shared on social media during the month of March. CSR Europe launches Blueprint For Embedding Human Rights in Key Company Functions  (CSR Europe) The publication breaks down the embedding process into six different elements, describes trends for each and

Will your business stand up for biodiversity?

We’re launching a new infographic that calls on organisations to raise awareness of Ireland’s threatened biodiversity and take action to protect and enhance it. Whether you work for a tech giant, professional services consultancy, food manufacturer, public utility or pharmaceutical company, your organisation relies on the ‘ecosystem services’ we get from the natural world. Ecosystem

Improve employee engagement in your CSR initiatives: practical insights and advice

“Staff in my organisation gets involved in volunteering initiatives however I question whether they are truly engaged and motivated by the opportunities presented to them.” “I struggle to get staff to sign up to company volunteering initiatives.” “Company volunteering initiatives are always signed up to by the same staff.” If you have been responsible for

Chambers Ireland CSR Awards 2016 Application now open

The Chambers Ireland CSR Awards 2016 launch took place on March 10th in Ulster Bank, George’s Quay. Gerard O’Neill from Amárach Research spoke at the launch on The Trust Recovery: Implications for Irish Businesses. If you would like to read his presentation, you can download it here . Applications are now open and the deadline is 12pm

Materiality assessment in CSR & Sustainability: What is it and why is it important to your sustainability strategy?

Developing a materiality assessment was the topic of our recent Members Network Meeting where members of the network had the opportunity to experience, through a role play scenario, the process involved in developing a materiality assessment.

What was your favourite childhood book?

Black Beauty, Matilda, the Wizard of Oz… Can you remember your favourite book growing up? Thinking back to our favourite childhood book can bring back so many memories, growing up with these magical stories. Whilst they are now memories for adults, they are possible adventures and worlds to be discovered for so many young children

Learning for Life has been recognised as the best Back to Work initiative in Ireland by training and development experts

Diageo received the recognition at the National Training Awards, which recognises the very best in practice and excellence in learning and development programmes in the State.

LGBT Workplace Diversity Roundtable

In January BITCI held the first of the 2016 Members’ Roundtables. The focus of this event, hosted by Oracle EMEA, was LGBT Diversity in the Workplace. Speakers from Oracle, Accenture, Microsoft and Sodexo talked about their experiences from the diverse perspectives of senior sponsor, HR professional and LGBT Network Lead. The animated discussion that followed

Q1 Networking Meeting Identifying CSR priorities with your stakeholders

The Q1 Member Network Meetings was hosted by PwC in Dublin and held in Clayton Hotel Silver Springs, Tivoli, Cork. The meetings focused on identifying CSR priorities with stakeholders to help determine which material issues to focus on as part of a company’s CSR strategy. Please download a copy of the Network Meeting Repor t and click here to download the slides from the presentation.   This

CEO of Friends First Tom Browne on his experience with #Time2Read

Friends First has partnered with the school Scoil Cholmchille JNS since September 2014.Tom Browne, CEO, Friends First shares his take on the partnership: Benefit to the business: 10 members of our company are now closer to their colleagues who participated on the programme. From the time spent together on the programme there will be benefits back in

KPMG and their participation with Time to Read

“KPMG is delighted to engage in the Time to Read programme, being involved since its inception, we see the value in instilling a passion for reading with young students. This is one of our most popular CSR programmes, even though the commitment is significant, each year we have trouble just selecting 10 readers from the

Gain a real sense of community involvement with #Time2Read Employee engagement initiative

Last year the Western People, a regional newspaper in Mayo, featured the Time to Read partnership between Lionbridge Technologies and Scoil Íosa, Ballina. Representatives from the newspaper went along to the workplace visit in the Emmet St premises where students from Scoil Íosa were invited to visit their volunteer readers at work. The workplace visit is often an exciting aspect of

The Gender Pay Gap – EU & Ireland

Equality between women and men is one of the European Union’s founding values, with the principle of equal pay for equal work being part of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and the Equal Pay Directive 1975. Despite this commitment, the gender pay gap in Europe still exists and is growing in some countries. What

Top tips and ideas to improve biodiversity and engage your employees

Winter is over! We all love longer days, warmer weather, and the early signs of spring as the trees start to bud and the frothy white blackthorn blossom emerges in the hedgerows. There’s no better time of year to celebrate Ireland’s natural heritage whilst promoting the health and well-being aspects of being in nature to

On our CSR radar this month

To help you stay informed on all things CSR please find below a collection of recent national and international news items and reports that we have tracked and shared on social media during the month of February. Via BBC Business: Companies in the UK with more than 250 employees that fail to address pay differences between male and female employees will be highlighted in new league tables under plans announced on Friday. Those with more than 250 employees will be forced to reveal their pay gap. The regulations will affect

Chambers Ireland CSR Awards 2016 Launch

In 2016 Chambers Ireland will host the 13th Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Awards. We are proud of our involvement with Chambers Ireland on the CSR Awards.

In Conversation with Emily Maher Sustainability Advisor for KBC Bank Ireland

Welcome to our new In Conversation With CSR Professionals Series, this month we are delighted to feature Emily Maher, the Sustainability Advisor at KBC Bank Ireland.

Skills based volunteering key to successful CSR

KPMG has reaffirmed its commitment to skills based corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Ireland with the launch of its annual CSR report, ‘ Our CSR Story ’. ‘ Our CSR Story ‘ highlights KPMG’s award-winning skills based endeavours in CSR over the past eighteen months and brings together, in a collection of short stories, the wide range of communities and charities

Vodafone Ireland Foundation and ISPCC Childline announce new partnership to keep children safe

ISPCC Childline and the Vodafone Ireland Foundation are delighted to announce a major five year partnership that aims to keep children safe by keeping them connected. The Partnership will: provide the charity with €2 million in direct funding from the Vodafone Foundation over five years provide a commitment to covering the call costs for the

Accenture brought 1,800 Girls across UK and Ireland together to Create Digital Apps and Inspire Future Careers

Recently Accenture hosted ‘Girls in STEM’ bringing together 1,800 girls from across five locations in the UK and Ireland. The girls, aged 11 – 15, had the chance to try their hand at coding, take part in workshops and hear from inspirational speakers from the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) sector, including representatives from the

Intel donation provides building blocks for student success in Coding

Ireland’s ambition to launch Europe’s next generation of software coders via the Junior Cycle took a further step forward last week with the help of computing innovation world leader Intel. Over 50 junior cycle teachers spent a day exploring Coding at the Intel Ireland Campus in Leixlip, with the company also making a donation

Responsible Business and Modern Day Slavery – The impact on your business

Modern day slavery is the umbrella term used to describe any type of bonded, forced or compulsory labour, or human trafficking.It is believed to generate $150 billion [1] in illicit profits each year.

Responsible business practices can enhance tenders and funding applications

Launching the results of the SFA/BITCI Responsible Small Business Survey, Linda Barry, Assistant Director of the Small Firms Association (SFA), said: “Small businesses play a key role in so many aspects of our society.

Video: Accenture Skills to Succeed

Accenture people demonstrate energy, enthusiasm and passion for making a difference in the lives of others, and regularly give back to people around the globe. Through individual giving and volunteer efforts, Accenture employees continue to find new ways to contribute to the communities in which they live and work. Last year alone, almost 300 employees