An Tánaiste Joan Burton Announces the new recipients of the Business Working Responsibly Mark
Over 150 CEO’s Gathered for Business in the Community Ireland’s 8th Annual CEO Forum in Dublin Castle
- An Tánaiste Joan Burton announced Accenture Ireland, EirGrid, Marks & Spencer Ireland, Musgrave Group, Northern Trust, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Ricoh Ireland, Transdev Ireland and Ulster Bank as the latest companies to achieve the Business Working Responsibly Mark.
- The Mark is awarded by Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), the non-profit organisation dedicated to corporate responsibility. The Mark is audited by the NSAI
- Geoff McDonald, Former Global Vice President Human Resources , Unilever and Brendan Jennings, Managing Partner, Deloitte Ireland will address the forum
- The forum preceded BITCI’s Major Corporate Responsibility Conference on Building Trust, Reputation and Culture in Business
On Tuesday 11th November over 150 of Ireland’s CEOs gathered in Dublin Castle where An Tánaiste Joan Burton addressed and announced the companies to have achieved the prestigious Business Working Responsibly Mark. The Mark which is run by Business in the Community Ireland and based on ISO 26000 is valid for two years and is audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
Ricoh Ireland, Ulster Bank, Marks & Spencer Ireland, Musgrave Group and Northern Trust are being accredited with the Mark for the first time and joining them for re-accreditation are EirGrid, Transdev Ireland, Pfizer Healthcare Ireland and Accenture Ireland.
Announcing the recipient companies, Tánaiste Burton said:
“Ireland has rebuilt its reputation on the international stage, and we need business to support the Government as we show that Ireland is an excellent place to invest and to establish a business. Increasingly, good Corporate Social Responsibility practices are distinguishing the best companies from their competitors. The way that businesses integrate social and environmental concerns into their engagement with customers, suppliers, employees and local communities is becoming hugely important to the sustainability of their business. Having a mix of indigenous and multinational companies achieving the Business Working Responsibly Mark today strengthens Ireland’s case for foreign direct investment and sets the standard for other companies already operating here.”
This is the eight year of the annual CEO Forum run by Business in the Community Ireland with the purpose of bringing new developments in the area of sustainability to Irish CEOs. In a year where business reputation has been firmly in the spotlight – Building Trust, Reputation and Culture with stakeholders is this year’s focus.
Speaking at the event that acts as Ireland’s premier corporate arena for discussion surrounding corporate responsibility and sustainability, Tina Roche, CEO, Business in the Community Ireland said:
“The need to rebuild trust and reputation and reinforce transparency and accountability after these challenging times is crucial. In the past 14 years, as Ireland’s network for responsible business, we have witnessed first-hand a real sea change in the attitudes of Irish companies towards trust and reputation, with many companies having responsible and sustainable business practices as the cornerstone of their strategic plans.
Roche congratulating the companies that have achieved the Mark added:
“This year has seen a significant growth in companies achieving The Mark. It is inspiring to see so many companies using the Mark as a framework and working hard to embed corporate responsibility at the heart of what they do. These forward-thinking companies understand that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and ethics.”
The companies who received their Mark certificates are leading in the area of sustainability in Ireland. Many other companies use the Mark as a measurement and gap analysis tool. The Mark is awarded after a third party verification audit by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) and is based on ISO 26000. It is open to all large companies in Ireland.
BITCI’s Major corporate responsibility conference entitled Responsible Business Forum 2014, Building Trust, Reputation and Culture followed the CEO Forum. Featuring over 20 international and national speakers, it brought together over 250 CEOs and senior management of some of Ireland’s top companies to discuss key trends in ethics, reputation and sustainability. Speakers included: BASF SE, Centrica, CIPD UK, Deloitte, Friends First, Intel Corporation, The Futures Company, Marks & Spencer, Musgrave Group, RBS and Sodexo.
Ends
For Further Information and interviews please contact:
Barbara Gormley, Business in the Community Ireland
Tel: 01 874 3821 Mob: 086 780 87 62
