Inspiring Excellence: over 200 CSR Case Studies

BITCI News - Members News - Jul 29, 2013

Inspiring Excellence, Ireland’s only database of responsible and sustainable business practice examples celebrates its tenth birthday in 2013!

From inception in 2003, Inspiring Excellence has showcased the sustainability successes & stories of the member companies of Business in the Community Ireland.  The case studies profile the work of individual member companies and can act as a catalyst for other companies (both competitors & peers) to learn, get ideas and perhaps strive to go one better!

Over 200 examples of excellence are contained within the Inspiring Excellence database – categorised under the five headings of Marketplace, Environment, Community, Workplace and Corporate Responsibility Management & Communications.

What can we learn from Inspiring Excellence?

It’s fascinating to read the examples on Inspiring Excellence.  You can search by year, by company name, by heading (e.g. Environment) or by topic (e.g. Energy Management).

There is a wealth of information, tips and ideas contained within the database – ranging from customer service and sustainable procurement to biodiversity, waste & energy management; from staff retention and engagement to work-life balance, diversity management and disability integration; from strategic corporate community involvement, corporate giving & matched funding to practical examples of how to integrate sustainability across all operations.

Engaging in partnership to maximise community impact is a well-subscribed category, particularly in the area of education but also noticeable in health & well-being; IT and ability.

In 2005, ESB shared an example of what the company was doing to embed a culture of safety, through its Safety Leadership Programme.  In 2012, this programme had broadened out to encompass the embedding of a culture of health & well-being – illustrating well the change of how this issue is being embraced in one of Ireland’s most significant companies.

ESB’s strategic goal to become a net carbon neutral company by 2035 (see their 2009 case study!) and one of their staff engagement tools by which to reach that goal (see their 2010 case study on the ESB Sustainability Awards Scheme) are best in class in sustainability integration.

IBM also deserves particular commendation for having almost 20 examples of excellence contained within the database. An array of topics are covered including Providing Superior Customer Service; Working with Suppliers’ Suppliers to Reduce In-Bound Packaging;  Delivering High Skilled, High Impact Volunteering; and Celebrating 100 Years of Corporate Civic Leadership in 2011!

How is Business in the Community celebrating ten years of Inspiring Excellence in 2013?

For BITCI member companies who already feature in Inspiring Excellence, you are invited to update your case studies, as further detail of the impact & successes achieved may now be available.

In addition, all BITCI members are invited to submit at least one new example, to showcase the work being done in the area of responsible business practice.  Case studies illustrating the depth of the company’s commitment to sustainability and currently giving rise to transformative results within the management of operations are of particular interest.

Examples are sought particularly in the areas of sustainable procurement, customer engagement, sustainability communications, health & well-being, stakeholder engagement, water management and the measurement of carbon emissions in the value chain.  Short videos of same are very welcome.

If your company has an example you would like to showcase, or if you would like to learn more about how to make full use of the Inspiring Excellence database, please contact Darina Eades, Senior Consultant on Corporate Responsibility at deades@bitc.ie or your BITCI account manager.

You can access Inspiring Excellence here