Seven Companies in Ireland achieve the Business Working Responsibly mark with a further ten recertifying to the standard
Business in the Community Ireland has announced that seven companies have recently achieved its Business Working Responsibly Mark. A total of 46 companies in Ireland have now attained the standard on sustainability and pictured at the GPO in Dublin with BITCI CEO Tomas Sercovich were the new recipients including:
Barry Kenny, Irish Rail, Bethany Fiore, William Fry, David McRedmond An Post, Billy Creavin, Alkermes, and Dave Fitzgerald, Ornua. Picture Jason Clarke.
- The Mark is operated by Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), the non-profit organisation dedicated to sustainability and third-party audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
- Seven companies achieved the Mark for the first time with another ten achieving recertification.
Over 200 business leaders attended Business in the Community Ireland’s virtual celebration event on Thursday 17th February, where the latest companies certified to the Business Working Responsibly mark in 2021/2022 were announced.
The Mark which is run by Business in the Community Ireland and based on ISO 26000 is valid for three years and is independently audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
Seven companies are being accredited to the Mark for the first time this year and they are Alkermes Ireland, An Post, Grant Thornton Ireland, Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail, Ornua, Vermilion and William Fry.
In addition, ten companies achieved recertification to the Mark and they are Boots (Retail) Ireland Ltd, BT Ireland, Central Bank of Ireland, CRH Operating Companies in Ireland, Deloitte Ireland, Gas Networks Ireland, HEINEKEN Ireland, Hovione, Intel Ireland and Sodexo Ireland. 46 companies in Ireland have now achieved the standard.
The Mark assesses best in class sustainability and looks at leadership, policies, practices, performance and impact in areas such as employee wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, environmental practices, supply chain management and engagement with the local community.
Speaking at the virtual event where the companies were announced, Tomas Sercovich, CEO, Business in the Community Ireland said: “As sustainability becomes mainstream, it is critical for business to have objective proof points that their management systems are robust and that sustainability is more than an aspiration. We are delighted to welcome the newly certified companies to the Mark, as we continue to see growing expectations from investors, regulators, employees and society at large for greater accountability of business in areas such as employee diversity and inclusion or supplier engagement. The Mark, as a third-party verification, is a clear differentiator and driver of competitive advantage in today’s marketplace.”
Speaking at the virtual event, Minister Robert Troy congratulated the companies saying: “I welcome the commitment of companies today to address their environmental and social impact in their business practices. Attaining the Mark is a significant achievement. The way companies and organisations are valued is being redefined through the development of sustainability reporting and its integration into company strategy. Investors, consumers and job seekers are becoming more discerning of the service and goods they use so the opportunity is there for companies to embrace sustainable business practices. This coincides with developments in Europe where negotiations are well underway on new rules for enhanced sustainability reporting by all large companies and listed SMEs. Standards like the Business Working Responsibly Mark will support companies to put a robust management process in place to drive and sustain progress in all aspects of sustainability”.
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For Further information and interviews please contact:
Moira Horgan
Business in the Community Ireland
086 172 2105
