Partner Article

Why CSR should be on your agenda

Businesses should put something back into the community in which they operate - discuss?

There are only two camps on this one and I think unlike many questions there’s not much middle ground. It’s a polarised argument; you either believe that engaging in acts of corporate social responsibility is the right thing to, or you don’t.

Personally I am of the school that looks upon my company as a plant growing in a garden. If the plant is the kind that sucks out all the nutrients from the ground while contributing little in return, then it will wither and die. However, if through shedding leaves, fruit, the process of photosynthesis and by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen, the plant contributes to its environment then it is far more likely to thrive.

There are some who will say companies should be obliged, maybe even legally forced to act in a socially responsible way, but I think that’s unnecessary and more over misses the point. Just like customers will not do business with someone who is known to be a complete…., they will more readily bring their custom to a company that is working for, and not just in, their community.

That is the logical reason why businesses should aim to do good and not just to turn profits.

That all sounds very clinical, and I’d like to say that after being in business for almost 40 years, there is also something incredibly rewarding about helping out in your local community. There are all sorts of little things you can do, which won’t wipe you out financially, but will be hugely appreciated by some local organisation.

Maybe the local food bank needs the loan of a van once a week to pick up goods from drop-off points, or an amateur theatre group has noticed your skip contains exactly what they need to build the set for their upcoming production.

These two examples have both happened to me, and when you’re busy with thousands of other things on your mind it’s easy to go the ‘I’m not running a bloody charity’ route and hang up the phone. But why would you when you can make such a difference with such a relatively modest effort?

So that’s my basic philosophy – you don’t need to be a charity, but you should try to do good things in the course of your business day, because it’s the right thing to do.

While we’re on the subject I think it’s a good time to mention that corporate responsibility is exactly what David Cameron is on about when he talks about The Big Society. It’s not that getting involved necessarily takes a huge amount of effort it’s more that if you think of things in terms of a wider connectivity of people then doing your part makes good sense.

As a businessman I’m particularly proud of the Big Society project we were involved with a while back where we teamed up with a couple of other businesses to renovate the Streatham Youth Club in South London. What a project! The kids did the work, leant some new skills, the club was rejuvenated, and my guys had a ball mentoring them all.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Charlie Mullins .