The Guide To Responsible Business by Graham Copestake

In association with

The Guide to Responsible Business

Supported by From the publishers of

Foreword ransport should be at the centre of the

for Transport, as a member of Business in the

places it serves. That might seem like an

Community, is ready to help. I don’t see

obvious thing to say, but too often transport

community involvement as a substitute for a

planning and provision is something that is

professional system but as an essential pillar of

done remotely and imposed on people, not

it: local input of the kind that has rescued and

led by them.

transformed the Settle to Carlisle railway, for

Train timetables are formulated by a distant

instance. I have been to see Settle and Appleby

company and shaped by bureaucrats. Roads

stations and they are outstanding products of local

are designed and run centrally. Even bus

people and the rail business working together.

networks can be inﬂexible. Too often there is

I see the same in so many of the excellent

a gap between what people would like and

community transport schemes, including the

what they get.

Bakewell and Eyam initiative, in my constituency.

It would be false to pretend that community

They are not replacements for traditional

involvement can ﬁx all of this. There will always

commercial buses but vital additions to the

be choices to be made about cost and capacity.

network, bringing in volunteers alongside full-time

But opening up decision making - and opening

staff to reach people who might otherwise have

up stations and routes themselves - can be a

no transport at all. I am pleased that the

powerful way to improve services and improve

Government is backing them with new funds to

the way transport is perceived, too. I know,

help buy vehicles for their ﬂeets.

as a Derbyshire MP, how the community rail

I know that sometimes in transport the

partnership on the Derwent Valley line that I

planning rules and structures can seem rigid:

use as a regular customer from Dufﬁeld station

apparently designed to exclude people, not include

has given new life to the route. Along with East

them. But I want that to change and I hope it will.

Midlands Trains, the partnership has smartened

Together, we can do so much more.

up stations, planted ﬂowers, encouraged people to travel, fought for better services and generally made the line a part of the community. And trafﬁc has boomed as a result. Stations that were empty a decade ago are now busy. This can be the way forward for so many more of our transport networks. The Department

The Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 3

MARK PIKE.

4 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

The Guide to Responsible Business was produced byâ&#x20AC;Ś

Contents

RAIL, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough Business Park, Peterborough, PE2 6EA. Email: rail@bauermedia.co.uk

Guiding you through the issues surrounding responsible business practice...

Call: 01733 395089

3 Foreword 6 Introduction to Business in the Community 10 What is responsible business? 16 The leadership agenda 17 Rail supports sustainability 18 Supporting The Guide to Responsible

Art Editor: Graham Copestake

Business

22 What are the key issues? 28 Stimulating the local economy

Developing your responsible business strategy by engaging with the local community.

44 Reducing the impact of unemployment Reassessing recruitment strategy in your organisation to increase your talent pool.

58 Addressing the skills shortage

Tackling the issue of finding skilled individuals and encouraging newcomers.

73 A moral obligation 74 Inequality of recruitment

Recruitment and progression in employment for women and ethnic minorities.

88 Healthier, happier employees

Elevating mental health to equal the importance of physical health is vital for business.

Writers: Stefanie Browne, Richard Clinnick, Paul Prentice (the RAIL magazine editorial team), Business in the Community Production Manager: Mandy Brett Sub Editor: Richard Hampson Editorial Assistant: Natalie Horton Account Director: Julie Howard Project Managers: Leanne Patterson, Lucy Peacock No part of this book may be reproduced in any form in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Bauer, or Business in the Community, where appropriate. Complaints: Bauer Consumer Media Limited is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (www. ipso.co.uk) and endeavours to respond to and resolve your concerns quickly. Our Editorial Complaints Policy (including full details of how to contact us about editorial concerns and IPSOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s contact details) can be found at www. bauermediacomplaints.co.uk. Our email address for editorial complaints covered by the Editorial Complaints Policy is complaints@bauermedia.co.uk.

96 Diminishing natural resources

Combatting rising energy costs and constraints on the use of natural resources.

114 Responsible Business of the Year 116 Responsible Business Awards 118 Responsible Business Week 120 Sustainable Rail Programme 121 HS2: More than a railway 122 Closing remarks THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 5

Business in the Community - one of The Prince’s Charities R

esponsible business practice (formally known as corporate social responsibility,

or CSR) creates mutual beneﬁts for both business and for society. Business in the Community (BITC) helps companies integrate responsible business practice into their corporate strategies through a range of programmes and services. Its members receive exclusive access to a network of likeminded companies, and support from experts within BITC and its membership. BITC’s primary focus is to demonstrate the economic case for putting sustainability at the heart of business strategies and operations. It is working to reform the relationship between business and society, in order to secure a more sustainable, mutually beneﬁcial future. BITC is one of The Prince’s Charities of which HRH The Prince of Wales has been president for 29 years. Earlier in 2014, HRH The Prince of Wales and his sons TRH The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry attended the Responsible Business Awards Gala Dinner at the Royal Albert Hall.

6 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Building on 30 years of action, Business in

We are a progressive movement, and

the Community (BITC) is working to shape a

work with business to drive change. Our

new contract between business and society.

local, national and international programmes

Our purpose is to create a fairer society

enable businesses to achieve more through

and a more sustainable future. We engage

collaboration, and we work with members to

thousands of businesses through our

develop an integrated approach to running

campaigns, focusing on:

a responsible business. We are proud to be

✦ Stimulating the local economy and

part of the Prince’s Charities, a group of not-

creating jobs. ✦ Reducing the impact of unemployment. ✦ Addressing the skills shortage.

for-proﬁt organisations, of which The Prince of Wales is president. Given the projected growth for the rail

✦ Tackling inequality in recruitment.

sector in the UK, The Guide to Responsible

✦ Promoting wellbeing at work.

Business is being published at a time when

✦ Cutting dependency on natural resources.

it is more important than ever to demonstrate and promote best practice on the key responsible business areas for the industry. We recently helped formulate the rail industry’s ﬁrst Sustainability Charter, to help businesses in the sector meet challenging targets to drive environmental and social sustainability in the UK. I hope that this guide will demystify the responsible business agenda, and give practical advice to ensure that sustainability is embedded within a company’s culture and throughout the organisation, so that the rail sector can play its part as a force for change in society.

Stephen Howard Chief Executive Business in the Community

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 7

o g u n i r t t pu yees and t o he l p em ommunity first c

charity events

There’s more to us than just trains...

• Since 2008, with the help of our employees,

we have donated £930k to charities and the communities that we support. That’s a whopping 3,000 employee hours doing things like cake stalls and charity events.

•

£2.6 million has been invested in developing our people since 2004 and 71% of them recommend us as a good place to work.

• £20k has been invested in employment

programmes with two charities, which has created 28 jobs in our business.

• 67 Green Grants totalling £124k have been

awarded over the past 6 years to support environmental schemes such as the Butterﬂy Conservation in Morecombe Bay.

• A mahoosive 52,000 tonnes of CO

2 has been saved by improving the energy efﬁciency of our trains since EcoMode and EcoDrive were introduced in 2008.

For more information please visit

tpexpress.co.uk/Cr Dec 2014

What do we mean by ‘responsible business’? Simple proﬁteering has had its day. As consumers become more conscious of social issues and constraints on resources become tighter than ever, how can sustainability provide the solution?

ustainability is one of those buzzwords we

it is partly about that, but beyond the natural

hear all the time. It’s often dismissed as a

environment, sustainability is a concept that has

fad, or something that someone else will worry

a much broader scope - jobs, people, the local

about. However, in the rail industry some of the

economy, and even money.

biggest players - Network Rail, Crossrail and

To be considered sustainable, a business

the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) to

must look beyond its immediate needs and

name just a few - are talking about it and acting

act in a way that protects the needs of future

on it. More and more companies are taking

generations.

notice, and making plans based on a sustainable approach to

❝

But that’s not to say it is a purely selﬂess act. While it is about considering

the long-term future of the local It’s about According to Business in and natural resources, creating mutual community the Community’s 2014 report it is also about conserving the ‘Fortune Favours the Brave’, benefits for both long-term future of your own opportunities for sustainable business and business and its ability to grow. innovation are valued at You’re creating resilient communities society. £100 billion in the UK economy around you, but also building a thriving business.

alone, and there are £40bn worth of efﬁciency savings still to be made in

❞

British businesses. There is a common misconception that being

workplace and a sustainable future. Sustainability is all part of responsible business practice (previously known as corporate social responsibility, or CSR). It’s

sustainable is purely about the environment,

about creating mutual beneﬁts for both

and about safeguarding natural resources. Yes,

business and society.

10 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

It’s a laudable aim, but is it really something that should concern businesses? To answer that, we need to look at how

the world is changing and the trends that are forming across the world. These global megatrends include factors such as rapid population growth, increasing global connectedness,

Today

increasing resource constraints, changing weather patterns, and shifts in consumer values and habits. And the prediction is that all these changing trends will make the world a vastly different place by 2050. According to a UN-led study, released on September 18 2014, there is a 70% chance that the population of the planet will rise from today’s seven billion to nine billion by 2050 - and a staggering 11 billion by 2100.

Those dates might seem like a long way off, until you consider that even in the rail industry, we are planning a railway (HS2) that won’t open until 2026. It means that the conventional

2050

business models of today won’t be ﬁt for the future, and that we must plan for those changes now. On the next few pages we’ve outlined these global mega-trends, these ‘Forces for Change’, in a way that makes them relevant to business. Research shows that 76% of business leaders think they need a different business model to adapt to the future, yet

only 17% of them have business plans that look more than ten years ahead. Many of them recognise the need to change but are not acting on it.

2100

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 11

Forces for Change Balance Shift: Signiﬁcant population growth

Connectedness: Technology is creating a

in emerging markets will continue to alter

world where people’s awareness of global

our current world order, with developed

developments in ideas, politics and popular

economies faced with an ageing and shrinking

aspirations is growing in both speed and

population. Emerging and frontier markets

reach. The very same tools and technologies

have opportunities for growth that often aren’t

allow communities to form almost

available in more developed economies.

instantaneously (across markets, generations and political divides), to inﬂuence or to

Protection: Companies implicated in any

create alternatives to traditional business,

way with species extinctions can expect to

government and community structures.

be blacklisted and viliﬁed. In contrast, those seen to be protecting people and the natural

Fragile Earth: The concept of scarcity is

systems upon which we all depend will be

fundamental. It is rooted in the environmental

hailed as heroes of the new economy.

realities of the planet, ruled and limited by

12 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

PHIL METCALFE.

entropy and ecology. Adaptive businesses will

stakeholders) may be able to respond to rapidly

do more with less, and enable their customers

evolving marketplaces in ways where a more

to do more with less. This does not just add a

traditional ‘closed’ company may struggle.

real and immediate commercial advantage, it also positions the company as a leader, helping

Values Shift: We are experiencing a widespread

to build its brand among environmentally and

reassessment of the values that underpin

socially-conscious consumers.

society. There is a growing realisation that we need to apportion more value to natural

Transparency: The ability of consumers to

systems, and become aware of the limitations

understand how a company operates and where

and threats posed by conventional economic

its products come from is increasing all the

growth. Companies and brands that are

time. This is made easier by the rights of public

perceived as embodying values held dear by

access to information. ‘Open’ companies (those

people can see their consumers be transformed

that embrace new ways to communicate with

into brand ambassadors.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 13

The Leadership Agenda B

usiness leaders play a vital role in

report, in which 300 business leaders contributed

Action points for business leaders

through surveys and a series of debates,

✦ Create a clear long-term and short-

addressing global mega-trends. A recent

revealed that nine out of ten leaders regard

term strategic vision.

business as being about more than just proﬁt.

✦ Demonstrate your values.

However, despite that belief, fewer than three

✦ Identify and communicate total long-

in ten think sufﬁcient attention is given to developing long-term business strategies. The core purpose of business hasn’t changed. Businesses still need to provide excellent products or services to customers in order

term value creation. ✦ Develop responsible leaders for the future. ✦ Be an advocate for responsible leadership.

to make money to survive and prosper. But the context of business is changing. Greater expectations, scrutiny and pressures are shining a spotlight on how businesses make their money, on the impact they have on the

Further reading

communities they serve, and on the importance

✦ For more information on developing

of creating long-term shared value.

responsible business leaders: www.bitc.org.uk/our-resources/

Easier said than done

report/developing-responsible-

But while those leaders may recognise the

business-leaders

importance of a sustainability agenda, it isn’t

✦ To ﬁnd out more about engaging the

easy to make big changes in an arena where

people in your boardroom:

you’re under short-term pressures, and dealing

www.bitc.org.uk/our-resources/

with customers and shareholders who don’t

report/big-boardroom-agenda

realise its importance. Paying lip service to

✦ And to ﬁnd out about the issues that

responsible business is easy, but standing up

are hitting boardrooms now:

as a responsible business leader is a

www.bitc.org.uk/blog/post/what-

different story altogether.

global-trends-are-hitting-boardroom

16 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

The rail industry supports responsible business BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS FROM THE RAIL INDUSTRY INFRASTRUCTURE /SUPPLIERS

✦ Linbrooke Services

✦ Network Rail

✦ Fujitsu

✦ Costain

✦ Skanska

✦ Carillion ✦ CH2M Hill

TRAIN OPERATING COMPANIES

✦ Telent

✦ East Coast Mainline

✦ Amey

✦ First Group

✦ Alstom

✦ Serco

✦ Bombardier Transportation UK

✦ Northern Rail

✦ Siemens

✦ Virgin Trains

✦ Hitachi Europe

✦ Go-Ahead

✦ HS2

✦ Heathrow Express

✦ Kier

✦ Merseytravel

✦ Lang O’Rourke ✦ Spencer Rail

DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 17

Supporting The Guide to Responsible Business… It would not have been possible to produce The Guide to Responsible Business without the support of our sponsors. Here, they describe why sustainability is important to their businesses.

the whole supply chain, collaboratively, to drive sustainable construction. “Collaborations, like the Skanska-founded,

❝

industry-wide Supply Chain Sustainability Going green can be a tough choice for

School are the way forward. In its ﬁrst year the

some companies but, in the construction

school attracted 2,400 members and 1,300

sector, there really is only one way to go.

companies, all eager to boost their green

At Skanska we believe that construction with

credentials and meet their clients’ aspirations

near-zero impact on the environment is a

to future-proof their developments.

realistic stretch. “The built environment accounts for 40 per

“Skanska is determined to move this agenda forward and ﬁnd innovative solutions that push

cent of carbon emissions, 50 per cent of water

the boundaries. It’s important to do what you

consumption, 33 per cent of landﬁll and 25

say, but also to focus on collaboration and take

per cent of raw materials, so we can make a

a broad approach to being green.”

signiﬁcant difference to our collective footprint. “We all need to ramp up our efforts to drive green solutions and green thinking in order to meet the 2025 Construction Strategy targets of 50 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions. We also need to work with government, clients and

18 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Mike Putnam President and CEO, Skanska UK

❝ Heathrow Express is very

❝ We have embedded the

excited to be connected to

principles of sustainability

Quinton Kynaston, especially

into every area of the Crossrail

as one of our employees is an alumni of the academy.

project, from innovative construction to key decisions over the railway

Supporting the educational programme for our

we leave behind. We expect to add value

future engineers will make a huge difference

every step of the way and deliver a new

to young people, and hopefully, the

railway the UK can be proud of.”

rail industry.” Elaine Heyworth

Andrew Wolstenholme

Safety & Assurance Director

Chief Executive

❝ At Virgin we

❝ We are dedicated to

believe a successful

embedding sustainability

company is founded

within our operations; by

on a motivated workforce that provides great

developing our people, creating an equal

service to its customers. To do this one

and inclusive workplace, minimising our

needs to have strong purpose and empower

environmental impacts and improving

employees to improve the business and the

local communities we will build a successful

communities around them. We have several

business and create a railway ﬁt for

initiatives within the business which connect

the future.”

with each of the BITC touch points.” Phil Whittingham

Ross MacKenzie

Lead Executive

General Manager, Rail

❝ To achieve long-term, balanced growth and build successful businesses, we must establish authentic, robust pathways to employability. We need to address skills gaps through

❝ Our sustainable

development vision is to deliver a railway ﬁt for the future and we aim to achieve a safer, more reliable and better value railway.” Gareth Llewellyn

practical training places and easily-digested

(Executive Director of

messaging that helps people see how

Safety & Sustainable

they might make a difference.” David Picton,

Development) Mark Carne (CEO)

Chief Sustainability Ofﬁcer

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 19

reduce our carbon footprint. It is a journey we have not taken in isolation but by engaging and involving stakeholders and suppliers who

❝ A sustainable business and a successful

have the same sustainable aspirations and

striving to create a railway the North can be

change and continually consider environmental

proud of, one that works for our customers,

factors when making decisions across the

our people and our stakeholders. In doing

business. It is this balanced approach along

so we are actively contributing to the local

with the hard work and dedication from all the

communities we serve whilst ensuring we help

teams within Northern which has resulted in

protect our environment.

the great achievement of Platinum status with

business are one and the same. We are

“Over the last ﬁve years we have made signiﬁcant strides in understanding how our

commitments as ourselves. “We are committed to tackling climate

a near perfect score of 97%, in the Business in the Community (BITC) Environment Index.”

business is contributing to issues such as climate change, resource use, waste disposal and sustainable transport. This has meant we have been able to put many initiatives in place to improve the situation and signiﬁcantly

Members of Business in the Community (BITC)

Alex Hynes Managing Director

❝ The last two years have seen a massive

All the sponsors in The Guide to

step change in our environment performance.

Responsible Business are members of

In 2014, we opened the UK’s ﬁrst Building

Business in the Community and beneﬁt

Research Establishment Environmental As-

from the help, support and information

sessment Methodology (BREEAM) ‘Excellent’

that membership provides.

mainline railway station at Wakeﬁeld – around

To ﬁnd out more about the beneﬁts of becoming a member, turn to page 122 or visit www.bitc.org.

790% more energy efﬁcient than the station building it replaces. Karen Boswell Managing Director

20 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

❝ In today’s

❝ Coming from a broken home and growing up

in a deprived area of Shefﬁeld, I did not have

a great start in life. I joined the Royal Marines at 16 which taught me determination, loyalty and brotherhood and has got me to where I am

economic times when public transport providers need to get more for less, the most important thing we can do is enable organisations to work together to make it both simple and beneﬁcial for people to travel by rail and bus.”

today. Establishing the Phoenix project to work with kids like myself was really important to me to improve these young people’s

Debra Charles

outlook on life and future prospects.”

Founder and CEO

Lee Hallam, Chief Executive

❝ At First TransPennine Express we have a

recognise we can always to do more and we

strong commitment to corporate responsibility.

must all continually look beyond our sector to

Our business strategy focuses on what’s

encourage and promote wider learning.

really important to our people, customers,

Looking forward it is really an exciting time

stakeholders and the wider community who are

for the future of rail, with customer numbers

at the heart of everything we do.

continuing to grow and signiﬁcant investment in

BITC has supported us to develop our

rail infrastructure across the North of England.

strategy and also to improve the way we

With continued focus on maximising the value

communicate what we do to be a more

of these investments we are conﬁdent in

responsible and transparent organisation.

rail’s ability to continue to play an expanding

This is why we are delighted to sponsor this

role in the economic well-being of the North,

publication to share and showcase some

bringing sustainable beneﬁts

fantastic examples of sustainability in rail. We

to employees, customers and

have shared some of our own examples of

communities.”

good practice in this guide. Whilst rail is recognised as being one of the most sustainable forms of transport, we

Nick Donovan Managing Director

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 21

The KEY issues W

hile individually, each business may never achieve total sustainability, many

an important role to play. SMEs account for 99% of businesses in the

are working towards areas in which they can

UK. Deﬁned as having up to 249 employees,

make their mark.

they are vital for employment and supporting

It becomes easier to tackle the massive subject

the economy. In 2011, they employed 13.8

of ‘responsible business’ by prioritising what your

million people and had a combined turnover of

business does about the things that really matter

£1.5 billion.

at the moment. These things can be broken down into six primary action points: ✦ Stimulating the local economy and creating jobs that are essential for communities to thrive.

Because of their financial importance, large companies need to support smaller firms. Allowing SMEs to compete for business on a level playing field, engaging with local SMEs

✦ Making employment accessible to young

and supporting them will do more than create

people and adults who are excluded

jobs in the local community, it will also support

from society.

a sector of business that is worth almost half of

✦ Addressing any skills shortages so your business can compete in the future.

the turnover in the private sector. Turn to page 28 for more information.

✦ Tackling inequality in recruitment, pay and promotion for women and black, Asian and other ethnic minority groups. ✦ Creating healthier, happier and more productive employees. ✦ Cutting dependencies on diminishing natural resources.

Reducing the impact of unemployment Although unemployment has been falling since January 2013, the number of people unemployed for longer than 12 months has been rising. And the number of young people

Stimulating the local economy In difﬁcult ﬁnancial times, it is the private sector

not in employment, education or training has remained steady at just under one million since 2010. Young people and the unemployed often face

that is expected to drive economic recovery, and

greater barriers to employment. A lack of self-

small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have

conﬁdence, recent experience or qualiﬁcations

22 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

means that, without proactive support, it is difﬁcult for them to ﬁnd and keep work.

Tackling inequality Despite signiﬁcant changes to the

Sometimes those barriers are compounded by

demographic make-up of the population,

issues such as homelessness or by the criminal

evidence shows that there is a huge disparity

justice and care systems.

between access to and progress through the

Unemployment has a cost for society, as well as individuals. Making employment more accessible to people facing these obstacles can

workplace for women and ethnic minorities, compared with other groups. Just 15% of the rail operations workforce is

bring vast beneﬁts to business.

from an ethnic minority background, and only

Turn to page 44 for more information.

4.4% of rail’s engineering workforce is female. The only way for a business to beneﬁt

Addressing the skills shortage For businesses to compete in the future, they

from a bigger and more diverse pool of talent and skills is by offering equal employment, regardless of race or gender. It’s important for businesses to ensure their workforce reﬂects

need access to skilled employees. The worlds

the make-up of the population.

of education and employment need to be

Turn to page 74 for more information.

aligned so that young people leave education with work-related skills. Unfortunately, many young people lack the skills that businesses will need to be successful in the future. Currently, the UK’s 15-year-olds are placed

Healthier, happier employees There is a growing body of evidence outlining

only 26th in the world in mathematics and 23rd

both the cost of mental health to employees

for reading, even though we have a relatively

and to society.

high GDP and spend more on education than countries higher up the rankings. Particularly important to the rail industry are young people who leave school with science, technology, engineering and mathematics

These growing challenges can be mapped against the UK’s productivity and engagement levels, which lag behind our European and global counterparts. One in four adults in the UK will experience

(STEM) skills. But 29% of ﬁrms that need these

a mental health condition. That’s a costly

skills are having difﬁculty recruiting suitable

problem - poor mental health at work costs the

staff, and 53% expect problems in the next

UK economy £26 billion each year, which is an

three years.

average of £1,035 per employee.

Turn to page 58 for more information.

Stress at work has more than doubled since

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 23

Natural resources are diminishing and the way we do business must recognise this. PHIL METCALFE.

24 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

the 1990s, with an estimated 500,000 people suffering from work-related stress in the UK.

Diminishing natural resources

Yet only a third of employees receive any

If everyone in the world consumed as many

support to manage workplace stress. And a

natural resources as the average person in the

staggering 39% of employees report feeling

UK, we’d need three planets to support us.

under excessive pressure at least once or

If we all lived the average American lifestyle,

twice a week.

we’d need ﬁve.

It is, therefore, no coincidence that UK

The way products and services are currently

productivity was 20% lower than the rest of the

produced and consumed is putting unsustainable

seven major advanced economies.

pressure on the natural systems that underpin

Aside from having a duty of care to

the global economy. Natural resources are

employees, companies that take a proactive

becoming scarcer, while humanity’s ecological

approach to creating a better working

footprint is increasing. Society is using resources

culture (and integrating this into how they do

faster than the planet can sustain, and at a rate

business) will ultimately beneﬁt from a healthy,

that will seriously jeopardise future quality of life.

engaged and more productive workforce. That

To prevent this, business leaders must

can only be a good thing for business in the

develop their thinking and challenge

long run.

conventional business models.

Turn to page 88 for more information.

Turn to page 96 for more information.

Tackling this in practice By addressing these issues businesses can not only increase their competitiveness,

tackle them in your own business. Each section also provides case studies

but also reduce costs and create greater

from businesses that have tackled or are

resilience. The Guide to Responsible

tackling these issues successfully. These

Business is designed to help you tackle these

provide real world insight into applying

six issues in practice.

the same methods to your own business

The rest of this guide is broken down into

and strategies that you can take into your

sections addressing each of the six issues,

boardroom. Some of them have even won

providing you with guidance on identifying

awards for their work towards becoming

the areas of concern and how you can best

responsible businesses.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 25

A trusted partner Working together with our customers and partners, Skanska delivers sustainable and innovative solutions and continual improvement in operational efďŹ ciency â&#x20AC;&#x201C; beneďŹ tting our customers each and every day.

skanska.co.uk

twitter.com/skanskaukplc

youtube.com/skanskauk

linkedin.com/company/skanska

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

1. Stimulate the local economy & create jobs Small to medium businesses have a real opportunity to lead the way in developing responsible business strategies by engaging with their local communities - but big ﬁrms can tap into this too... Jane Pritchard,

achieve their growth potential is in all our

Enterprise & Culture Director,

interests and will also enable large business

Business in the Community

to beneﬁt from a stronger and more diverse supply chain.

Small and medium sized

SMEs themselves, like larger businesses,

enterprises account for the vast majority of

have a role to play in building a fairer

businesses in the UK and almost half of all

society and more sustainable future through

turnover in the private sector. Most crucially,

responsible behaviour.

they provide livelihoods for thousands of

Without formally calling this activity ‘CSR’

people, who in turn employ hundreds of thou-

we know that many SMEs understand the

sands more.

wider contribution they can have in their

However there are still real barriers

communities and are integrating responsible

preventing them from growing their business.

behaviour throughout their business

One of the key challenges is how difﬁcult it is

operations.

to sell to, win contracts from, and trade with big businesses. Bringing more SMEs into large supply chains extends far beyond the business

SMEs can be a great example for larger corporates while also providing access to innovative ideas and ways of working. Repositioning SMEs as critical suppliers

that wins a contract with a large corporate.

and partners working across the supply

SMEs and the jobs they create help our

chains of our large businesses is a win win

communities thrive so enabling more to

for all.

28 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Santander Breakthrough programme

Case Study

The SME sector contains the economic

available within the organisation. Santander

giants of tomorrow. These are the

seeks to identify and support successful,

companies that are not only trading

fast-growth SMEs as they work to break

successfully, but also growing rapidly.

through to the next level. Funding is an

Such star performers have the potential to

important part of the package. Over the

become major players in their industries,

next few years, it is making £200 million

employing perhaps not just tens or hundreds

available for investment in businesses

of people but thousands as their businesses

with potential to be ‘Growth Champions’.

expand. Santander’s Breakthrough

It also ensure that any company selected

programme is designed to help identify

for the programme will have access to

businesses like these and help them fulﬁl

masterclasses featuring some of the best

their full potential.The programme is aimed

advice and talent available, including

at businesses that have advanced well

business people who have already

beyond the start-up stage to achieve a

established their own companies as market

turnover of between £500,000 and £25

leaders on a national and global stage.

million per annum. It is companies like these

Participants in Santander’s Breakthrough

that most often struggle when it comes to

can also beneﬁt from global trade missions

accessing funding and resources, ramping

to explore how to expand their business

up capacity, building market share and

oversees; opportunities to attract graduate

breaking into new markets. This usually

talent through an internship programme

requires not only ﬁnancial support but

and insight into how to operate their

also knowledge and skills that may not be

business responsibly.

t is the private sector that is expected to drive

£50bn to the economy.

economic recovery and Small and Medium

The country has 68,000 social enterprises

sized Enterprises (SMEs) have a vital role to

that also play a vital role in local communities,

play in this.

helping to deliver social inclusion, providing

Of the 4.5 million businesses in the UK,

skills and training and environmental

SMEs account for 99% of them. An SME is

regeneration. The social enterprise sector

deﬁned as having up to 249 employees. It

contributed an estimated £24bn to the UK

is these businesses that are the backbone

economy. It employs around 800,000 people.

of the UK economy. In 2011 they employed

Additionally, 58% of social enterprises reported

13.8 million people and had a combined

growth last year, compared with 28% of

turnover of £1.5 billion - that is almost half

mainstream SMEs. This may seem encouraging,

of the total turnover in the UK private sector.

but research has identiﬁed that SMEs, including

It is estimated that by 2020 medium-sized

social enterprises, need greater support to

businesses could contribute between £20bn-

achieve their potential growth.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 29

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

❝

Prosperous, strong communities are good

Less than half of applications by small firms for finance growth, but less than half of are successful applications by small ﬁrms for ﬁnance

for business. By investing in

❞

(such as bank loans) are successful.

communities to help them tackle

However, the number of small ﬁrms applying for

the issues that affect them, businesses are

credit is lower than it was 12 months ago.

investing in themselves.

Maintaining cash ﬂow is one of the biggest challenges facing small ﬁrms. More than three

MUTUAL BENEFIT

quarters of these businesses have experienced

The people that businesses employ, where they

late payment.

are located and what they buy, sell and invest in all have an impact on local communities and

BARRIERS TO GROWTH

the social issues that affect them.

Vital to the growth of these SMEs is the supply

Small businesses and those who are self-

chain, and gaining access to it. However, there

employed dominate the rural economy. In

are issues around the payment processes. Six

these businesses, there are fewer than ten

in ten SMEs is owed money from late payments,

employees in 92% of the companies.

and the total amount owed to them is currently

While there are great opportunities for rural

around £40bn. The average amount owed is

growth in the UK, a thriving rural economy

£38,000. Compare this to the £6.7bn of late

relies upon thriving rural communities. This

payments owed to large businesses - less than a

requires the tackling of issues such as provision

quarter of the debt burden.

of services, lack of affordable housing and

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB)

scarce employment opportunities for young

has identiﬁed a skills shortage as a signiﬁcant

people. All of these affect the viability of rural

barrier to growth for small ﬁrms, with almost a

communities in the long term.

third reporting this issue as hampering growth.

These issues make SMEs extremely important to the economy of local communities.

And 74% of business leaders concur with the statement that ‘the recruitment of young people is vital to avert a skills crisis’, according to

START-UP STRUGGLE

the Prince’s Trust’s The Skills Crunch report,

However, these companies are struggling to

published in August 2014.

win contracts from the public sector. They are

Yet why should business tackle this issue

struggling to access ﬁnance to start up and

and why should it take action? It is widely

grow and to get into company supply chains.

recognised that SMEs have a vital role in

Half of the entrepreneurs claim access to

fuelling future economic growth. Yes, there is

funding is the most effective way to accelerate

an ethical imperative for larger companies to

30 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

THE ACCESS PLEDGE CHOOSING

FINDING

MANAGING

Is it fair?

✦ Make sure SMEs have the same ability to ﬁnd opportunities as other suppliers (improve access to portals/platforms)

✦ Make requirements for insurance and non-critical certiﬁcations relative to the size and risk of the contract

✦ Make requirements for management reporting relative to the size and risk of the contract

Is it transparent?

✦ Develop a one-page description of how you choose and ﬁnd suppliers (including SMEs)

✦

Accept standard supplier

information prepared for

Payment Code, being

other contracts

transparent about your

✦

payment processes

Allow suppliers to

disengage early if they’re not right for the contract

Is it open?

✦

Get feedback from

✦ Get

feedback from

✦

Get feedback from

SMEs trying to supply you

SMEs going through the

SMEs on doing

✦

selection process

business with you

Measure impact,

✦

Measure impact,

including reduction in

✦

barriers faced by SMEs

including jobs that can

including delivery /

be created through the

performance of SMEs,

contract

jobs created through

Consider impact,

contracts won

support their smaller cousins, but there is also,

chain; engaged employees; expanded business

importantly, a commercial imperative as well.

growth; enhanced reputation; greater innovation

By supporting SMEs and social enterprises,

and creativity; and increased ﬁnancial returns.

larger businesses can strengthen supply chains as well as engaging employees. This can result

CORPORATE ACTIONS

in the fostering of innovation and creativity and

Ultimately, business is about relationships and

enhance the reputation of businesses.

it is important that SMEs that want to trade with

The Business in the Community (BITC)

larger businesses seek as many opportunities

report (supported by Santander) titled ‘Access

as possible to learn from, speak to, or get to

to growth and innovation: The case for

know buyers and procurement heads from

working with small and medium enterprises’

large businesses.

demonstrates the business case for large

To tackle this, Santander (in partnership with

businesses supporting smaller SMEs. The six

BITC) launched the nationwide Access the

beneﬁts it found were: a strengthened supply

Buyer events programme. It is aimed at helping

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 31

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

SMEs to gain vital face-to-face contact time

suppliers. It is creating real change in how large

with buyers and learn from the horse’s mouth

corporates do business with smaller suppliers,

how to be successful as a supplier when

and as a result, many of those companies

opportunities arise.

have introduced new ways of working, which

The Access Pledge (see diagram page 31)

also involves reviewing their practices for

is another initiative aimed at resolving this

trading with SMEs - from payment terms to

communication void. Transparency is at the

disproportionate insurance requirements that

heart of bringing more SMEs into corporate

are prohibitive to smaller businesses.

supply chains, which is why BITC asks large businesses to ‘pledge’ to make their business

RISK REDUCTION

fair, transparent, and open for SMEs to compete

In an increasingly global economy, multinational

for business on a level playing ﬁeld.

companies tend to rely on global supply chains.

Over the past year, more than 19 companies

These offer economies of scale through a

including Goldman Sachs, Wates and

number of high-volume suppliers. This often

Fujitsu have taken the pledge, sending a

results in small national suppliers losing out.

clear message that they are open to making

But there is a strong case for local and more

their businesses more accessible to small

focused sourcing models, such as improved

Blakemore Fine Foods Blakemore Fine Foods gives British SME food and drink producers a cost-effective means of reaching retailers through the logisitics infrastructure of its parent company. It provides them with a route to market, support in business-to-business sales, infrastructure support (barcodes and large vehicles), help forming sustainable business strategies, and help opening up new markets. Around 180 SMEs have been supported in delivering sales worth more than £13.5 million.

32 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Case Study

Linbrooke Total Network Solutions

Offering unique, 21st century technical training and resource solutions to the telecoms, electrification & plant and signalling sectors.

TELECOMS, POWER, SIGNALLING Delivering mission-critical telecoms,

- Bespoke training - City & Guilds courses - Contingent labour - MOD approved - REC approved - State of the art training centre

power and signalling infrastructure solutions for clients across the globe.

- Commissioning - Design

- Intergration - Station Information

- DNO Connections - Installation

& Security Systems

- SWT & SMT

- Blown Fibre Solutions - Testing

To gain specialist skills and source the finest people, please call 0844 809 9902 or email info@ntrs.co.uk. www.ntrs.co.uk

Renowned for delivering outstanding network infrastructure solutions to the telecoms, power and signalling sectors, Linbrooke & ntrs develop collaborative working partnerships with all clients - providing exceptional time and cost savings on multifunctional projects.

For more information on our telecoms, power and signalling capabilities, please call 0844 800 0983 or email info@linbrooke.co.uk. www.linbrooke.co.uk

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

access to quality raw materials. BITC research indicates that businesses

Business in the Community’s Prince’s Dairy Initiative is a cross-sector collaboration offering

which diversify their suppliers by accessing

business support, advice and benchmarking

smaller, ethnically diverse social and local

to traditional dairy farms across the UK. It

procurement methods are able to reduce risk to

aims to reduce the decline in the number of

their supply chains.

dairy farms that support the supply chains of

There are a number of examples of

participating companies and, therefore, boosts

companies supporting SMEs through incubators,

the sustainability of the dairy sector, and the

hubs and enterprise zones, many of which

broader rural economy and countryside.

then support their supply chains. A number of companies interviewed by BITC support these

PROFIT BENEFITS

enterprise hubs and have discussed setting up

This also concerns employees too. In a study

stronger, longer-term supplier relationships.

of 40 global companies over three years, BITC

Kim Pharro, supplier relationship manager

identiﬁed an improvement of more than 5% in

for Legal & General plc. said: “For us, as an

operating margin and more than 3% in net proﬁt

organisation, it is our key suppliers that take us

between the companies with high employee

to market and through our customer journey.

engagement, as opposed to those with low

It’s really important therefore that they reﬂect

engagement.

our ethics, and through our Make a Difference

Employees are acknowledged as being

Awards we encourage and reward them to

an organisation’s most important stakeholder

go the extra mile. In the end, we’ll see higher

group because, as well as being a key

customer loyalty and retention.”

resource, they represent the company in its

Kate Gibson, Vice President Corporate

actions. Employee motivation is increasingly

Responsibility, InterContinental Hotels Group

linked to how much the employee actively

said: “As one of the world’s largest hotel

upholds the organisation’s values. Furthermore,

companies, IHG has a huge economic impact

employee engagement is proﬁtable.

across the globe. Directly and indirectly, we

Having engaged employees is a key beneﬁt

support two million jobs. By working with local

to companies that have adopted mentoring or

enterprises, we can source products locally

direct support of enterprises. However, nearly

and differentiate ourselves in the market by

all of the companies BITC spoke to refer to the

supporting the local community and meeting

impact on wider employee engagement, often

guest needs. A values-based procurement

through its demonstration of following through

approach means our hotels have an even bigger

on its values with support of enterprises. These

impact on the local economy and local people.”

included support of incubators, programmes

34 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

MOVING LONDON FORWARD

Halfway through the Crossrail project 30,000 jobs supported

379

apprentices recruited 97% of supply chain are based in the UK, 62% outside London 32% construction material is recycled content (by value)

OVER

7000 DRIVERS

7,000+ lorry drivers trained to drive safely carbon reduction projected from conception to delivery

A sustainable railway in the making www.crossrail.co.uk

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

of funding, and values-based procurement,

a broad range of Deloitte employees to help

or through gaining a better understanding

social enterprises grow and become worthy

of certain sectors that enhanced service or

of investment. It has seen an average of 300

product delivery.

volunteer hours a month delivered by over 130 of its people, in addition to 4,500 hours of pro

INVESTING TIME

bono support. BITC asks business to make

An example is The Deloitte Social Innovation

employee volunteering the cultural norm.

Pioneers programme. This offers support from

As a result, 95% of Deloitte volunteers

What is a social enterprise?

Social Enterprise UK, said: “There are

According to Social Enterprise UK, the

real opportunities for companies to have a

national body for social enterprises, they

strategic relationship with the sector. There

are: “businesses that trade to tackle social

is such a ﬂurry of innovators setting up new

problems, improve communities, people’s life

social enterprises week in and week out.”

chances, or the environment. They make their

A strengthened supply chain refers to a

money from selling goods and services in the

two-way relationship between supplier and

open market, but they reinvest their proﬁts

the procuring company. This offers mutual

back into the business or the local community.

beneﬁts, including a minimised supply risk,

And so when they proﬁt, society proﬁts.”

new and more local or diverse suppliers and

A social enterprise is a business with a

enhanced business values.

social and/or environmental purpose at its

This is the strongest business beneﬁt for

heart. Social enterprises exist in all sectors

companies engaged in this process, and the

and in many forms and legal structures, but

beneﬁt most often cited by the largest variety

with a common goal to invest commercial

of programmes and supporting companies

success in increasing opportunities and

and sectors, from business support and

improving situations for local communities.

advice through to procurement.

To join BITC’s arc programme, a social

BITC champions social enterprise

enterprise must have its social and/

as a critical way of meeting social and

or environmental mission set out in its

environmental needs, encouraging local

constitutional documents.

economic growth and development, and

Peter Holbrook, chief executive of

36 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

creating jobs.

arc

Case Study

In partnership with Social Enterprise UK, BITC engages established businesses with the energy and passion of social reported that they have increased their internal

enterprises, enabling business to sustain-

networks, 95% have increased their knowledge

ably contribute to the community.

of social business and 79% have developed

Inspired by the London 2012 Olympic

their core skills. For the Pioneers themselves,

and Paralympic Games, and the need

based on data collected within the ﬁrst six

to create a lasting legacy for some of

months of the programme, ﬁgures show that

London’s most deprived communities,

Pioneer average growth is 62%, and 76% of

BITC, BP and Visa Europe came together

Pioneers have increased staff numbers within

to create arc - an in-depth business

the last year, which has created 139 new full

support programme to help social

time jobs.

enterprises grow and create 2,000 jobs in

It is not just the UK where this happens. Research revealed that Hindustan Unilever

15 London boroughs by 2016. arc social enterprises have created a

sought to increase market penetration in

total of 1083 jobs for London residents;

rural areas of India by building an innovative

742 across six East London boroughs,

distribution system called Shakti, creating

and 341 across nine West London

opportunities for women micro entrepreneurs.

boroughs.

It now supports 45,000 women entrepreneurs

These results are ahead of arc targets

and reaches 3,000,000 households in 100,000

to support social enterprises to create

villages. This programme has accounted for

1,000 jobs for east London borough

40% of Hindustan Unilever’s growth in

residents by 2015, and a further 1,000

some rural areas.

jobs for west London by 2016.

ENHANCED REPUTATION Stakeholders expect that companies - notably local companies and those engaged in supply

to supply chains for local and/or smaller

chains - acknowledge and act on their needs

enterprises is a crucial demonstration of

and concerns. Heightened media scrutiny and

these values, opening up the debate with

global coverage means corporate reputations

governments about the role of enterprise

can change quickly.

growth in difﬁcult times. A number of ﬁrms

Companies are increasingly recognising how their support of SMEs, including social enterprises (and particularly those closest

have committed themselves to ‘values-based procurement.’ Local reputation is critical for companies that

to their operations) reﬂected their values.

have a long-term presence in speciﬁc locations,

Furthermore, extending and opening access

such as construction or extraction companies.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 37

STIMULATING THE LOCAL ECONOMY

For some stakeholders this is not just expected

Small Businesses programme is one direct

but required.

way we can help accelerate small business

For companies operating in South Africa,

growth here in the UK. Our early tracking

for example, enterprise development is an

data reveals that programme participants are

important element of the Broad-Based Black

witnessing measurable increases in headcount

Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) scorecard,

and turnover in the year following their

which seeks to assist and accelerate the

completion of the programme. We are hopeful

development and sustainability of

that the initiative galvanises a strong national

South African enterprises.

community of ambitious small businesses

The UK Government has stressed the

that will support each other to maximise their collective potential.”

importance of supporting enterprise growth. Since January 2013, businesses tendering for public sector contracts have had to demonstrate ‘social value’, under the Social Value Act. A number of companies referred to this change as an opportunity to accelerate their plans to demonstrate social value through

❝

The innovative value of supporting enterprise was mentioned

by nearly every business Achieving included in BITC’s research excellence in (Why is innovation community important? Innovation investment means for Growth 2010 report). spoke of introducing taking a strategic theMany business and its people approach to new and different ways of

procurement with SMEs, including social enterprises. Crucially, companies with good reputations

❞

working, access to the most senior people within the enterprises, and “the inevitable bleed of innovative and creative

outperformed those with poor reputations on

thinking” into the business. Research continues

every ﬁnancial measure over a ﬁve-year period.

to emphasise that innovation is crucial in corporate

INNOVATION LEADERS Claire Goodeve, Vice President at Goldman

growth strategies. Crucially, half the companies identiﬁed

Sachs, said: “Our business is stronger in

as ‘Innovation Leaders’ subsequently

better economic climates. Small and growing

demonstrated an increase in share price of

businesses are critical to healthy economic

at least 50% over the following two years

climates as they are proven contributors to

and, as a portfolio over the same period,

employment and GDP growth. Our 10,000

Innovation Leaders delivered a return of 48.6%,

38 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

EDF Energy - Hinkley Power Station

Case Study

EDF Energy plans to build two new nuclear

list, and more than £83 million of contracts

reactors at Hinkley Point, where the energy

awarded to 215 businesses in the region.

supplier has engaged with local SMEs.

They report a reduction in health and

Working with the Somerset Chamber

safety spend due to increased loyalty

of Commerce to assist and support local

with suppliers. By developing in-depth

SMEs in winning the contracts and helping

knowledge of local business capability, they

them grow, through training and skills

have been able to work with high quality,

development and a supply chain portal, it

smaller businesses, which has brought

has over 1,250 SMEs on its supply chain

signiﬁcant savings.

signiﬁcantly better than companies in the FTSE,

ﬁnancial return. Similarly, many companies see

NASDAQ or Dow Jones indexes.

support of enterprise as a crucial element of

Increased ﬁnancial return refers to where

being a responsible business.

support of enterprises has a direct beneﬁt to the

Recent research shows that companies

ﬁnancial performance of an organisation through

that consistently manage and measure their

reducing cost, qualifying for reduced rates or

responsible business activities outperform their

improving access to capital.

FTSE350 peers on Total Shareholder Return

There are limitations associated with building the business case from direct ﬁnancial returns,

(TSR) in seven out of the last eight years.” Businesses wishing to support the creation

most notably where there may not be a direct

and growth of small & medium enterprises can:

link between them.

✦ Support social enterprises to create jobs in

However, increased ﬁnancial return was mentioned by half of those interviewed, although

disadvantaged communities ✦ Allow SMEs to compete for your business on

little quantitative data is available. There

a level playing ﬁeld using practical tools such

are some cases where working with smaller

as The Access Pledge and Access the Buyer.

enterprises through the supply chain has created greater efﬁciencies; most commonly through working with suppliers.

✦ Engage with local SMEs to understand the barriers they face ✦ Recognise the impact business has on rural communities and take practical action to

LONG-TERM VIEW

tackle key rural issues.

Many companies talk about investment in

To ﬁnd out more about inspirational examples

enterprise growth in terms of long-term ﬁnancial

of businesses that engage, support and do

growth for the business. Short-term rewards are

business with small and medium enterprises or if

signiﬁcantly harder to report.

you think you are an inspirational example visit

BITC says that: “It should also be noted that

www.bitc.org.uk/awards to read more about

the other business beneﬁts, by their very nature,

Business in the Community’s Responsible

deliver increased long-term value, and in turn

Business Awards.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 39

Case Study The Phoenix project otal network solution specialist, Linbrooke

sides to focus on: behaviour at school; exam

is known for delivering telecommunications,

grades; relationships with both parents and

power and signalling projects. But aside from

teachers; stopping smoking; and drugs testing.

the day job, CEO Lee Hallam has established

While that might seem like a tall order, the

the Phoenix project to give something back to

incentives are worth it: day release from school

the local community.

to work at Linbrooke; paid work experience

He established the relationship with a failing

in the holidays; paid apprenticeships, paid

school in a deprived area attended by a number

college course to complete a Government-

of challenging and underprivileged children. By

recognised qualiﬁcation; driving lessons; and

working with the school, he put a framework

formal monthly 1-1 and mentoring sessions with

in place to teach students practical life skills.

Hallam.

The programme involves day release from the

The programme is proving to be a success.

school to gain work experience and even paid

Following regular reviews of the students’

work during holidays.

progress, if they’ve stuck to the contract, they

Aimed at the most challenging individuals

are put through a basic engineering course and

between the ages of 13 and 15, up until they

given an apprenticeship, if they pass the exam

complete school, a contract is agreed on both

at the end. To date, a small number of pupils have been through the programme and have been awarded apprenticeships. Due to its success, the programme is being developed to target not only challenging, but gifted and talented individuals. The framework is being developed to include subjects like human resources, ﬁnance, commercial and marketing skills, that they can use in the future. As Linbrooke has a strong military focus (Hallam is a former Royal Marine and around 40% of the ﬁeld engineering teams come from the British Armed Forces), the plan is to bring a life coach from the special forces into the Phoenix programme for six-monthly mentoring sessions to make best use of their expertise.

40 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Case Study Crossrail’s visionary mission

rossrail’s mission is to deliver a world class railway that fast tracks the progress of

Commissioning Crossrail trains is a critical part of the vision.

London. Given the scale and importance of the

Bombardier has been contracted by TfL to

project, sustainability has to underpin the whole

build a £1bn state-of-the-art ﬂeet of new trains.

programme.

The trains will have long-lasting and sustainable

The organisation takes a holistic approach.

beneﬁts that include saving energy, improving

It aims to minimise the negative impact on the

efﬁciency, achieving economic value and

environment and maximise economic and social

protecting the environment.

beneﬁts through the railway’s construction and

The trains will be manufactured and assembled

into its operation. With a 120-year design life,

at Bombardier’s plant in Derby, supporting an

85% of Crossrail’s energy requirement is in the

overall 840 jobs, with 230 new jobs and 80 ap-

running of the railway service. The decisions

prentices.

made today will reap beneﬁts for a long time to

The 200 metre lightweight trains will be

come.

high performing, using intelligent on-train

Crossrail is building sustainably:

management systems to reduce energy

✦ Minimising the impact on the environment

consumption and deliver a sustainable, reliable

and community ✦ Ensuring a diverse supply chain beneﬁts from the work ✦ Ensuring materials are sustainably sourced ✦ Providing a legacy of skills, learning and employment ✦ Moving a step forward to a safer and more inclusive construction industry

Crossrail is designing a sustainable operation: ✦ Embedding energy savings and emissions reduction into rolling stock and statios ✦ Promoting safety, comfort and environ-men-

service. Features include: an aerodynamic shape that reduces drag, ✦ regenerative braking that returns energy to the national grid ✦ intelligent LED lighting which reduces energy consumption by 64% ✦ carriage insulation to reduce heat loss ✦ energy efﬁcient gearboxes to reduce energy used during acceleration and deceleration driver advisory systems. Andrew Wolstenholme, Chief Executive of Crossrail Ltd said “We have embedded the

tal beneﬁts into stations, trains and public

principles of sustainability into every area of the

spaces

project. We expect to add value every step of

✦ Helping to secure London’s place as a competitive world city

the way and deliver a new railway the UK can be proud of.”

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 41

Case Study Building a sustainable railway

toolkit to explain in simple terms what staff

sustainability into its planning process. Already,

and managers can do to reduce energy use

this has led to widespread initiatives to reduce

both at work and at home. It explains why

its environmental impact and continually improve

reducing energy use is important ﬁnancially

corporate social responsibility, while ensuring

and environmentally, not just for Northern, but

that the company remains ﬁnancially viable.

for everyone. Key managers have been trained

orthern Rail is striving to become the UK’s most sustainable rail operator by embedding

Since 2007, Northern has reduced its total

One of the schemes introduced is an energy

in energy management too, and league tables

carbon footprint by 18%, through reducing fuel

have been created to show good and bad

emissions, energy use, waste, and encouraging

performance across sites.

suppliers to adapt their approaches. But the business is growing, and Northern’s

Northern then extended this practice to its trains. A seconded environmental driver

impact on the environment and society is

manager was put in place for a year to embed

increasing. This requires a new model to

responsible driving principles into all drivers.

monitor and reduce those impacts. Northern’s

This was communicated to all driver managers

Environment Management System is accredited

across the business to give them advice about

to ISO 14001 and 50001 certiﬁcation. It is

things such as stopping engines if the train is

used to govern this process and introduce new

going to be standing for a long time.

schemes to reduce environmental impact.

These types of schemes are all thanks

Engineering

in use, saving £55,000 and reducing carbon

The quality and facilities manager at Hea-

emissions by 322 tonnes. The system is now

ton depot, Newcastle (Northern’s largest

being rolled out at Neville Hill and Hull.

engineering depot - the others being Neville

Northern has improved the design of

Hill, Leeds; Newton Heath, Manchester and

its wash plants and brushes, and begun

Allerton, Merseyside) reduced non-traction

using new chemicals to improve the exterior

energy consumption by re-engineering the

cleanliness of trains, reduce the amount of

boiler controls system. He installed sensors

water used and reduce environmental impact

on each of the depot train shed doors so that

by using fewer chemicals. Yearly water

any open doors turn off the heating system

usage has reduced by a whopping 75%

adjacent. This resulted in a 48% reduction

(1 million litres) on some sites.

42 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Stations

10% increase in consumption to a

The station manager in south Manchester

reduction of 0.5%. Constant monitoring

has made huge reductions in non-traction

and further reductions have meant it is now

energy consumption through a review of all

down by 19%.

her stations. In 2013, the ﬁgures showed

Energy is being reduced in other ways,

that there was a 10% increase in energy

too. At Rainhill station, a full retroﬁt of LED

consumption, so the station manager re-

lights is providing much clearer light, which

quested assistance from the

is better for customers and colleagues. But

Environment Team.

it also reduces the energy consumption

She created an energy reduction plan

on site by half. The next stage is to equip

and optimised controls for lighting and

a dimming function for selected lights that

heating. Through staff brieﬁngs and ‘turn-

reduce their output to 10% when they are

it-off’ stickers, everyone was made aware

not needed, but illuminate instantly when

of their responsibilities and this turned the

someone approaches them.

to effective and responsible leadership, coupled with a proactive environment team. Northern relies on its leaders to set the tone for the sustainability agenda and encourage active participation from employees. This is promoted through communication channels such as the company intranet, Your Northern (the company magazine), and speciﬁc brieﬁngs. The managing director holds directors responsible for progress against environmental targets and letters of congratulations and encouragement are

the requirements of BS8903 sustainable

sent out to staff members who have done

procurement with the plan to roll this out to all

exceptional work in minimising the company’s

contract tendering.

environmental impact. Sustainability is now embedded across the

Sustainability has successfully become integrated into business as usual across the

company, with all areas taking responsibility to

whole company. Obtaining Platinum status

reduce the impact on the environment and the

from the BITC Environmental Index, and more

local community.

recently the 2014 North of England Excellence

All teams are getting involved and taking

Award for Sustainability, shows that Northern’s

action. The estates team is collating the waste,

plan is working. There is more that can be done

carbon and energy data for all of its projects

to reduce its environmental impact but with the

in order to set targets next year for project

whole company pushing in the same direction,

work and the procurement team is trialling

the potential is endless.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 43

REDUCING THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

2. Reducing the impact of unemployment Have recruitment processes unwittingly cut employers off from an untapped pool of talent? Some surprising statistics reveal why it’s time to reassess how your company recruits its staff.

Cath Sermon, Employability Director, Business in the Community

are ignoring growing challenges. Disadvantaged groups can face more exclusion in this changing environment. And as the nature of employment changes, we

Since late 2011, employment

need to innovate to ﬁll the skills gaps that will

rates have been rising – reaching record

meet needs and drive growth in the future.

levels in Autumn 2014. But for me this doesn’t

Business must do more to prepare people for

mean ‘job done’ on the issue of tackling

work, help unemployed people access work,

unemployment.

and enable employees to sustain their jobs.

Employment is more ﬂexible than ever,

Focusing attention to reduce barriers that

bringing improvements to many people’s

exclude some more than others, is where the

working lives. But if we take increasing

real difference is made - ensuring that no one

employment as a proxy for success, then we

in society is left behind.

ovember 2014’s Labour Market statistics

hide are the growing challenges for groups who

show a continued rise in employment and

are not faring well in this changing environment.

unemployment falls. These changes maintain

Being ‘in work’, no longer means that someone

the general direction of movement since late

is likely to overcome poverty.

2011 and early 2012, with 30.79 million people now in work. However, what these numbers

44 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

While the statistics mark an increase of 589,000 full-time workers since last year, other

Network Rail - Reducing re-offending

A new pool of skilled employees was recruited by Network Rail from an initial

Case Study

mentoring skills. Wales Route Managing Director Mark

group of 18 people, participating in a

Langman said: “The Wales Route has a

programme to reduce re-offending.

strategy to engage with local communities,

The reduced re-offending rate of programme participants was 11%, compared with a national re-offending rate in Wales

and this great initiative very much demonstrates that in action.” He explained that the Cardiff area has one

of 42%. The participants gained skills in

of the highest re-offending rates in the UK.

health and safety knowledge that could be

One reason for this, he said, was the lack of

transferred to other areas. This also included

meaningful work skills available to previous

diversity and inclusion, ﬁrst aid and basic

offenders. Because of this, many previous

administration training.

offenders regard re-offending as one of the

This programme was shortlisted in the 2014 BITC Responsible Business Awards. It helped meet the need for skills in the rail

only options they have of acquiring money. He said: “Wales Route

industry and strengthened NR’s Responsible

people have got behind

Business Practice credentials; this then helps

this project with a passion

it enhance its brand and reputational value.

and have made a genuine

NR individuals at management level were also able to develop new coaching and

difference beyond the boundaries of the railway.”

numbers highlight ongoing problems. Part-

may not have the opportunity to progress in

time working remains high amongst women,

order to contribute in full to the workplace.

1.96 million people are still unemployed,

Eighty per cent of those living in hostels want to

and research ﬁndings from the Resolution

work, but only 5% do. In 2012-2013, only 26%

Foundation released in November 2014 showed

of prisoners entered employment on release

that only one in four workers who were low paid

from prison. A massive 97% of the majority

a decade ago have since been able to move to

of offenders have expressed a desire to stop

consistently higher pay. Looking beyond these

offending, and that when asked which factors

positive employment numbers to explore how

would be important in stopping them doing so

we can optimise labour market productivity for

again in the future, most (68%) stressed the

all is crucial.

importance of ‘having a job’.

Many people in the UK continue to face signiﬁcant barriers to work – from long

BREAKING THE CYCLE

term unemployment, to experiences of

Employers recognise that they can play

homelessness or a criminal conviction. Others

a pivotal role in helping people become

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 45

REDUCING THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

EAST COAST

economically active and overcome signiﬁcant

cultural barriers for jobseekers. Secondly,

hurdles to work. The challenge is identifying the

externally by reaching out to support people

most effective ways in which they can start to

who may not have the conﬁdence to even apply

reduce exclusion.

for a job by offering new, different, and more

Being employed clearly has a positive effect.

opportunities to experience the world of work.

Re-offending rates are high and are estimated to cost the UK £11 billion per year. Employment

EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT

opportunities have been proven to reduce re-

Businesses are best placed to provide real

offending by between 33% and 50%.

work experience and training in work for those

According to research, one in ten people

who aren’t. But why should there be a business

have been homeless at some point in their

involvement? Surely it is up to the individual to

lives, and the number of people sleeping rough

be proactive, rather than rely on the business

in England has increased 37% in the past four

community? Business can make a signiﬁcant

years. However, only between 2% and 14% of

impact on unemployment by providing access

people living in hostels and supported housing

to quality work for the most disadvantaged

are in work; the rest are unemployed.

groups. This can provide vast beneﬁts

Businesses can help in two ways. Firstly,

for engaging in programmes that support

internally through their recruitment processes

disadvantaged groups, such as Business in the

– challenging the policies and processes that

Community’s Ready for Work programme.

have been designed over time to reduce risk,

To date, 150 businesses in 20 locations

but could inadvertently create structural and

46 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

support participants recruited through this

programme, which has seen 3,000 people

£3.2 million for each year there is investment.

enter employment. This is achieved through

This is achieved through reduced re-offending

work placements, which, in turn, progress

and reduced beneﬁt claims, combined with

into employment. The return for business is

increased tax payments and other savings.

through cost-effective recruitment opportunities,

For the individuals, the programme reports

stronger links with the local community and

that participants see beneﬁts through increased

personal and professional development for

self-conﬁdence, improved health and wellbeing,

employee volunteers.

the chance to re-connect with their families and an improved sense of self-worth from being

LOYAL WORKFORCE Since 2001, over 7,000 people have been

employed again. For businesses there is the chance to

offered training, work placements and ongoing

develop skills of employee volunteers in

support, with business volunteers involved

programmes and access to new businesses

every step of the way. It’s not only the 3,000

through demonstrating a positive social impact

people who entered work who have beneﬁted

on disadvantaged communities.

– many more have built skills and conﬁdence, as well as going on to further training or

RECRUITMENT

volunteering. The businesses involved have

In the case of recruitment, we know that people

seen the effects too, gaining access to

with criminal convictions often ﬁnd it harder to

dedicated new recruits and opportunities to

get through. Working in collaboration with a

develop their existing workforce.

group of businesses and criminal justice sector

Carillion is a national partner for Ready for

charities, BITC has developed a simple method

Work which, along with seven other partners,

to open up employment opportunities for ex-

supports the programme around the country

offenders that any business could get behind.

as well as driving the ongoing strategy. Barry

The result was Ban the Box, which calls

Quatermass, IMS director for Carillion, said:

on employers to consider convictions fairly

“The pleasure our people get from helping

through the recruitment process – based on

someone change his or her life is enormous,

real risk and relevance not a tick box on an

and this translates into building a motivated and

application form. When convictions affect so

loyal workforce.”

many people, employers are excluding suitable

And research has shown that it’s not just

candidates unnecessarily – in signing up to

the individual that beneﬁts - Ready for Work

Ban the Box, 30 employers (so far) with a

provides £3.12 in beneﬁt to society for every

combined workforce of 200,000 now only ask

£1 invested. This generates a social impact of

about convictions after assessing candidates’

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 47

REDUCING THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

Key ﬁndings

suitability ﬁrst. Removing a structural barrier opens up their talent pipeline.

Over

75%

of companies cited increased employee

HARNESSING YOUNG TALENT

motivation and morale as a beneﬁt of

To ensure they have the supply of talent they

engagement in programmes

need to continue to grow, businesses must now ﬁnd new ways to reach new talent pools.

over

Generation Talent is a BITC initiative that

One company saved

helps businesses engage with Jobcentre Plus

£22,000

(JCP) to ensure that unemployed people are able to see the vacancies companies have. It is a joint initiative with the Department for Work and Pensions. As part of this initiative

on reduced recruitment, training and overtime costs

the ‘Generation Talent Self-Assessment Tool’ was launched to help organisations examine

Source: BITC Work Inclusion - Business Beneﬁts

how ‘youth friendly’ they are in terms of

report, published in April 2012.

how they connect with, and recruit, young unemployed people. So far, more than 90 organisations have completed the ten-minute Self-Assessment Tool and they have received

unemployed people in partnership with JCP. Yet

a feedback report showing where their areas

Jobcentres work with thousands of motivated

for improvement are. BITC analysed the data

and talented young people looking to get their

from these organisations, with support from

foot on the employment ladder.

the Pertemps People Development Group and

Many businesses use informal methods such

some interesting trends and hidden barriers for

as word of mouth to recruit a portion of entry

young people were discovered.

level staff, automatically cutting off many people from even knowing the job is advertised. For

HIDDEN BARRIERS

these people, the Jobcentre Plus is often their

Detailed analysis of data from the tool has

primary route to employment.

revealed gaps in the way organisations are

The stigma around unemployment also adds

currently recruiting, attracting and engaging

another barrier, with a majority of managers

with young unemployed people.

considering unemployment for six months

Only 11% of organisations work on a range of ‘up-skilling’ and support activities for young

48 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

or more as a negative indicator of a candidate’s ability.

Costain Cares... ...about sustainability Some 2014 facts from our rail sector...

99% of waste diverted from landﬁll

80% of projects have access to an occupational health nurse

7 whole life costing exercises carried out

78%

of the supply chain Link Up or Building Conﬁdence accredited

2% Recruitment of

and

apprentices

OVER 31,000

donated to community projects this year

reduction in Co2e / £m revenue

40%

graduates

of major materials derived from recycled content

69 work experience opportunities provided

14% £ 26% reduction in travel related emissions

Scan here to discover why you should choose Costain

of rail SPEND with SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISE

Speak to our Rail team today

01628 842444 www.costain.com

REDUCING THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

SMALL CHANGES MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE

people seeking employment.

Despite these barriers, this joint initiative has

Tool’ test to help managers involved in

discovered that by making small changes

recruitment identify and tackle any internal bias

to recruitment process, more jobs can be

towards unemployed people during recruitment.

made available to this generation of young,

✦ Use the new Generation Talent initiative,

unemployed people. The businesses behind

which offers a bespoke account management

this initiative had these tips:

service from Jobcentre Plus that centralises

✦ Find out if current recruitment processes

an organisation’s regional and national

automatically sift unemployed applicants out.

recruitment needs.

✦ Take the ‘Generation Talent Self-Assessment

✦ Reassess what qualiﬁcations and experience are really needed for entry level

BUSINESSES TAKING ACTION

roles and instead emphasise importance of

One company which put what they learned into

aptitude and attitude during recruitment.

practice was National Grid, by working closely

✦ Advertise roles through the Jobcentre Plus,

with their recruitment agencies, they actively

which currently has access to many talented

encouraged better engagement with JCP and,

Business in the Community’s initiatives: helping businesses address the issues ✦ Ready for Work

application forms and asking about criminal

This helps some of society’s most

convictions later in the recruitment process.

disadvantaged people to enter employment, with business involvement at every step of

✦ Generation Talent

the way. Ready for Work participants are

This calls on businesses to make a small

supported through training, work placements

change to their recruitment process to

and their progress into employment.

increase the number of unemployed people they recruit. A self-assessment tool gives

✦ Ban the Box

organisations a snapshot of how a company

This calls on UK employers to create a fair

is doing on this agenda and provide top tips

opportunity for ex-offenders to compete

for support.

for jobs by removing the tick box from

50 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Morgan Sindall - Generation Talent

Case Study

Young people face many barriers when trying

people seeking work experience the

to access employment, but a partnership

opportunity to prove they have the required

between Morgan Sindall and Jobcentre Plus

talents. They also get the chance to learn new

(JCP) aims to break these down.

skills so that they can gain a foothold on the

The construction ﬁrm identiﬁed that during the economic downturn it was

career ladder. Morgan Sindall’s Plymouth area manager

especially difﬁcult for young people to

Carl Heslop worked with the local JCP to

ﬁnd work, especially those identiﬁed as

offer young people work experience. He said:

vulnerable because of their lack of job-

“There are a lot of talented people out there,

speciﬁc skills. That, combined with a lack

and if Morgan Sindall can help them get onto

of work experience affected their chances

the career ladder, we are more than happy to

of employment. It was observed that

help. We all remember people who gave us a

undertaking quality work experience can

helping hand at the start of our careers.”

make a real difference for these young people regarding their future careers. In partnership with JCP, Morgan Sindall is

Work experience candidate Michael Hockin said: “Getting to know the sub-contractors is important because I get to hear about job

able to offer work experience in a consistent

opportunities, and with a good reference

manner throughout its UK-wide operations.

from Morgan Sindall I’m very positive

In collaboration with JCP it enables young

about my future.”

as a result, there has been an increased uptake

The BBC has also joined the programme

in applicants from young unemployed people

because it: “wanted to access a diverse range

onto their Advanced Apprenticeship and School

of candidates, create a pipeline of previously

Leaver Programme.

untapped raw talent and develop skills for the

National Grid says it has been surprised at

future of the industry”. In partnership with JCP

how passionate and motivated the young people

and the Stephen Lawrence Trust they engage

that have come through the JCP are, and many

and develop young black and minority ethnic

have secured a permanent role.

talent by offering a traineeship scheme for

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 51

REDUCING THE IMPACT OF UNEMPLOYMENT

television production. The BBC also delivered a

The result of all this activity is that the

development workshop for 100 young people in

BBC now sees JCP as a critical partner to

London, which resulted in 34 work experience

ensure open inclusive and diverse access to

opportunities. In partnership with JCP it

the BBC.

delivered information sessions to JCP staff on roles and routes into the BBC such as trainee

HELP IS AT HAND

schemes and apprenticeship programmes

Through the Generation Talent programme,

which make the media sector more accessible.

companies can access a bespoke account

They also developed a work experience

management service from JCP that supports

programme for jobseekers and rolled this out

local and national recruitment needs.

nationally. The BBC has been “surprised at the

On completion of the self-assessment tool

high level of talent and the numbers of suitable

BITC will contact organisations to discuss

young people who are currently registered as

the feedback and offer further support. This

unemployed”.

may include: vacancy management and advertising, sifting and screening and access to Government incentive schemes.

Ex-service employment With its strong military background,

DIVERSE SKILLS

Linbrooke Services (see page 40)

By providing clear progression routes into

was one of the ﬁrst companies in the

full-time employment, apprenticeships

rail industry to develop a training and

provide companies with a skilled and diverse

employment programme for ex-service

workforce. More information can be found via

men and women leaving the Armed

the ‘National Apprenticeship Service’. Another

Forces.

option to increase diversity is working with

The company works with the forces to

other community organisations. These include:

resettle and retrain medically discharged

community organisations, non-governmental

soldiers and those coming to the end

organisations, schools, prisons and other

of their forces careers. This has many

organisations that can refer people who need

beneﬁts to both the individuals and

support from business, to build the skills and

industry by enhancing the skills set,

conﬁdence they need to gain employment.

encouraging new people into the industry,

For inspiring examples of businesses that

and bridging the skills gap by training new

are already reducing barriers to employment

staff in telecommunications and signalling.

read more about BITC’s Responsible Business Awards by visiting www.bitc.org.uk/awards.

52 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

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loyalty

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Smartcard solutions and online application systems

Social action reward and recognition programmes

freedom

smartcard

trust

future

hardware

support

LoadMore simplfy payment travel

Smartcard remote loading/reading devices

Software design and delivery

Discover how our innovations can help you 08453 300601

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Case Study Implementing sustainable solutions

ostain is working to ensure long-term

route for advertising their vacancies. Since the

employee and client value through

project commenced, Costain has offered 26

implementing sustainable solutions both during design and construction of the redevelopment of London Bridge station. Costain strives to maintain a ﬁt and healthy

apprenticeships. Costain works with its supply chain to organise pre-start training to support people once they are in work and provide opportunities

workforce, to reduce its use of natural

for long-term development. Its relationship

resources, eliminate waste, maximise talent and

with the Prince’s Trust provides a work

skills, integrate business into the community

experience programme for young people to

and help tackle the issue of low employment in

gain the experience and training needed for

the London Borough of Southwark.

the construction industry; four participants

✦ SOCIAL IMPACTS: An Occupational Health

are now employed full-time at London Bridge.

Nurse deals with minor injuries and medical

Costain has also visited schools and colleges,

testing is available for all staff, especially

to promote the industry and to encourage the

those who work away from home (and thus

uptake of STEM subjects.

their GP) to maintain a healthy workforce.

✦ ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS: At London

Since 2012, Costain has engaged with the

Bridge, 99% (200,000 tonnes) of waste has

local community to provide opportunities to

been diverted away from landﬁll. Savings of

unemployed residents and has identiﬁed

79 tonnes of CO2 a year are expected from

skills gaps in the local community. All project vacancies are advertised locally. Additionally,

London Bridge’s geothermal piles. ✦ ECONOMIC IMPACTS: Costain ensures

to help tackle the unemployment rate in the

that it procures in a sustainable manner,

borough, supply chain partners also use this

using materials with a high recycled content, promoting sustainable employment opportunities with suppliers. Costain provides responsible training for all procurement staff and produces plans to identify opportunities for SMEs and local suppliers. Costain engages with local companies and recruits local SMEs as suppliers. To date, it has had an SME spend of £1,872,600. Further, a saving of £200,000 has been made due to chemical testing on contaminated soil.

54 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Case Study Sustainable public transport

ovacroft’s journey in smart ticketing has

Customer Care Centre. Its recent launch of four

taken it from delivering Oyster and other

brands is broadening this selection further - and

concessionary card schemes to creating value

opening up cross-sector opportunities.

through developments such as self-service an innovative new approach to public transport

PIONEERING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS

sustainability with UCan-do-it, a smartcard-based

Novacroft believes that bringing markets and

reward and recognition programme.

organisations together is the way forward when

application portals. Now it’s also championing

it comes to supporting communities. And this is

Novacroft has sustained its long-standing position in smart ticketing by working with clients

the thinking behind the company’s new brands,

to understand their challenges and develop

which will see its smart ticketing technologies

bespoke solutions. By targeting issues such

joined by LoadMore, its smartcard remote

as budget constraints, inefﬁcient processes,

loading/reading device brand, DeploySmart,

inaccurate data and low morale, its solutions

which helps design and deliver software, and

reduce costs, improve services and operational

UCan-do-it.

performance and meet passengers’ needs. Novacroft has helped West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), for example, save £630,000 a year on its concessionary scheme for young people. Novacroft’s solution is also delighting passengers with its fast and easy online application process.

❝

UCan-do-it is a smartcard-based rewards programme that delivers cost

Bringing markets and organisations together is the way forward

WYCA believes implementing Novacroft’s Young Person’s Apply Online

❞

efﬁciencies to the public sector, creates sustainable growth for public services and businesses and supports positive community action. Each UCan-do-it programme is tailored to help councils, commerce

and the third sector work together to address problems and priorities. Each

package is making an important contribution to

programme partner is able to achieve - and

service sustainability by changing the image of

measure - the results that matter most to them.

bus travel and promoting public transport.

For public transport providers, beneﬁts could

Novacroft’s pick-and-mix selection includes

include greater passenger numbers among

smartcard production and encoding, online self-

target groups, civic leadership through the

service application and payment processing,

empowerment of citizens in new and effective

public transport CRM systems and a 200+ seat

ways and achieving CO2 reduction targets.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 55

Case Study Borough Viaduct - Retaining a piece of history

orough Market is of particular historical

articles in the local papers have praised the

importance to the Southwark area of

works and proved the success of the project.

London and a large part of what deﬁnes it is the

Not only has Network Rail completed an

intricate cast-iron roof structure which shelters it.

essential section of the ongoing improvement

The Borough Viaduct project involved the

of the Thameslink network, but the local

demolition and construction of a new section of

community has beneﬁtted from an upgrade to

viaduct through the historic Borough Market.

an important historical landmark.

Due to the importance of the roof to the

It has been proven to the community that

community, it was decided that the existing

all efforts were made to maintain areas and

structure would be carefully removed, re-

structures of signiﬁcant historical importance,

furbished and re-built, as opposed to being

while minimising disruption to local business

replaced. This would retain the structure’s

and residents and ultimately improving the rail

historical signiﬁcance to the market and its

network in central London.

surrounding area. The re-opening of the market was highly

The project has shown that while upgrades to the rail network are an essential part of

publicised and many were concerned that its

improving London’s transport system, it

historical features might not be retained after

does not need to be at the expense of local

such signiﬁcant construction works. However,

communities.

high-proﬁle visitors such as Prince Charles, and

The end result is a market to be proud of. It encompasses the new functions of the area while preserving the historical architecture and increasing the ﬂow of tourism and business to the area. This contributed to: ✦ Reducing the impact of unemployment, particularly on young people and adults who are excluded from society. ✦ Addressing the skills shortage so business can compete in the future. ✦ Tackling inequality in recruitment, pay and promotion for women and ethnic minority groups.

56 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

CREATING HEALTHIER AND HAPPIER EMPLOYEES

✦ BS11000 - this project was one of the ﬁrst to achieve BS11000 Collaborative

The project team’s objective was to complete

Business Relationships accreditation for the

the project on time, on budget and with minimum

relationship between Skanska and NR.

impact on the community. A priority was to ensure the safety of the public and the workforce. Skanska’s focus has been on creating a

✦ COLLABORATIVE PLANNING AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT - the project operated a collaborative planning

‘family feel’, where safety is personal and

system based on the last planner concept.

colleagues are addressed by their ﬁrst names.

This included all parties who could inﬂuence

The public were treated with respect at all times

the programme of works e.g. supervisors,

and local ﬁrms have been able to continue with

engineers, designers, sub-contractors,

their businesses, as far as possible, unaffected

environment and safety managers,

by the construction works.

stakeholders and the client in 16-week

Skanska’s other achievements were: ✦ INJURY FREE ENVIRONMENT JOURNEY

period planning sessions. Combined with the weekly lookahead

AND ENGAGEMENT OF THE SITE TEAM -

sessions and the daily brieﬁngs, this took

the nature of Skanska’s working environment

the programme out of computers and placed

is complete engagement of the project team.

it in the hands of those who actually did

This is the only way to deliver the project and

the work. The whole team was galvanised

protect the safety of the public, the site team

into achieving goals, to which they all

and the operational railway.

contributed.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 57

ADDRESSING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE

3. Addressing the skills shortage Where will the UK ﬁnd the skilled engineers to help build HS2 and HS3? Worrying statistics in education have prompted some companies to take the issue back to the school classroom. Susie Perrett

and knowledge currently have difﬁculties

Education Director,

recruiting staff, and over half expect problems

Business in the Community

in the next three years. 80% of Business in the Community members are taking some

According to the CBI, half

kind of action on education. The challenge for

of employers lack conﬁdence that they will

companies now is to be more strategic and

get the high-skilled workers they need in the

deepen the impact of their work in schools.

future, stating that school leavers lack the

We know the most successful partnerships

right work experience and key attributes.

are strategic, rooted in a genuine community

It is particularly acute in certain sectors.

need and enable schools to leverage what a

For example two out of ﬁve businesses

business has to offer and make a meaningful

that need employees with STEM skills

difference to the lives of young people.

oung people in the UK do not currently have the skills that businesses will need to

Our 15-year-olds rank in 26th place in the world in maths, even though we have a higher

be successful in the global economy. It’s difﬁcult

GDP and spend more on education than

to believe, but one in six people leave school

countries higher up the ranks.

unable to read, write and add up properly. And right now England is the only country in

RECRUITMENT ISSUE

the developed world where the generation

For businesses to compete in the future, they

approaching retirement is more literate and

need access to skilled employees. The worlds

numerate than the youngest adults.

of education and employment need to be more

58 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Inspired Youth

Case Study

Inspired Change, a business consultancy set

outcomes. As well as the project, Inspired

up the Inspired Youth project to bring local

Youth provides employment opportunities

employers and students together to build

for young people in the company itself and

relationships that lead to future employment.

development opportunities for staff.

Through a programme of activities in Norfolk

This very successful project has increased

and Suffolk (where there is a high level

the desire of employers to engage with

of youth unemployment), the programme

young people and create opportunities within

has raised aspirations and academic

their organisations to fuel growth and create

achievement of young people in the area and

succession.

increased local enthusiasm for employing local youngsters. Activities include everything from talks in

But beyond that, Inspired Youth has increased its business network and attracted new clients at such a rate that it no longer

schools to a single class, through to enterprise

needs to spend money on marketing.

days and careers events involving hundreds

The reputation of the project has led to

of students. The scheme is run by volunteers

local authorities and third sector groups

from local employers, training providers

approaching the company to run student and

and teachers and it has had many positive

employer engagement events on their behalf.

aligned so that young people leave education

daunting. It has been estimated that the UK

prepared to succeed.

needs around 100,000 engineering graduates a

Three-quarters of businesses believe that a

year until 2020 to ﬁll around 1 million projected

signiﬁcant skills crisis will hit the UK within the

job openings. It’s encouraging to think why we

next three to ﬁve years. And a third of them

will need those people, but, there is a serious

fear it could cause their businesses to fold,

shortfall of suitable people at the moment.

according to the Prince’s Trust Skills Crunch 2014 report. And nearly two in ﬁve ﬁrms

SKILLS CRISIS

that need employees with STEM (science,

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills

technology, engineering and mathematics) skills

released an Employer Skills Survey in 2013,

and knowledge are currently having difﬁculty

asking employers how many vacancies they

recruiting staff at some level, with over half

currently had that remained unﬁlled and why

expecting problems over the next three years.

they hadn’t been able to ﬁll them (see Figure 1).

NEED FOR ENGINEERS

the unﬁlled vacancies across the UK. That’s

This is a major problem for the rail industry.

an increase from 16% since the 2011 survey.

There is going to be unprecedented demand

And it’s probably no surprise that smaller

for talented engineers in the future, across a

organisations suffer from this problem even

whole host of sectors. And the ﬁgures are pretty

more than larger ones.

A skills shortage was to blame for 22% of

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 59

ADDRESSING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE

However, the strategy that will most acutely

year on year, to complete the projects that are

affect the rail industry over the coming years

planned, and how that looks as a percentage of

concerns skilled trades. Skilled workers are the

the current workforce (see Figure 4).

people who are going to make HS2 happen, and the people who are going to electrify the network

AGE GAP

(see Figure 2).

One of the ﬁndings that rang alarm bells was the

To put that into some sort of numerical perspective, The National Skills Academy for

age proﬁle in one area (see Figure 5). While most of the infrastructure workforce had

Railway Engineering did some analysis on

a reasonably normal age distribution, Traction

the requirements over the next few years

and rolling stock had a particularly ageing

(see Figure 3).

workforce. Twenty per cent of them are over

They gathered information from across

the age of 55 (see Figure 5). This raises the

the industry to predict the skills needed

question: will there be sufﬁcient people in the

across four areas: 1) Track; 2) Signalling and

sector for some of the rolling stock orders or for

telecommunications; 3) Electriﬁcation and plant;

the retroﬁtting of ETCS (European Train Control

and 4) Traction and rolling stock. They then used

System) technology?

the data to forecast the level of resource needed,

During the research, the National Skills Academy also revealed some worrying figures showing just how difficult filling those roles is going to be. In the first nine months of 2012, around 4,000

94,000

rail-related jobs were advertised on the Rail

people were trained in beauty and hair

number of applicants per job was 11. But for

for just 18,000 jobs

the 800-plus engineering roles, that average

Technology Magazine’s job website. The average

reduced to just six, highlighting a serious lack of

123,000

individuals to ﬁll these roles.

THE NEXT GENERATION

were trained in the construction and

Engaging children when they’re young is crucial.

engineering sectors for an advertised

According to Crossrail, one in two state schools

275,000 jobs

is not sending a single female student to study A-level maths or sciences. Both Crossrail and

Source: IPPR Remember the Young Ones 2014

60 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

its contractors have already worked with more

Figure 1: Incidence and density of skill-shortage vacancies SSVs by country

Figure 4: New People Required in Next 5 Years as % of Current Workforce

% of establishments with an SSV (incidence)

2011

2013

% of vacancies which are SSVs (density)

2011

2013

Retirement age 60

Retirement age 65 40

Percent %

30 20 10

20 10

Tr a

W al

nd Sc

N or Ire the la rn nd

gl an

Figure 2: Density ad number of skill-shortage vacancies by occupation 2013 SSV density

2011 SSV density 40

Percent %

30 20 10

em en

op ne

ac M

le C

ille

s tra

Ps e at ci so

Figure 3: New People Required Next 5 Years Technician/Engineer

Technician/Engineer

(Retirement age 65)

(Retirement age 60)

Artisan (Retirement age 65)

Artisan (Retirement age 60)

Figure 5: Age Profile - T&RS

5000 Percent %

20 4000 3000

15 10 5

> 60

-5 55

4 -5 50

9 -4 45

-4 40

-3 35

4 -3

9 29

-2

2000

Age Bands

1000

P E&

T S&

Tr a

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 61

NETWORK RAIL.

ADDRESSING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE

Apprentices’ experiences Andrew Parsons completed the PEO

Samar Bedran is a

Advanced Apprenticeship at Siemens.

ﬁeld engineer from the

“I chose to go for the apprenticeship over going

global engineering,

to university because of the support provided

project management and

by a blue chip company. I can earn while I

construction company,

learn, and gain practical experience along with

Bechtel.

being able to make business connections for

“I am currently working on the Crossrail

the future.

project in London. It’s a great job and I feel

“The opportunities are vast as I have just

proud to be a part of building this vital piece

completed my apprenticeship and have been

of infrastructure for future generations. But

offered a permanent role in the engineering

I also realise how important it is to spend

team. They have approved my further

time encouraging more people to become

education while working for them.

engineers. Otherwise we won’t have the skilled

“HS2 is going to provide more

workforce necessary to build Crossrail 2, HS2,

apprenticeships, and those that complete them should see opportunities for their careers and education to advance if they are determined.”

62 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

or HS3, 4 and 5! “I have just completed three years on this programme and so far have undertaken a

Pinsent Masons and Cockburn school

Case Study

Starﬁsh is a responsible business programme

and aspirations of the children, providing role

that was set up by Pinsent Masons LLP,

models and giving students awareness of

focusing on reading and maths mentoring.

career and higher education opportunities.

The legal ﬁrm has worked in partnership with

This also has a positive effect on the

Cockburn Secondary School in Leeds for

business by raising its local business proﬁle,

more than 11 years now, helping it to steadily

and the ﬁrm’s staff by providing them with

increase its GCSE performance.

skills-based volunteering opportunities.

Most Cockburn pupils are from deprived

Senior Partner Chris Mullen says: “One of

areas with high unemployment levels. In

the aims of Starﬁsh is to galvanise Pinsent

2002 only 16% of pupils achieved ﬁve or

Masons’ people to support projects in our

more GCSEs, but that ﬁgure is now as high

local communities through volunteering and

as 46.9% and the school believes Pinsent

fund-raising. We believe it is vital to support

Masons’ support has helped it achieve this.

children in gaining key literacy and numeracy

Staff from all departments volunteer to

skills, and we are proud to see the results of

improve the level of academic attainment

our partnership with Cockburn School.”

variety of roles across a number of different

ways of raising awareness and, importantly,

sectors, including multi-billion pound projects

showing the enjoyment that engineers like me

in both the UK and the Middle East.

get on a daily basis across the UK.

“One thing I’ve learned is that it’s vital that

“However, in my opinion, initiatives that give

the right people are placed in the right roles to

students the chance to experience ﬁrst-hand

ensure that the objectives of the rail industry

how they can impact their surroundings by

can be met intelligently, and that its huge

applying engineering solutions are, and will

potential to be a positive inﬂuence in the UK

be, the best way to attract them to pursue

can be realised. That’s what makes being an

careers in engineering.

engineer in the UK right now such an exciting prospect! “In recent years there have been

“With increasing demand and signiﬁcant investments in infrastructure skills, training and development and, most importantly,

considerable efforts to try to attract young

with a brilliant line-up of world-class projects

people into engineering. Initiatives such as

such as HS2, there have never been better

the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Engineering

opportunities for young people in this industry.

Happiness ﬁlm (which has already racked up

For my part, I’ll certainly be telling as many

over 60,000 hits on YouTube!) are important

students as I can to choose engineering.”

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 63

ADDRESSING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE

Pupils achieving 5 A*-C grades at GCSE

62%

35% of pupils receiving free school meals

of other pupils

Pupils progressing to any form of higher education

16%

96%

of pupils receiving free school meals

of pupils from independent schools

than 100 schools over the past year (equating

teach them things like how to design and make

to about 10,000 students) to try and attract not

a bridge, or a railway out of cardboard. By

just young women but young people in general

bringing play into learning, they’re showing them

to take up engineering as a career, and to join

that it can be a lot of fun being an engineer and

engineering ﬁrms.

working on the railway.

Engineering ﬁrm Atkins has also been doing

Part of the problem is that further education

some pretty innovative things to capture the

and training is not synchronised with the labour

imaginations of young people and try and

market. Last year, 94,000 people were trained

inspire them to think about engineering as

in beauty and hair courses for just 18,000

a career. They’ve developed a Science,

jobs, while only 123,000 were trained in the

Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Network (STEMNET for short), in which volunteer ambassadors visit schools and inspire children to think about engineering as a future career. But rather than just preaching the rail or

❝

construction and engineering sectors for an advertised 275,000 jobs, according

to the Institute for Public Policy Part of the Research’s (IPPR) 2014 report problem is that Remember the Young Ones. BITC has also done a further education lot of work on inspiring the is not synchronised next generation about the with the labour world of work with their Work Inspiration initiative. This market

engineering message, they

64 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

❞

national employer-led campaign

FASTER. SMARTER. GREENER.

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ADDRESSING THE SKILLS SHORTAGE works with business to address the lack of

pupils, to make their ﬁrst experience of work

knowledge and enthusiasm young people about

more meaningful and inspiring.

their ﬁrst job. Businesses are encouraged and helped to create exciting and challenging work

RAIL INDUSTRY INITIATIVES

experience and training for secondary school

Providing opportunities for young people to

Business Class Business Class is a government-endorsed

partnerships with 118 new schools, as well as

programme from BITC which provides a

offering additional activities.

systematic framework for businesses to support

The UKCES investment has allowed

young people facing social disadvantage by

Business Class to source a further £3.2 million

forming long-term partnerships with the schools

pounds of in-kind support and over 6,000

those young people attend.

days’ worth of volunteering support. It has

In 2014, Business Class supported

also delivered more than 500 work experience

57,450 young people, working with over 220

placements. Business Class is still working in

companies. Since the programme began it has

the most deprived schools in the UK - 86% of

created 383 partnerships in 66 locations. As a

Business Class schools have above-average

result of the UK Commission for Employment

numbers of children on free school meals.

and Skills (UKCES) 2013 £2.45 million

73% of schools have below-average numbers

investment, it has been able to establish

of students getting 5 A*-C grades at GCSE

66 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Youth Career Initiative (YCI) In addition to Work Inspiration and Business

The Youth Career Initiative (YCI) is a 24-

Class, Business in the Community’s

week education programme that provides

programmes to help prepare and enthuse

disadvantaged young people with life and

the next generation for the world of work in

work skills. The programme is designed to

the UK, they also have a programme which

be delivered as part of the regular, day-to-

runs internationally and focuses on the

day operations of a full-service hotel, and

hotel industry.

currently operates in 12 countries.

train in subjects and skills that will lead them to a prosperous career is essential. In the

contributing the rest. It will create around 100 jobs just in the

rail industry, some of those opportunities

building and in the running of the academy

are being created by initiatives such as the

itself, and will then be able to train thousands of

National Training Academy for Rail. Based in

people in rail-related skills.

Northampton, it is due to open in autumn

A couple of years later, in 2017, the National

2015, with the intention of addressing this

College for High Speed Rail is due to open in

gap in skills.

Birmingham and Doncaster, speciﬁcally to train

It’s a £7 million investment. Siemens has contributed about half of that with the

the talent that will be needed for High Speed 2. There is a network of training sites being

Department for Transport and the Department

created to train railway staff for the future, and

for Business, Innovation and Skills have

it won’t belong before they are open too.

(including English and maths) and 59% of

skills you need in your new recruits.

Business Class schools fall within the most

✦ Distribute good quality information about

deprived communities in England.

careers in your sector. ✦ Offer work experience.

What can you and your business do to address this problem?

✦ Set up apprenticeships.

✦ Volunteer.

✦ Remove barriers to employment,

✦ Tell young people about your job. ✦ Support them with mentoring. ✦ Build a strategic relationship with a local school (Business Class programme). ✦ Make sure young people understand what your company does and help them gain the

✦ Set up school leaver programmes. particularly for young people ✦ Change your recruitment process to increase the number of unemployed people you recruit. ✦ Encourage other businesses to advertise their vacancies with the Jobcentre.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 67

Case Study Business Class programme

n May 2014, Business in the Community connected Heathrow Express and Quinton

Kynaston Academy together through their Business Class programme (Westminster Cluster). The intention of the match was to join a business and a school together who both had speciﬁc needs to be met within the programme. For Quinton Kynaston the need was to

Express, they are following two speciﬁc areas of support:

✦ Creating a new engineering curriculum for A-level students ✦ Setting up a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Academy, with support through mentoring, internships, and site visits. For Heathrow Express, and BITC, the

support children in one of the poorest areas of

educational programme with Quinton Kynaston

Paddington to progress beyond their expected

supports many areas of the Responsible

level of educational achievement, and inspire

Business programme:

them to think bigger.

✦ Reducing the impact of unemployment,

For Heathrow Express, and the wider rail industry, the need for electrical engineers is critical - as the country electriﬁes the railway. Between Quinton Kynaston and Heathrow

68 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

particularly on young people ✦ Addressing the skills shortage so business can compete in the future, especially with the electrical programme on the railway.

Case Study Inspiring tomorrow’s rail engineers

arillion people are helping to construct

skilled engineers to keep the rail network

a railway infrastructure ﬁt for the 21st

safe and reliable. To take one example from

Century, but they need to be both inspired

London, apprentices have worked on three

and skilled to deliver those major projects and

contracts across the capital to gain on-the-job

long-term asset management contracts. The

training and complete their NVQ portfolios

construction industry is seeing encouraging

after ﬁnishing their 16-week block release

signs, with commercial and civil engineering

at an East London college. With up to 2,000

growing nearly as fast as they were in 2007,

construction apprenticeships at any one

but extensive investments in skills and trades

time, Carillion is now diversifying not only

are needed across the sector. Carillion

into new skills areas, but is also committed to

believes that one of those key investments

increasing the number of female apprentices.

has to be the provision of stable, diverse apprenticeship programmes. They see a clear and actionable link

Carillion is convinced that, as we see encouraging signs of recovery, providing pathways to employability in key skills

between employment, strong communities and

shortage areas like engineering is not just a

the creation of lasting value for society, and

‘nice to have’ but a core strategic imperative.

believe that major contractors and their supply chain partners have an essential role to play in addressing this challenge. Carillion wants to shape better prospects for their people through training and development, making this an essential part of a balanced sustainability agenda. They created their ﬁrst Level 2 Rail Engineering Apprenticeship in 2013, recruiting apprentices to learn about the fundamentals of track maintenance and renewal. The new programme was accredited by the Sector Skills Council and helps to play an important role in training

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 69

Case Study Committed to responsible business irst TransPennine Express (FTPE) has

efﬁciency and correspondingly reducing the

made a passionate commitment to

CO2 emissions for the ﬂeet.

operate its business in a responsible and

Initial savings of 7% were delivered with

environmentally friendly manner. Around 90%

a number of innovative and inexpensive

of FTPE’s energy usage comes from the

enhancements to the train: on-board engine

consumption of gas oil so the possible rewards

management allows it to shut down one engine,

from reducing that consumption are substantial.

with the remaining two engines performing

Each vehicle in its Class 185 ﬂeet (built by

more efﬁciently under load. However, the

Siemens) is ﬁtted with a 560kW Cummins

challenge remained to further improve the

diesel engine. While fuel consumption was

ecological performance of the train without

within the targets deﬁned at the design stage,

affecting safety, performance or the customer

in early 2007 FTPE and Siemens decided to

experience.

put their combined efforts into improving fuel

Green Grants Initiative

The driving techniques used by the train

and bring communities together. Charities,

Now in its seventh year, the Green Grants

schools and community groups are invited

scheme provides donations to local

to apply for grants on an annual basis to

charities and community groups to support

fund environmental projects. They must

projects that enhance the environment

be of sufﬁcient quality to enhance the local environment and there is a rigorous judging process (run jointly by FTPE and the Forestry Commission) for grant applications to ensure every scheme is worthwhile and meets the criteria, which includes environmental improvement, community involvement and proximity to FTPE stations and routes. In 2013 alone, 71 applications were received and 13 successful grants awarded, totalling more than £20,000. So far in the life of the project, 67 grants have been awarded, at a total of more than £124,000.

70 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Employability initiative

Joshua

Since 2012, in partnership with suppliers,

Warwick

FTPE has supported two charities (Mustard

started work

tree and Harpurhey Factory Youth Zone) on

with Skytrac,

an employability initiative which they helped

working for

to develop.

FTPE, in May

For Mustard Tree it provides employment

2014. He says:

for 18 adults who have faced tough

“I now have

challenges in their life, as a way of helping

many options

them back to work. Eighty-nine percent of the

for promotion, or applying for internal jobs

adults taken on through the scheme remain

throughout all sectors of FTPE, but for now

in full-time employment for FTPE, and the

I have a job, and it’s the best I’ve had so far.

operator has invested £10,000 to provide

For the ﬁrst time in a long time I feel as if I am

essential skills-based training, leading to a

actually getting somewhere in my life’.

qualiﬁcation. This innovative scheme was

Following FTPE’s support of the above

recognised for a regional Business in the

schemes led to the creation of its new

Community (BITC) Award in 2013.

two-year Apprenticeship Programme which

A similar scheme in the Harpurhey

started in April 14 with eight people recruited

district near Manchester (where 18% of

in specialist roles such as Finance, IT, Train

people struggle to ﬁnd a job), has provided

Planning and rail operational roles.

employment for ten young people with FTPE

Each Apprentice is working towards their

and its suppliers. Additionally, the operator

Duke of Edinburgh ‘Business’ Gold Award

has invested £10,000 in the ‘get a job

and they also receive ‘off the job training’

programmes’ which so far have supported

at Manchester College for their speciﬁc role.

41 young people to get into education,

Going forward this will be an annual

training and employment.

rolling programme.

crews, and the promotion of best practice among the drivers, was seen to offer further substantial gains. Building upon functionality designed into the train, a solution has been delivered that has seen fuel consumption reduced by over 12% against the as-built benchmark. This is a scheme that combines advanced technology, innovation and excellence with old fashioned best practice management, and taps into the natural instinct for human competitiveness to deliver both environmental and ﬁnancial beneﬁts.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 71

Inspiring tomorrowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s rail engineers www.carillionplc.com

A moral obligation… e have all seen the phrase ‘The transport

only provided a signiﬁcant return on investment,

sector - engine room for economic

which played a major part in the success of

recovery’, used in the media, and it still makes

franchises, but more importantly we saved lives

me smile when I hear the public use this phrase

and increased the reputation of the industry.

without true knowledge of the genuine social and economic impacts the sector brings to the UK. Following rail privatisation, I worked from the

Fast track two decades and now, at Business in the Community, I have the enviable role of advising a wide selection of transport

footplate to the boardroom and, throughout

and infrastructure companies, including the

my 20-year journey within the transport sector,

Department for Transport, on their corporate

I have had the privilege to work amongst some

responsibility approach. Business in the

of the most passionate and inspiring people

Community acts as a critical friend to our

across Europe.

members, ensuring their responsible business

My own personal journey into corporate

activities are both sustainable and accountable,

responsibility began following the death of a

which in turn ensures long-term competitive

young boy who was struck by a train I was

advantage.

working on. Although shocking, this experience

When I talk ‘sustainability’ it is as much about

was not uncommon to my colleagues and

the sustainability of their business as it is the

I quickly realised that as a Train Operating

environment. Having come through years of

Company we relied too heavily on both the British

economic uncertainty around franchise renewals

Transport Police and Network Rail to ensure

and infrastructure contracts, the transport sector

the safety of our network. As a consumer-facing

is now moving from a phase of rescue to renewal

organisation, we had a moral obligation to engage

- in which sustainability in all its forms has a

the communities we served in order to mitigate

crucial role to play. I look forward to participating

risk and create greater community leverage.

in the debate stimulated by these contributions

Thankfully I had the full support from both my

and seeing how they are developed in the

company and the Rail Safety and Standards

coming months.

Board to develop a pro-active community liaison role. Unique in the sector I recall how the industry

Chris Leech MBE,

perceived our activities as a philanthropic act

Corporate Advisor to

which could only be measured by increased brand

the Transport Sector,

awareness. But as the years progressed we not

Business in the Community

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 73

TACKLING INEQUALITY

4. Inequality of recruitment There’s evidence to show that many areas of business and industry are failing to engage with women, young people and an increasingly diverse population. How can this be addressed?

David Pemberton, Executive Director, BITC

This spring 25,000 women told us of their workplace experiences, over half had experienced bullying and harassment. This

Productivity and innovation,

autumn we showed that employing older

skills and talent: these

workers, far from “bed blocking” jobs, would

remain the quest of every good manager. Are we still looking in the right place, in the

boost UK GDP by £88 billion. A diverse workforce enables organisations

right way, as labour-market demographics

to succeed in a changing national and global

change? Women and ethnic minorities

business environment. Looking for talent

remain under-represented at senior levels.

regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual

The gender pay gap has grown. Ethnic

orientation or disability makes good business

minority young people are more likely to be

sense - as well as building a fairer and more

unemployed than their white counterparts.

sustainable future.

ur population is changing, with Britain

while additional legal protections give members

steadily becoming a more ethnically

of staff with disabilities - whether obvious or

diverse country, as well as one in which women

hidden - the same opportunities as everyone

play a more active role in the workforce than

else.

ever before. Employment demographics and

The population is getting older too. There

trends have changed signiﬁcantly, particularly

is no longer a retirement age in the traditional

in the last 50 years. Wider changes in society

sense for both men and women, and some

mean that workers who identify as gay or

people are choosing to work well into their

lesbian should feel as valued and free from

60s and beyond. But despite changes in

discrimination as their heterosexual colleagues,

employment and equality law over the last

74 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

decades, many challenges remain for both

making diversity and inclusion a fundamental

the employer and the employee. Through its

part of any business case. Ensuring equal

Opportunity Now campaign, which focuses

opportunities for all employees is part of being a

on women in work, and Race for Opportunity,

sustainable business.

which campaigns for race equality, Business

Despite an increasingly diverse workforce,

in the Community has sought to address some

and population, there remains a huge disparity

of the biggest issues surrounding inequality of

between access to and progress through the

recruitment.

workplace for women and ethnic minorities. Just 15% of the rail operations workforce

DIVERSITY

is from a Black Asian and Minority Ethnic

Regardless of where you went to school, or

(BAME) background, and only 4.4% of the rail

what postcode you were brought up on, people

engineering workforce is female.

from all backgrounds should know that they

Ethnic minorities and women represent

will be able to progress in an organisation

a political voting power that business and

according to their talents and commitment to

government alike cannot afford to ignore. The

the job. Good employers will value the diversity

employment gap for ethnic minorities and for

that people from a wide range of backgrounds

women must not be allowed to widen further,

can offer a given role. Individuals will work to

but without action, little will change. This is

the best of their abilities when their identity, and

about business sense, not moral pleading.

the difference in contribution that may ﬂow from that, is valued. While diversity in the workplace refers

GENDER AND THE WORKPLACE At a Women in Rail conference in May, Rail

to the protection, respect and inclusion of

Minister Baroness Kramer said she was

the individual attributes that each employee

“determined to help break down the barriers

contributes, in practice it also means a lot more.

that prevent women from joining the rail

Employers are increasingly building company

industry”. It was an ofﬁcial and somewhat

cultures that also respect life experiences,

unsurprising recognition that the railway

language, talents, skills, thought processes

industry has historically, and predominantly,

and personal styles that reﬂect the spectrum of

been the domain of men. Kramer’s view has

personalities that make up any organisation.

been supported by other recent ministers at

Employees from a range of backgrounds will

the Department for Transport, including former

bring different ideas and enable an employer

Secretary of State Justine Greening, as well as

to appeal to different parts of the marketplace.

Labour opposite numbers Mary Creagh, Maria

This contributes to innovation and success -

Eagle and Lillian Greenwood.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 75

TACKLING INEQUALITY

In a recent article for the Hufﬁngton Post,

that now, all employees are entitled to ask

Women In Rail founder and General Counsel

for ﬂexible working patterns. In fact, it’s

for Angel Trains Adele Ginn notes that the

already happening. Government surveys have

Government’s extension of ﬂexible working

shown that 41% of employees work ﬂexibly

rights to all employees who have worked for

at some stage in their career. It’s a positive

26 weeks or more at their company means

development, as measures like this encourage

North East

Change in the Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations

4.7% 121,319

North West

Yorkshire and the Humber

9.8%

% of BAME resident in England & Wales by region

11.2%

690,461

591,777

EastMidlands West Midlands Wales

4.4%

10.7%

East of England

486,866

17.3%

9.2%

968,178

536,771

London

135,203

40.2%

South East

3,286,506

South West

9.3% 4.6% 242,506

806,930 Source: DWP Report 333 ONS Censuses 1991, 2001 and 2011 England and Wales HESA Student Records *196, 2001 and 2011 Interactive design by richardscottdesign.co.uk

76 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Case Study

National Grid BAME Leadership Pipeline

National Grid committed to increasing its stream of BAME leadership talent, in line with its eight-year growth plan. It wanted a more diverse workforce to help gather an increased

managers and recruitment assessors. ✦ The engagement of specialist agencies by the recruitment team. ✦ The launch in 2012/2013 of a BAME

range of ideas to innovate within the business

development programme, ‘Ambassadors

and provide customer satisfaction.

of Perspective Integration’, with progress

The National Grid monitors the percentage of BAME employees on a quarterly basis within all levels, for hires, leavers, promotions and workforce representation. This

reported to senior leaders. ✦ A BAME cross-sector mentoring programme. ✦ Collaboration between the HR and D&I

monitoring highlighted a clear gap in BAME

teams, internal business functions, other

representation at senior level.

businesses and external organisations to

In order to increase the number of

deliver the above initiatives.

BAME senior managers, the Diversity &

The impact

Inclusion and Human Resources teams

✦ The number of senior BAME managers

worked together to develop a programme to

went from 1 in 160 (0.6%) in 2011, to 3 in

investigate and remove any existing barriers

167 (1.8%) in 2013.

to BAME progression. Based on workforce metrics, and an

✦ The number of BAME managers increased from 69 managers of 1,243

understanding gained from interviews with a

(5.5%) in 2011, to 81 of 1,303 (6.2%) in

breadth of BAME employees, National Grid

2013.

was suitably informed to be able to make a

✦ The overall percentage of the workforce

series of targeted interventions, including:

that identiﬁed as BAME increased from

✦ Unconscious bias training for line

7.8% in 2011, to 8.9% in 2013.

more women in the workforce. With Women In Rail members reporting that

business - or personal circumstances - meaning that there is ﬂexibility on both sides.”

an informal working pattern is more effective call to action. “See if your employer would

REACHING OUT TO YOUNG PEOPLE

consider letting you work ﬂexible hours, either

It’s not that the rail industry isn’t doing anything

contractually or informally. Flexible working is

to encourage more women, though. One

ﬂuid and can be adapted to suit an employee’s

example is the competition held in 2014 by

needs, role, and contract types (for example,

Crossrail, the largest construction project

permanent, temporary, full-time, and part-time).

in Europe, to highlight gender stereotypes

An employee can dip in and out of a ﬂexible

as a barrier to engineering among young

arrangement depending on their needs of the

people. The prize, a year’s mentoring from the

for them, Ginn uses this to make a wider

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 77

TACKLING INEQUALITY

company for ﬁve young women The initiative

A number of useful lessons emerged from the

was celebrated in conjunction with Crossrail

exercise. They included the fact that there was

sponsor Transport for London with the UK’s ﬁrst

a widespread perception that - even in 2014 - a

National Women in Engineering Day, in which

career in engineering was a “man’s job”. Other

more than 400 students took part. Crossrail’s

issues raised included family objections and

research suggested that young people thought

discrimination. Both young men and women

popular culture was key to raising the proﬁle of

expressed the strong view that integrating

engineering, so as part of the initiative, ithosted

engineering into popular culture through TV

an ‘Engineer Your Future’ challenge in which

shows, celebrity endorsement, advertising

some 70 young people, male and female, were

and media campaigns and promoting female

tasked with developing innovative ways to

role models would help raise the proﬁle of

attract young women to engineering.

engineering as an attractive career for women.

Thirty ﬁnalists then joined leading Crossrail

Could a partnership with the writers of today’s

female engineers at the project’s new Canary

most popular soap operas feature ambitious,

Wharf station to mark National Women in

career-minded female rail engineers? Are there

Engineering Day and gain ﬁrst-hand experience

enough female engineers available to mentor

of an engineering project.

and guide the engineers of the future? Although

Diversity champions

employers containing practical ways to

The charity Stonewall works with a range of

implement working practices and interesting

agencies to address the needs of lesbians,

case studies to ensure an inclusive

gay men and bisexuals in the workplace and

workplace for lesbian, gay and bisexual staff.

wider community. Their Diversity Champions

Business in the Community is working

programme is Britain’s good practice

with Stonewall to set aspirational goals

employers’ forum on sexual orientation in the

for supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual or

workplace.

transgender (LGBT) colleagues and

The Diversity Champions programme

communities.

offers advice and support to over 650 organisations including IBM, Barclays,

Further reading

Barnardos, DCLG and the Royal Navy. It

Stonewall website:

offers a series of good practice guides for

http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_work

78 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud to be a responsible business Supporting RAIL Magazine and Business In The Community (BITC)

TACKLING INEQUALITY

❝

larger organisations such as Network Rail are hoping to change this, just 8.5% of engineers in the UK are

Monitor workforce data - you can only manage what you can measure

women, the lowest representation of any European country. The UK is facing an unprecedented

❞

work will be well under way on the Northern Line extension between Kennington, Nine Elms and Battersea, and work is also expected to start on

HS2. That’s not taking into account Crossrail 2 between north east and south

demand for engineering skills and needs to

west London, nor any number of other railway-

double the number of engineering graduates

related projects that are likely to be approved,

to 87,000 per year to meet the estimated one

both large and small. Each will need an array of

million job openings by 2020. Encouraging

engineering, construction, project management

more women into engineering will be essential

and railway systems skills which aren’t

to meet this demand.

necessarily in abundance in the UK at present.

For Crossrail, it is not just about improving diversity quotas or box ticking, but fulﬁlling a

Much of that future workforce is probably still at school.

practical need to ﬁnd more skilled people in

So, encouraging young women and young

engineering. By the time Crossrail has fully

ethnic minorities to take up engineering careers

opened between Shenﬁeld and Abbey Wood

while still at school is the step change that is

at its eastern extremities, and Heathrow Airport

needed. Crossrail Chief Executive Andrew

and Reading in the West in 2019, construction

Wolstenholme says the UK “must do more to

Ethnic minorities in the workplace

Minority Ethnic (BAME) population that is

5.1 million people, or just 12.8% of the

population – an employment rate gap of

UK working-age population are from an

12.7 percentage points)* 31.4% - or

ethnic minority background - but just one

1.6 million - the proportion of the BAME

in ten employed people (10%) are of an

population classed as economically inactive

ethnic minority background. At the current

(compared with 22.7% or 9.1 million for the

rate of change it will take until 2105 to

population overall)

employed (compared with 72.9% of the white

close the ethnic employment gap. 60.2% - the percentage of the Black, Asian and

80 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Source: Labour Force Survey, April-June 2014

Women in the workforce

47% attract women to address the skills demand” and “challenge the gender stereotypes that

of the UK workforce are women*1

continue to inﬂuence some young women and men in their selection of careers”. Crossrail is

52% 12%

drawing on a number of senior women to lead this project, with its male and female engineers working across London’s schools. This also

of women report being

means reaching out to schools in deprived

of women report

areas, not just engaging with the traditional

being bullied at

the victim of sexual

work*2

harassment at work*2

academic institutions - such as the Russell Group of Universities.

RACE AND THE WORKPLACE

percentage that women earn

Career progression should be based on merit. The reality is that the workplace doesn’t always

77%

work that way - and evidence conﬁrms this. Race for Opportunity showed this recently with its report Race to the Top. It found that

compared to salary of what men in full-time comparable jobs earn

British BAME workers are simply not gaining the share of management or senior level jobs that

25%

their population would justify. The inequality is most evident in Britain’s boardrooms. At the time of writing, the most recent FTSE 100 report from the respected Cranﬁeld University School of Management shows that ethnic minority directors comprised just 5.5% of all directors in FTSE 100 companies.

of all working women are on less than the Living Wage†

It means that Britain’s most successful companies have a huge amount to do in order to

*1 They are under-represented in more senior roles

create more diverse and inclusive workplaces,

*2 Project 28-40 report, Business in the Community, April

with a need for transparency and fairness in

2014 †

recruitment practices and procedures. And it’s not just FTSE companies that have

Source: The changing labour market: delivering for

women, delivering for growth, Fawcett Society, April 2013

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 81

TACKLING INEQUALITY

make the most of this pool of talent.

Leadership Just one in 13 management positions

DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP

and 1 in 16 of top management positions

In 2008, Transport for London jointly

are held by ethnic minorities.

commissioned an industry study in which

Source: (Race at the Top, Business in

severe skills shortages were highlighted

the Community, June 2014).

within the transport industry. TfL serves a city that suffers severe social challenges, with low levels of skills and high levels of poverty

work to do. Across the whole workforce,

and unemployment, particularly in BAME

1 in 15 BAME workers in the UK holds a

communities.

management position.

TfL developed a programme geared to

Understanding and addressing the

harnessing the organisation’s spending

unconscious biases present in the workplace

power in order to open up skills, training and

that lead to outcomes like these can be difﬁcult

employment opportunities through their supply

and uncomfortable. But it doesn’t need to be.

chain.

Business in the Community has the advice

A procurement approach – the Strategic

and the tools to help organisations create

Labour Needs and Training programme - was

processes and cultures that do not allow for

developed in consultation with suppliers and

discrimination.

the wider TfL business. Requirements were

On the basis of current trends, BAME

written into contracts with suppliers to ensure

workers will constitute a far greater percentage

local communities were able to access job

of the future workforce; ethnic minorities make

opportunities within TfL’s supply chain. Between

up 11% of the UK working-age population,

2009-2011, the programme enabled over 500

while 1 in 4 pupils in primary school education in the UK are from an ethnic minority background. Britain’s current and future workforce is racially and culturally diverse and progressive employers recognise that it makes good business sense to

BAME Londoners to secure jobs with

❝

TfL suppliers - resulting it being awarded a Leadership Award

Very little benchmarking data is being used, or any metric by which to measure it

understand, develop and

82 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

❞

at BITC’s 2011 Race for Opportunity awards. The award was given to highlight how leadership, clear goals, action and evaluation could help achieve exceptional progress.

Steps to creating a more diverse workforce for all employees

The programme had an impact across TfL’s supply chain. In 2010/11, over 1,000 unemployed Londoners accessed work with organisations supplying TfL in areas of high BAME unemployment, demonstrating that TfL’s

Management Monitoring Mentoring Progression

largest recruitment activites were accessible to BAME communities. For example, in 2010, Initial Transport

WHAT ELSE CAN BUSINESSES AND GOVERNMENT DO?

Services recruited 334 staff - 70% of which were

Business in the Community has set out further

BAME. Apprenticeships were secured through

measures that businesses and the Government

TfL’s ‘Routes Into Work’ programme, which

can make in order to address inequality of

supports young Londoners Not in Employment,

recruitment.

Education or Training by identifying their future career aspirations and training needs.

These include: ✦ Changing the UK Corporate Governance

The pre-apprenticeship training is speciﬁcally

Code, by adding ‘race’ at the point where

tailored towards careers and apprenticeships in

the code recommends boards pay heed to

industries such as engineering, transportation

‘its diversity, including gender’.

and construction. Suppliers who have supported the programme

✦ Calling for the commissioning of a review of race equality in the workplace, focusing

are also able to use their experiences to help

on access to promotions to senior levels of

them bid for other public sector contracts. As the

management. This would aim to emulate

wider industry adopts the approach developed

the wide-ranging Lord Davies review into

by TfL, this becomes a business advantage - and

women on boards of directors resulted in

suppliers are now voluntarily participating in the

clear changes in attitudes and behaviour.

programme.

✦ Committing to using procurement spending power to ensure that businesses who tender for public contracts can demonstrate a

BAME unemployment The unemployment rate for the BAME

commitment to race diversity within their supply chain. ✦ Recognising that shared parental leave

population remains stubbornly high - up

legislation alone isn’t sufﬁcient. A signiﬁcant

to three times higher than that for the

shift in workplace and social attitudes is

white population.

required, along with support for employers to implement it.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 83

TACKLING INEQUALITY

Nisrine Chartouny,

based in London and have been working on

Project Manager, Crossrail

the Crossrail project for the last six and a half

Education:

years, as Bechtel is a delivery partner for

Bachelor of Civil Engineering,

Crossrail. I started with roles in project controls

American University of Beirut

and moved on to being a business manager in

Masters Degree in Construction Engineering &

a contractual and commercial role. I have been

Project Management, University of Texas.

a Project Manager for the last couple of years

Member of Women In Rail since August 2014.

- most of which was on the Farringdon station project.

How did you get into the rail industry? wanted to be an engineer and particularly a

What aspects of the job do you ﬁnd the most challenging?

civil engineer. Many members of my family are

Initially, I thought that the challenges would

engineers too. I joined the American company

mostly be technical. We are working in the

Bechtel in London, in 2006, and worked on

middle of London in the city and need to

Infrastructure Projects that have allowed me to

ensure our works cause minimum disruption.

travel signiﬁcantly.

In reality, most of the challenges come from

It was by accident. I have always known I

I have worked on an airport project in

managing the interfaces. If you think about

Qatar, worked in Romania and worked on

where the station is located, we’re next to

projects in the US. I had always worked in the

Barbican station on one side, and the existing

construction department and decided to go for

Farringdon tube and Thameslink stations on

a rotation with project controls. An opportunity

the other, and all these stations have to remain

arose on the Crossrail project in the early

fully operational. We also have to consider local

design and development stages in 2008. I wasn’t particularly interested in the rail sector per se at the time, but having now spent six and a half years on Crossrail, I can tell you I thoroughly enjoyed

❝

markets, shops and residents. The area is covered by three local authorities.

Given I enjoy what I do, I do those hours by choice

every minute of it.

What do you do?

❞

Trying to understand everyone’s perspectives and then coming up with solutions that are acceptable to all parties, not just some, is a continual challenge.

What do you like the most about your job/the rail industry?

I am Lebanese and I got my qualiﬁcations in

There are a couple of things I like the most: the

Civil Engineering both in Lebanon and the US.

nature of the work we are doing and its overall

I have worked with a Lebanese/Singaporian

positive impact on the community, as we are

joint venture on high-rise buildings, with

building a central London link; and also the

local contractors on road works in the US,

people I work with and the daily interaction I

in addition to the projects above. I am now

have with them all. In our industry you’re often

84 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Nisrine Chartouny, Project Manager, Crossrail

Case Study

working with passionate and motivated people,

how enjoyable, challenging and varied our

which is great.

work is. There is also an erroneous perception

What makes you stay in the rail sector?

about the tough working hours, with night

The big impact on the communities who beneﬁt

shifts being expected. The industry does

from the projects generates a great sense of

provide ﬂexibility and indeed there are many

satisfaction for one, and also Crossrail in itself

roles that can be done in engineering that can

is so unique. Not only is it the biggest project

allow for ﬂexibility and normal working hours.

in Europe, we are working in London, where

It does need to be recognised that younger

back in 1863 railway engineers built the ﬁrst

people (men and women) often have other

underground railway in the world between

expectations of work-life balance and the

Paddington and Farringdon. Here we are using

industry needs to show more acceptance of

the latest technology to build the newest railway

different priorities.

in London and connect to the oldest part of the network. It is such a privilege to be doing it.

How can rail attract more women? We need to address the perceptions young

What do you think could be improved within rail for you personally?

girls have about engineering. We need to

More open-mindedness to new ideas. A lot is

between the ages of 7 and 12 that children

already happening within Crossrail itself with

start to make their minds up about what they

building information modelling (BIM) and other

want to do in life. Crossrail actively reaches

safety and engineering innovations, but the

out to different schools in the areas of London

industry overall will beneﬁt from this. It’s a little

that the project affects to raise awareness.

bit easier to drive these changes on Crossrail

begin this at a young age, particularly as it is

There is a large perception that the sector

because of the sheer scale of the project to

is all about manual labour. Recently, I met

begin with, but also the mentality and aspirations

some young girls as part of the Crossrail

of the senior management leading the project.

awareness programme, and some of them were surprised I wasn’t bigger physically with

What do you think the rail industry should start doing, stop doing or continue to do to support women within the rail industry?

more muscles! Back in Lebanon, the career

I realise this will come across as a generalisation

TV documentary, which aired on the BBC

but younger people don’t seem as interested in

in July and August, has also been helping

rail. They look back at the history of the industry

people understand the variety of what can

and don’t think much has changed. It is key that

be achieved on the project outside of manual

we all use every opportunity to talk about just

labour jobs.

path of an engineer is well understood and respected, but this doesn’t always seem to be the case in the UK. Crossrail’s recent

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 85

TACKLING INEQUALITY

✦ Strengthening accountability in public reporting: requiring employers to publicly report on workforce data and their gender pay gap data.

there. Internally, senior role models support the message that progression is equally available to all. ✦ Make unconscious bias training compulsory for everyone, both inside and outside

PRACTICAL STEPS ✦ Set clear key performance indicators around attracting and recruiting female and

the business, involved in recruitment, progression and pay. ✦ Embed ﬂexible working within the business,

ethnic minority talent. This requires the

and eliminate any stigma around it. Measure

setting of goals that the organisation needs

output, rather than hours.

to achieve. ✦ Accountability: make senior leaders accountable for equality and diversity in their operational division. Ensure line managers are accountable for supporting

✦ Monitor workforce data. After all, you can only manage what you can measure. ✦ Have a transparent and fair promotion and appraisals process, and an equal pay policy. ✦ Be an inclusive leader. Inclusive leadership

progression of their female and BAME

is excellent leadership, so embed inclusive

employees.

competencies into existing management

✦ Engage with schools and universities, through careers advice, mentoring students and providing role models ✦ Role models have a positive impact on the

frameworks and training to get the best out of all employees. ✦ Change your workplace culture. Does everyone recognise the barriers that

workforce - and future young talent. Role

women and ethnic minorities face?

models that talk to young women and ethnic

Have the conversation about this, and

minorities about the career opportunities of

work with your internal communications and

working in rail, and what is required to get

HR teams.

Further reading There are good examples of best practice,

of businesses taking action. The latest case studies can be found on

which highlight businesses that have

the BITC website: http://www.bitc.org.uk/

tackled both gender and race issues. BITC’s

issues/workplace-and-employees/race-and-

Opportunity Now and Race for Opportunity

gender#sthash.2tcTbJJO.dpuf (shortened

awards showcase the best-practice examples

URL: http://bit.ly/1A9bR2h)

86 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Case Study POP-UP shops

irgin Trains’ POP-UP shop activity supports small and medium-sized enterprises in the

areas surrounding Virgin Trains stations along

In return Virgin Trains offers a number of beneﬁts to SMEs that get involved:

the West Coast. The programme offers free space on station platforms and in First Class lounges to businesses looking to sell their goods in a more engaging way. There’s also the opportunity to promote food and services on trains through POP-UP Taster Days. The Virgin Trains Talent Academy offers the opportunity for POP-UP businesses to take part in training courses and a Business Networking group at Crewe has been set up with plans to meet four times a year. Want to get in involved? Virgin Trains is

✦ Free space, parking and a travel pass for each event ✦ The opportunity to promote and publicise their business ✦ The chance to make sales, earn commission and build business ✦ Free advertising through press releases, social media, station poster boards, TV and Radio ✦ Access to business networking ✦ Free training at the Talent Academy

looking for small, independent businesses,

✦ Contacts within the Virgin Group

with a strong focus on customer service and a

✦ The opportunity to become a Virgin Trains

commitment to environmental sustainability.

Lovingly Artisan bakery One of the small local businesses which has beneﬁted from the POP-UP activity

supplier

Virgin Trains beneﬁts too, in the following ways: ✦ Becoming an integral part of the community it serves

is Oxenholme-based sourdough bakery,

✦ Building the economy it serves

Lovingly Artisan.

✦ Creating free advertising revenue

“Virgin has given our vision for serving excellent produce a great deal

✦ Enhancing the customer experience at stations and onboard Virgin Trains’ services

of time and respect and for that we are

✦ Creating development opportunities for

deeply grateful. Much of what we want

community champions in all aspects of

to achieve would be impossible without them.”

creating POP-UP events ✦ Use of unoccupied buildings at stations ✦ Revenue created through tenancy.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 87

HEALTHIER, HAPPIER EMPLOYEES

5. Creating happier, healthier and more productive employees Elevating mental health to the same level of importance as physical health is vital for business.

Louise Aston,

in the previous 12 months, with 39% of

Workwell Director,

employees reporting that they typically feel

Business in the Community

under excessive pressure at least once or twice a week.

More and more businesses

Fewer than half of those people who are

recognise the imperative of creating happier

affected by mental ill-health feel conﬁdent

and healthier workforces. As well as

to speak up about their condition, fearing a

beneﬁting individuals, improved employee

negative response. This means people don’t

engagement and wellbeing builds business

get access to timely support which in turn can

resilience. However, we’re all working longer,

mean problems become more severe.

harder and in tougher times than ever before,

We all have mental health in the same

which looks set to continue. Businesses

way as we all have physical health and we

now cite stress as their number one cause

need to look after both, particularly as they

of long-term sickness absence, yet there is

are interlinked. Progressive organisations are

still stigma about talking openly about mental

tackling the culture of silence that surrounds

health. In a recent survey, the CIPD reported

mental health by encouraging an open culture

that half of employees surveyed had noticed

for talking about it. After all, you can only

an increase in workloads in their organisation

manage what you can talk about.

88 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

ne in four adults in the UK will experience

and engagement levels, which lag behind

a mental health condition in any given

European and global counterparts. In terms

year, with the Organisation for Economic Co-

of productivity, the UK was 20% lower than

operation and Development (OECD) estimating

the rest of the G7 countries (Canada, France,

the cost of mental health to the UK economy at

Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States of

£70 billion per year, equating to 4.5% of GDP.

America) in 2011. This is the widest productivity

Mental ill-health at work is thought to cost UK

gap since 1995.

employers £26 billion each year – on average £1,035 per employee. Employee absence costs £17bn a year.

The UK is ranked ninth for engagement levels among the world’s 12 largest economies, as ranked by Gross Domestic Product,

Presenteeism costs the UK £15.1bn. This is

Wellbeing and engagement are inextricably

when people attend work while sick. Stress

linked in terms of driving sustainable

at work, leading to long-term absence, has

performance. Promoting employee wellbeing

more than doubled since the 1990s, with an

is relevant to businesses because ensuring

estimated 500,000 people suffering from work-

that the workplace is enriching and enables

related stress in the UK. However, only a third

all employees to ﬂourish is responsible

of employees received any support to manage

people management, and forms a key part of

workplace stress.

businesses responsibility to society.

Across the UK, sickness absence caused

Businesses must recognise that they

by everyday mental health conditions, such as

have a duty of care to their employees and

stress, anxiety or depression, has dramatically

treat each employee as a human being with

increased from 11.8 million days in 2010 to

speciﬁc needs.

15.2 million days in 2013 (Ofﬁce of National Statistics, 2013).

THE CULTURE OF SILENCE

Two-ﬁfths of organisations saw an increase

Almost half of employees (44%) surveyed by

in mental health issues last year, compared with

CIPD last year said their organisation did not

only one-ﬁfth in 2009.

promote health and wellbeing.

COST TO UK COMPETITIVENESS

said they knew what wellbeing beneﬁts were

There is a growing body of knowledge outlining

on offer and how to access, or take part in,

the cost of mental health both to society and

the services. A third of UK organisations that

employees. As these issues come to light they

have identiﬁed stress as one of their top ﬁve

can be mapped against the UK’s productivity

causes of absence are not taking any steps

In the same survey, only 28% of employees

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 89

HEALTHIER, HAPPIER EMPLOYEES to address it. Even if businesses have employee support

real terms. In BITC Workwellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 2014 FTSE 100 public

mechanisms in place, such as counselling

reporting benchmark on employee engagement

support, stress management workshops or

and wellbeing, results showed that there is no

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions,

reporting of psychological health, and very few

many companies do not disseminate public

statistics for the use of Employee Assistance

information because they fear that it equates

Programmes (EAPs).

to admitting that a problem exists, or is out of control. Another issue is organisations with ineffective, or poorly implemented, mental

The Workwell benchmark responded to investor demands for a standardised measurement of employee management that could inform investment decisions.

wellbeing strategies in place, which may

Recent research has suggested that UK

create the illusion of cultural change, but

businesses are becoming less competitive,

with no improved outcomes for employees in

with one study showing that UK productivity

90 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

It’s crucial for all members of an organisation to remain sensitive to the work and life pressures that others may be going through, and to feel able to discuss these. Employers need to understand people’s experiences of mental health (both positive and negative) to help create a working culture in which positive mental wellbeing is supported from the outset. Key to this is effective people management that focuses on both the physical and psychological health of the employee and facilitates early intervention, rather than simply tackling problems as they arise. The steps needed to encourage this cultural shift are, in the majority of cases, simple - but they need to be driven at a boardroom level to help implement lasting change. Increased dialogue and public disclosure will help to reassure businesses that are nervous about was 20 percentage points lower than the rest

speaking out to follow suit.

of the G7 in 2011.

COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY LEADERSHIP FROM BOARDROOM LEVEL

Employers, and line managers, are not

In the majority of cases, the causes of mental

towards their employees, and should be able

health problems are triggered by factors outside

to signpost them to the support they need to

of the workplace, but these still affect people’s

maintain their health.

working lives enormously and have a signiﬁcant impact on workplace performance.

counsellors, but they hold a duty of care

An important aspect of this is equipping all employees (line managers in particular) with

This means that mental health affects every

a basic but robust understanding of how to

business in Britain, yet the evidence suggests

offer initial support and advice for cases of

that the business impact of mental health still

stress, anxiety and depression. Line managers

isn’t properly recognised by some employers.

need to be able to provide ongoing workplace

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EAST COAST.

HEALTHIER, HAPPIER EMPLOYEES

East Coast - Further Together

Case Study

East Coast inherited a demotivated

days per employee reduced from

and disengaged workforce, which it has

11.4 to fewer than 8.6 days, saving the

reinvigorated through its Further Together

business £1.89 million.

programme, completely transforming the

✦✦ Recognition as a great place to work,

company’s fortunes in the process. The

with 37 industry awards in the past year

employee engagement and wellbeing

and being one of Britain’s Top Employers

programme has played a critical role. It raised

three years in a row.

morale, ended mediocre performance and improved the company’s waning reputation,

Business impacts

resulting in a happy and reinvigorated team.

✦✦ Improved customer service has allowed

Training schemes, reward schemes and schemes which let staff share their experiences with other employees are all at the heart of the programme.

East Coast to achieve the best customer satisfaction results since 1993. ✦✦ A 25% growth in passenger numbers to become Britain’s busiest train operator, with average loads per train exceeding

Social impacts ✦✦ A year-on-year improvement in

225 customers, 36% ahead of the next busiest operator.

engagement scores. In 2013, there was a

✦✦ A 4.2% increase in total sales and a 6.6%

73% employee engagement rate, the best

increase in operating profit, with £208.7m

among all UK train operators.

returned to the taxpayer in premium and

✦✦ The average number of sickness absence

92 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

dividend payments.

Mars Chocolate UK

Case Study

Helen Wray is Health and Wellbeing

are about sustaining performance and good

Business Partner at Mars Chocolate UK.

mental health by focusing on mind traps and

She has over 20 years’ experience in

recovery behaviours for employees to put in

occupational health and leads Mars’ award-

place to ensure that they stay well. A healthy

winning wellbeing strategy. She says:

working environment is promoted through

“Our mental health support programme is

our principles of mutuality and responsibility

part of our broader well-being programme,

promoting good communications, working

which has three parts: keeping our well

relationships and job roles.

people well, providing a healthy work

“At Mars, we understand that our

environment and ensuring we have support

employees are at the heart of our business

services in place when people do become

and that they drive our performance so we

unwell. We keep our well people well

see our wellbeing programmes as mutually

through our physical and activity programme;

beneﬁcial; it’s an investment not a cost.

providing employees with exercise classes,

We know if we provide a healthy work

onsite gyms, physical activity challenges and

environment and support our employees with

through our resilience workshops. These

their mental and physical wellbeing they’re

workshops are currently being piloted and

likely to drive our business forward.”

adjustments to their teams and feel able to

looking to understand the challenges of

promote mental wellbeing more generally, and

those coping with stress, anxiety and

should receive the appropriate training to do so.

depression, enabling them to offer more

In CIPD’s most recent Absence Management Survey (2013) almost half of respondents (46%)

effective, practical advice. Straightforward actions can help reassure

cited management style and volume of work as

employees that they don’t have to suffer in

within the top three causes of stress, indicating

silence. Employee Assistance Programmes

that there needs to be a greater emphasis

(EAPs) are a good example of this. Offering

on line managers to intervene to prevent

employees greater access to psychological

their employees becoming overworked, and

therapies and support, alongside increased

communicating available support.

access to support services at work, can play an

Even simple changes such as holding

important role in making simple, cost-effective

regular one-on-one catch up sessions between

adjustments to help support employees. The

employee and line manager, or introducing

NHS has a wide range of resources to help

ﬂexible working hours, can be good, cost-

facilitate this framework.

effective ways to create a culture of trust, which

The UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE)

can help to boost motivation and performance

also offers useful resources on introductory

levels. Better literacy around mental health

stress management strategies, including a ‘ﬁve

at work will beneﬁt managers and employers

steps to risk assessment’ tool.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 93

HEALTHIER, HAPPIER EMPLOYEES

BITC’S WORKWELL MODEL - CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR THE WHOLE PERSON TO FLOURISH

WORKWELL

✦ Spreading good practice

Business in the Community’s (BITC) Workwell

✦ Providing support

has been developed by international business

Research supports that this is a key

leaders with the core purpose of creating

business issue and BITC Workwell’s aim is to

happier and healthier workforces. As well as

elevate mental health to a strategic boardroom

beneﬁting individuals, improved employee

issue, and to act collectively as responsible

engagement and wellbeing builds business

businesses to address the impact of poor

resilience, performance and productivity.

mental health and wellbeing on individual

Their mission is to inspire every organisation

employees, business productivity and the

to help their people ﬂourish by:

competitiveness of UK plc. Part of achieving

✦ Proving the business case

this aim is promoting a strategic, holistic and

94 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Southeastern

Case Study

Southeastern has developed an initiative

✦ Greater involvement in communities

to actively promote and support healthy

through family days, encouraging

lifestyles for all staff, which has increased

interaction between employees and

engagement and reduced absence. It

the local area.

addresses employees’ concerns about their own physical and mental wellbeing.

Business impacts

Southeastern has created a culture which

✦ Improved work-life balance leads to

provides support to help prevent fatigue,

happier, healthier and more engaged

encourage healthy eating and physical activity

employees who are prepared to ‘go the

and encourages staff to discuss their needs.

extra mile’ for the business. ✦ Employee wellbeing is embedded into

Social impacts

the company’s culture, creating a mutually

✦ Better work-life balance for employees,

supportive environment and open

improving family and social lives. ✦ Increased staff awareness and use of local organisations and charities available to provide support.

dialogue between managers and their teams. ✦ Reduced levels of absence due to sickness.

integrated approach to positive employee

wellbeing and engagement to sustainable

wellbeing based on BITC’s Workwell Model,

performance and productivity.

which recognises the inter-relationships

It provides a strategic and holistic framework

between mental, physical and social health

for integrating employee wellbeing and

and wellbeing.

engagement into responsible business practice.

BITC Workwell is the ﬁrst model to

The white circle in the middle positions

successfully integrate all aspects of employee

working well running through the DNA of a

wellbeing and engagement alongside business

business. The four coloured segments promote

objectives.

what employers can do to create conditions for

The Workwell Model supports creating the

the whole person to achieve their best:

conditions for the whole person to ﬂourish.

✦ Better physical & psychological health

The Model is evidence-based and developed

✦ Better work

by business for business. It has been widely

✦ Better relationships

endorsed and has been adopted by a wide

✦ Better specialist support

range of organisations. The Model positions wellbeing and

The grey wheel articulates 5-A-Day for wellness in terms of what employees can take

engagement as strategic boardroom issues

responsibility for themselves. And the outer

linked to securing business objectives.

wheel expresses some of the high level beneﬁts

It articulates the inextricable link between

of adopting the Workwell Model.

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DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

6. Cutting dependency on diminishing natural resources Businesses today face rising energy costs and ever-tightening constraints on the use of resources. But for smart ﬁrms the face of adversity can also offer plenty of business opportunities... Joey Tabone,

resources now makes sound commercial

Director of Marketplace

sense. In the short term, UK businesses

Sustainability,

could save £25 billion each year simply by

Business in the Community

adopting no or low-cost resource efﬁciency measures. Being sustainable in the long term,

Natural resource depletion, biodiversity

as leading businesses understand, involves

loss and climate change are some of the

embedding environmental sustainability

most challenging and complex issues

into their core business. By ensuring your

facing business and society. While many

business delivers its products and services

people see these issues as too long-term

efﬁciently and in a way that uses natural

to be directly related to them, taking action

resources sustainably, you’ll ensure it sees

to address your businesses’ use of natural

beneﬁts beyond short-term ﬁnancial returns.

he laws of physics dictate that constant

average person in the UK does, we would need

growth in the use of natural resources

three planets to support us. If we all lived the

cannot continue forever in a ﬁnite system. If everyone in the world consumed natural resources and created waste at the rate the

96 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

average American lifestyle, we would need ﬁve. Unless we take action today, we will be jeopardising the long and even medium term

Areas for innovation ✦ Resource efﬁciency - Companies

worth an estimated 1% of private sector

can drive cost savings and mitigate

turnover in the UK. (ref Accenture

environmental concerns through more

analysis, drawn from Botsman, R. &

rapid adoption of resource efﬁciency

Rogers, R., 2010, What’s mine is yours:

and deployment of emerging clean

The Rise of Collaborative Consumption.

technologies. Clean technology

Harper Business, USA.)

companies can directly contribute to economic recovery by building skills

✦ Shared value approaches - Companies

and creating a potential 40,000 jobs

can build the conditions for their own

each year.

success by focusing on the convergence of interests with society, promoting

✦ The circular economy - Companies can

community prosperity, improving skills

cut costs, improve margins and preserve

and enhancing health. Shared value

natural capital by closing the loop on

approaches catalyse direct productivity

supply chains through product design,

gains through improved employee

extending asset life, re-use and recycling.

engagement and reduced churn and

Improved recycling technologies, growing

indirect returns through enhanced

regulation and volatile commodity prices

reputation and trust.

create a compelling business case for retaining ownership of valuable materials and creating circular business models.

✦ Transparency and customer engagement - Companies can build loyalty and drive productivity gains

✦ New consumption models - Companies

through embedding sustainable supply

can grow recurring revenue streams and

chain standards and transparently

help customers to live lower impact lives

sharing information on product origins

by enabling ‘collaborative consumption’,

with customers. Enhanced traceability

by delivering ‘products as a service’

enables better resource planning and risk

and through developing compelling new

management and the market for ‘ethical’

customer propositions. Technology and

goods and services has achieved an

social media have driven resurgence

average 14% year-on-year growth over

in sharing and service-based business

the past decade (ref Co-operative Bank,

models, creating a market already

2012, Ethical Consumerism Report 2012)

Source: BITC Fortune Favours the Brave report.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 97

DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

❝

success of businesses, as well as our own and our children’s futures. We need to design, build and use products and services in a way that makes better use of what we have, and restores

Opportunities for sustainable innovation are valued at £100bn in the UK.

the health of the natural capital we depend on. For smart businesses this apparent adversity can offer plenty of business opportunities.

❞

Spencer’s and Accenture, BITC produced the report, Fortune Favours the Brave, that outlined the opportunity that exists for UK businesses to unlock around £100 billion a year in value from

new innovation opportunities addressing social and environmental challenges The report argues that companies must

There is clear evidence that there are great

go beyond conventional corporate and social

rewards for companies that address these

responsibility programmes and, instead,

challenges. Business in the Community works

place sustainability at the heart of business

with its members to help them identify and then

strategies and operations to unlock the full

capitalise on their opportunities and minimise

commercial potential and sustainability

their risks. The focus is primarily on:

beneﬁts possible.

✦ Building resilience to future proof

Based on primary and secondary research

organisations and infrastructure against

by Accenture and in-depth discussions with

shocks.

CEOs of some of the UK’s leading companies

✦ Valuing, protecting and enhancing our

such as Kingﬁsher, BT Group and Jaguar Land

access to the resources on which we

Rover, the report suggests massively scaling

depend, such as water, energy and

up innovation in ﬁve categories (see panel

food, promoting the circular economy

page 107).

as a model. ✦ Promoting innovation in products, services and business models, collaboration to address shared challenges and

The report suggests leaders should do three things: ✦ Assess the external market and megatrends.

engagement with the whole value chain to

✦ Develop a vision and deﬁne the unique

drive progress towards a more sustainable

contribution of their business in light of

future.

external trends. ✦ Test and deliver opportunities for

A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

innovation and value creation in line with

In 2013, in partnership with Marks and

the business vision.

98 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Drax Group -

Case Study

low carbon electricity generation Drax is aiming to become the biggest single

✦ Business beneﬁts:

renewable power generator in the UK by

✦ A healthy and secure future for Drax’s

switching three of its six units from coal to biomass. As a company that operates the

electricity generation business. ✦ A unique selling point, allowing Drax’s

largest power station in the UK, this is pretty

supply business to provide good value

signiﬁcant.

renewable power. ✦ Drax’s approach to transform its supply

Social and environmental beneﬁts:

chain to an alternative source of

✦ Expected reduction in Drax’s carbon

electricity generation has led to a tangible

dioxide emissions by more than ten

improvement in public and stakeholder

million tonnes by 2016.

perception.

✦ Helping to set international standards and promoting the use of sustainable biomass to ensure other generators are responsible. ✦ Providing renewable power to the equivalent of three million homes by 2016.

CLIMATE CHANGE

There is widespread, global scientiﬁc

The earth’s climate is changing. Over the past

consensus that the most signiﬁcant contributor

century, the planet’s surface has warmed by

to the warming is the increase in atmospheric

three-quarters of a degree Celsius (and most

greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide

of that has happened in the past 50 years). It’s

and methane), primarily caused by the use of

not just about melting icebergs and rising sea

fossil fuels used for energy, changes in farming

levels. As the world warms, it will become more

practices and to the land, for example through

unstable, due to increasing numbers of natural

deforestation.

disasters caused by extreme weather, and the

We now know that we have ‘spent’ more

impact of changed weather patterns on the

than two thirds of the total amount of carbon

availability of food and fresh water. These in

that can be released into the atmosphere if we

turn will increase the likelihood of political and

are to stand a chance of keeping temperature

civil unrest and mass migration.

rise below two degrees. As a result, in April

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DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

❝

2014 the Prince of Wales’ Corporate Leaders Group launched the trillion tonne communique. Signed by

The more scarce natural resources become, the more and reduce emissions and to innovate to create the low expensive they carbon products and services will be. that will underpin our future

159 leading businesses the communique calls for a

❞

prosperity.

to make sure we stay within the limits of the

RESILIENCE IN INFRASTRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS

remaining budget.

While contingency planning for identiﬁed risks

serious policy response from Government

As these businesses and Governments start

is part of every good business strategy, it is also

to drive real action to tackle climate change

important that businesses have a coordinated

it will become increasingly important for all

approach and rapid response protocols when

businesses to both monitor, measure, manage

unforeseen events occur. We know that we are likely to face more economic, social and environmental shocks in the future. We also

International disaster relief

know that many businesses hit by severe shocks never recover. Taking climate, environmental, social and

Disasters cost the world US$140 billion

economic risks into account and aiming to

in insured losses in 2013. In 2015, it’s

make businesses more resilient to them is part

estimated that 375 million people will

of sensible risk management strategy. Thinking

be affected by disasters. Aside from

about how to minimise the potential impacts of

the tragic loss of lives and devastating

these shocks can be critical for survival.

environment and economic impacts,

Recovery can be slow, stressful and costly

the effect on supply and value chains

and economic losses from climate-related

and the resulting market instability is

disasters can be substantial. One example is

dramatic.

the Dawlish Sea Wall collapse, due to extreme

Governments and the humanitarian

weather events, in February 2014, along with

sector cannot address these challenges

numerous other weather-related incidents

on their own, but alongside a

that occurred on the railway within the last

coordinated business effort, they can

year alone.

each play a part in addressing the crises and minimising the impacts.

BERG: At the request of HRH The Prince of Wales, BITC set up the Business Emergency

100 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Supporting Business in the Community

DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

Recovery Group (BERG) after the ﬂoods that

industry, interested businesses and key

devastated Cumbria in 2010. Together with its

stakeholders, to provide a forum to address

wider network of members and partners, BERG

important sustainability issues from a water-

aims to provide the helping hand needed to

based perspective.

speed recovery after emergency situations and

The Taskforce has the following priorities

to help businesses to build their resilience to

for action:

future shocks. There are three focus areas for

1. Building and future-prooﬁng social,

action: ﬂooding and natural disasters, cyber and

physical and operational infrastructure

fraud and resilience and engagement.

A group of key stakeholders is taking action

With Adler & Allan, Aviva, BT, HSBC, Marsh

on the issues that will need to be addressed to

and RBS leading the way, BERG works closely

make places water resilient. The ﬁrst project

with Government to help prepare for and

is being led by Costain in Manchester. Its

manage impacts. Discussions are currently

key focus will be on how to manage surface

underway with the Red Cross who will work

water in cities through sustainable urban

with BERG to provide ﬁrst response support in

drainage systems. This is a critical issue for all

any incidents. Early in 2015 BERG will also be

transport companies, particularly infrastructure

starting to develop support and resources for

providers. The taskforce is also exploring

SMEs. New members would be welcome.

the potential for similar projects in rural and

THE KEY ISSUES - WATER

coastal settings. 2. Valuing and protecting nature’s assets

Effective management of water - preparation

and services

for both too much and too little is critical for

Funded by Defra, the ﬁrst project being

businesses of all sizes. The Water Resilience

undertaken is supporting the food and

Project was established by Business in the

drink industry with water stewardship and

Community in 2012 and is the ﬁrst of a series

supply chain engagement. More effective

of collaborative projects exploring how we

management of land is critical to ensure

can build the basis of future prosperity for

that large scale assets are resilient to future

businesses and communities by ensuring

shocks. This is particularly important when

high quality, affordable, sustainable supplies of

planning and implementing signiﬁcant

life’s essentials - water, energy, food

construction projects. Leading businesses are

and connectivity, in the short, medium and long

starting to account for the value of nature’s

term.

assets and services and this approach will

A Water Taskforce chaired by United Utilities leads the project, bringing together the water

102 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

become more widespread in the future. 3. Integrating innovation across technical,

Water Taskforce members ✦ United Utilities ✦ Anglian Water ✦ Northumbrian Water ✦ Yorkshire Water stakeholder and behavioural solutions

✦ Dŵr Cymru

Three key projects are underway:

✦ Thames Water

✦ Unﬂushables: A collaboration to explore

✦ Southern Water

product development and behaviour change

✦ MWH

that will reduce the impact of products

✦ Dairy Crest

disposed of into sewers.

✦ EDF

✦ Fat Traps: Working with Thames Water and

✦ Nestle

Waitrose to scale up the initiative to give out

✦ Costain

fat traps with turkeys at Christmas.

✦ Marshalls

✦ Energy recovery: Exploring the opportunities

✦ Defra

for creating energy from waste in the form

✦ The Met Ofﬁce

of ‘fatbergs’ and anaerobic digestion of

✦ The Environment Agency

sewage and other materials (currently

✦ Community Resilience UK

being scoped).

✦ Carbon Trust

4. Promoting increased understanding

✦ HRH Ambassadors Network

and action through research and communications ✦ Increasing understanding of water

90%. However it’s not clear how much of that

resilience as a critical factor to enable future

waste represents value that companies could

prosperity.

have realised from their waste streams, or how

✦ Researching business perspectives, issues

much could have been avoided. It seems,

and innovations in water and sharing that

then that a major barrier to companies realising

learning widely.

the value in their waste streams appears to

✦ Developing the top asks for businesses, supported by a suite of practical resources. ✦ Creating a leadership charter for business action on water resilience.

THE KEY ISSUES - WASTE The amount of waste diverted from landﬁll has increased greatly over recent years, with Data from BITC’s CR Index showing that the average

be a lack of information about what types of materials these streams represent, or where they are going. A BITC survey in October 2014 revealed that: ✦ 79% of respondents are measuring their waste, recycling or both ✦ 57% have a target to reduce the amount of waste sent to landﬁll ✦ But only 28% have quantiﬁed the potential

percentage of waste diverted from landﬁll is

revenue that current waste streams could

76%, with 39% of companies diverting over

generate

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 103

DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

Maria Gray, Head of Sustainability

across are by no means impossible to solve.

Development, Business in the Community says:

Indeed, BITC is committed to sharing solutions

“Considering the CR Index data along with the

to these barriers.”

survey results, it looks very likely that waste

BITC has a working group of leading

diverted from landﬁll is still not generating the

members, including PwC, Marshalls and Veolia

value that it could be. On a more optimistic

who are developing a practical programme

note the barriers around waste measurement

to support BITC members to break down this

and information gathering that we have come

barrier and identify the next steps they can take

Sustainable Products and Services Award Winner 2014

Case Study

Lakes Free Range Egg Company -

income per bird for the producers. Producer

environmentally friendly egg production

retention levels have remained high, at 90% over 15 years. And because consumers

Lakes is on track to be the UK’s ﬁrst carbon

are demanding ethical products, this has

neutral egg packing factory. It has reduced

opened the door to food retailers wanting

the environmental impact of its operations by

to align their business with ethical products.

cutting waste, reducing energy consumption

(McDonald’s and Sainsbury’s are the ﬁrm’s

and creating renewable energy. This involves

largest commercial customers).

sending no waste to landfill, a 50% reduction in water consumption, and generation of 70% of its energy on site. The programme has allowed previously unprofitable farms in disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged land (as defined by Defra) to make a living and return families to farming. There have been substantial business benefits too. Enhanced ranges have improved both animal welfare and egg production. Hens lay an industry-leading 312 eggs per year, generating £2-3 more

104 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Building a better railway for a better Britain Over the next five years we will spend £38bn enhancing, renewing and running Britain’s rail infrastructure – delivering more capacity, better performance and supporting economic growth across the country. We continue to improve our efciency. Our operating costs per train mile are 46% lower than ten years ago. Here are examples of how sustainability is at the heart of everything we do: Electrification of our rail network Faster, quieter, greener and more reliable journeys for our customers through far-reaching electrification.

Low carbon sleepers Our innovative sleepers reduce cost, last longer and save around 26,700 tonnes of CO2 each year.

Building skills We introduce over 200 apprentices and 125 graduates into our business each year.

Charitable activity We achieved gold in the National Payroll Giving Award as our people provided over 1,000 days of volunteering last year.

Working with our supply chain Our Commercial Directors’ Forum Sustainability Charter afrms the commitment of our supply chain partners to deliver social, economic and environmental beneﬁts through our infrastructure works. Please visit

www.networkrail.co.uk/sustainability to read our full Sustainability Update 2013/14.

DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

to start realising value from their waste.

of electrical items end up in landﬁll, with only 7% being reused. There are clearly huge

MOVING BEYOND WASTE TO A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

opportunities for businesses and consumers,

Creating value from waste seems an obvious

designing longer life appliances.”

business opportunity, with many examples

from trading-in used electronic equipment to WRAP have set up the Electrical and

already happening. So why aren’t more

Electronic Equipment Sustainability Action

businesses using their waste streams as the

Plan (eSAP), which brings together the UK

valuable resources they really are? Adopting a

electricals sector to collaborate on new ways

more resource efﬁcient, circular approach can

of working. The initiative will explore and

deliver considerable economic value.

take action on the signiﬁcant opportunities to

Since the industrial revolution, business has been increasingly dominated by a linear model of production and consumption. Goods

increase the re-use of electrical products, and provide a boost to the UK economy. This is just one example of a more resource

are manufactured from raw materials, used

efﬁcient, circular economy. WRAP’s work shows

and then discarded. A circular economy is one

that by 2020, businesses across Europe could

that ‘closes the loop’ through improved product

improve their bottom lines by almost £90 billion,

design, extending asset life, re-using and

create an additional 160,000 jobs, and reduce

recycling. It reduces the needs for extraction

CO2 emissions by 520 million tonnes per year

and processing of new resources, and lessens

by moving to a more circular model. A circular

the impact on the natural environment.

economy is good for businesses and good for

There are numerous opportunities for businesses to tackle this issue head on, as Dr

the environment. But making the circular economy a reality

Richard Swannell, Director of Sustainable Food

requires collective action. Forging partnerships

Systems and Technical Lead at WRAP says.

and collaboration are essential. WRAP are

He gives the example of WRAP’s work on

already working with businesses to make the

electrical products. “WRAP research shows that

shift to this circular approach. WRAP helps

UK householders have at least £1 billion worth

businesses work out the best way to make

of electrical goods in their homes which are no

a start without investing large amounts of

longer used, but still hold signiﬁcant value.

resources or money, and putting them on a path

We estimate that the UK market value for

towards a more resource efﬁcient, resilient and

trading pre-owned equipment could be worth

sustainable business.

up to £3 billion. This is compounded by the fact that a third

106 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Business in the Community is working with WRAP, supporting those of its members

73 % who have not yet realised the considerable economic value from such opportunities. Only by changing how we think about these challenges, and meeting them with innovative

of companies are

reducing the use of natural resources throughout the value chain

solutions can we turn tomorrow’s problems into opportunities.

BUILDING MOMENTUM BY ENGAGING SUPPLIERS AND CUSTOMERS Building a responsible supply chain

prize – building resilient supply chains ﬁt for the

Building a responsible and sustainable supply

future’ identiﬁed ﬁve main drivers for creating

chain involves tackling the social, environmental

sustainable supply chains:

and economic challenges of today and tomorrow through the materials, products and

Innovation and new business

services your company buys.

Creating sustainable supply chains can provide

Achieving a sustainable supply chain that is

new business opportunities. For businesses

ﬁt for the future involves a process of moving

starting this journey, it can be an opportunity

from managing risks and achieving compliance

to understand and open up their supply

to a more ambitious approach offering a wide

chain as well as share information with their

range of opportunities.

suppliers. For a more mature company, supply

Leading businesses today are building

chain sustainability can be a major boost

collaboration with suppliers and a range of

to developing new products and services,

other stakeholders to achieve this. Undertaking

providing companies with an enhanced ability

a robust analysis of their current and future

and motivation to innovate through partnerships

supply chain risks, allows them to prioritise a

with their suppliers.

small number of key issues where there is a need and opportunity to drive change. This is

Leverage and manage reputation

an evolution from the purely compliance-based

Supply chain sustainability can support

approaches of the past, which have tended

companies in leveraging and managing

to rely heavily upon supplier assessment

their reputations and therefore their brand.

and auditing to maintain minimum social and

Companies face numerous situations

environmental standards and legal obligations.

throughout their supply chain where they can be

BITC’s 2014 report ‘What is the size of the

exposed to reputational damage. For example,

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 107

DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

Network Rail’s Supply Chain Charter A great example of a business creating a

respecting the environment and avoiding

sustainable supply chain is Network Rail

duplication and waste.

and their supply chain charter. NR says

Building a responsible and sustainable

that the goal of the charter is: “to provide

supply chain requires a sustained focus

a safe, reliable, efﬁcient and sustainable

on a business’ key areas of impact. These

railway ﬁt for the 21st century. Our ambition

will vary according to the sector and the

is to establish a world class supply chain

nature of its supply chain. For instance,

that builds long-term mutually beneﬁcial

the key issues for a clothing retailer might

relationships and encourages joint strategic

be ensuring child labour does not occur

development, in a fair, transparent and

anywhere in its supply chain, or how the

consistent way.”

water used in its production processes is

As well as making commitments about

procured and processed. For a locomotive

paying their contractors on time and

manufacturer, it might be concerned with

communicating openly with their supply

sourcing new engine technologies or parts

chain, Network Rail’s charter also talks about

made from recycled materials.

there are risks of hidden labour exploitation

supply chain.

when buying contracted services like cleaning

Yet, despite these potential risks, many

where recruitment is sub-contracted, or the risk

businesses are not really aware of the extent

that child labour was involved in construction

of their supply chain and the associated

sites, quarries or factories further down the

reputational risk. One example of the potential

108 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

International Disaster Relief Award Winner 2014

Case Study disasters but it has improved the corporate

UPS’ Humanitarian Relief

brand of UPS. Additionally, employees who

In 2013, UPS contributed $7.5 million in

volunteer as ﬁrst responders gain improved

humanitarian relief funding, technical support

leadership skills and a sense of pride in UPS.

and in-kind services.

All of this helps enhance the company’s

✦ 250 humanitarian shipments across

reputation, and increase brand awareness

46 countries were made and 16 weeks

among external stakeholders.

of humanitarian service given by UPS employees in 2013. ✦ In partnership with Aidmatrix, UPS introduced the supply chain management platform SCM4 to improve efﬁciency in transportation and distribution systems, a system which is now used by other relief agencies. This initiative has not only helped communities and businesses recover after

results of this is the UK horse meat incident in

businesses position sustainability within their

2013, where foods advertised as containing

company, whether an integral part of their value

beef were found to contain horse meat, with

and brand proposition, embedded as part of

in some cases as much as 100% of the meat

their credentials or as part of a wider effort to

content being horse meat. Another is the

inﬂuence the sector.

2014 exposé by The Guardian newspaper of slavery in the Thai prawn industry, which

Generating cost savings

produces prawns sold by the top four global

Integrating sustainability into supply chains

retailers. This gives another example of

can generate signiﬁcant cost savings for

reputational risk.

companies. Savings can be created from improved communications between suppliers

Embed sustainability values

and a greater understanding of the operating

Supply chains are a key enabler in supporting

context of a supply chain. These savings

a company’s sustainability strategy and values.

might not be apparent in the short-term but in

Through their reach, scale and scope, supply

the longterm can include ensuring security of

chains provide a main conduit for business to

supply and lower logistics costs. Savings can

meet their sustainability goals.

be linked directly to the business or indirectly,

How this is done depends on how

reducing costs for suppliers.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 109

DIMINISHING NATURAL RESOURCES

Engaging Customers on Sustainability Award Winner 2014 Anglian Water Services Love Every Drop - Keep it Clear

Case Study

At the heart of the Love Every Drop strategy are customer behaviour change campaigns to inspire simple changes in

Anglian Water implemented the Keep It

people’s day-to-day actions to help achieve

Clear campaign to educate customers on the

a more sustainable way of living. Based

disposal of fats, oils and grease (FOG) as

on WRAP’s strategy of reducing waste,

part of its Love Every Drop strategy.

the campaign is raising awareness among

The company spends more than £7 million a year on the maintenance of sewers to

customers of the impacts of waste in sewers. Anglian Water set a target

prevent blockages and a further £13 million

in 2010 to reduce annual

unblocking sewers. Anglian Water needed to

avoidable sewer blockages

change people’s attitudes and behaviours.

caused by this waste by

Its approach is a ﬁrst for the industry and is

3,750, by 2015. The company

achieving fantastic results.

is on target to achieve this.

Opening up collaboration

technology improvements and access to credit

Creating sustainable supply chains provides

are all impacting on how people consume.

opportunities and creates relationships

Businesses that recognise these trends and

for business to collaborate and add value

make the appropriate changes in their offer

through strategic partnerships. Many of the

will prosper. However, businesses can only do

sustainability challenges that businesses face

so much within their own businesses before

are ones that cannot be solved alone, but which

needing to engage the consumer.

can beneﬁt from a collaborative partnership. Creating a sustainable supply chain will

By engaging customers, brands can demonstrate that living a sustainable lifestyle

help a business move away from managing

can be affordable and attractive. And that it

them as a response to socio-economic and

has a positive effect on the business itself -

environmental risks, to being a central element

80% of businesses embedding environmental

of resilience and innovation which, as a result,

sustainability into their core products or

creates added value for businesses.

services reported an improvement in public and stakeholder perception (according to a

ENGAGING CUSTOMERS

review of the 2014 Responsible Business

As natural resources become more limited, our

Awards). Ways a business can engage with

population ages and developing economies

their consumers:

have a growing middle class, the marketplace

✦ Choice Editing and Innovation: By

in which businesses operate is changing

offering only the most sustainable products

too. Communications and social media,

and services, businesses are able to

110 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

inﬂuence consumer choice, and nudge them towards more sustainable purchases. ✦ Informing Consumers and Inﬂuencing

sustainable lives. ✦ Engaging Consumers and Inﬂuencing Behaviour: Encouraging customers to

Choice: Educating and informing consumers

change the way they use products can lower

on the key sustainability issues can help

the impact of product use, which for many

them make informed purchases and live more

brands is often where their biggest impacts lie.

Other useful resources Government White Papers ✦ Defra - Natural Environment White Paper: www.defra.gove.uk/environment/natural/ whitepaper ✦ Defra - Water for Life White Paper: www. defra.gov.uk/environment/quality/water/ legislation/whitepaper (or http://bit. ly/11hGALQ) ✦ The Economics of Ecosystems and

✦ The Cambridge Natural Capital Leaders Platform: www.cpsl.cam.ac.uk ✦ The Aldersgate Group: www. aldersgategroup.org.uk/reports ✦ World Resources Institute: www.wri.org ✦ Worldwide Fund for Nature: www.wwf. org.uk ✦ www.bitc.org.uk/programmes/9-billionchallenge-water-project

Biodiversity (TEEB): www.teebweb.org

Further reading International disaster relief

Sustainable supply chains

✦ www.bitc.org.uk/blog/post/business-

✦ www.bitc.org.uk/issues/marketplace-

unique-contribution-international-disaster-

sustainability/sustainable-production/

relief (or http://bit.ly/1F0V01I)

supply-chain#sthash.ehNJKiEn.dpuf

✦ www.bitc.org.uk/our-resources/

(or http://bit.ly/1BKRKcF)

report/business-unique-contributioninternational-disaster-relief

Water consumption

(or http://bit.ly/1vqvVZx)

✦ http://www.bitc.org.uk/programmes/ marketplace-sustainability-programme/9-

Network Rail’s supply chain charter

billion-challenge-water-project

http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/7267.aspx

(or http://bit.ly/1t2LWBJ)

(or http://bit.ly/1xB4ekd)

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 111

Case Study Thameslink Programme

he Thameslink Programme (TLP) is

by implementing an approach to responsible

Network Rail’s largest infrastructure project.

sourcing of products, materials and resource

Sustainability was considered at a very early

efﬁciency. Achievements include the reduction

stage and was made core in 2012 when the

of both concrete and piles as well as increasing

TLP Executive team signed up to the TLP

the re-use of existing signal gantry posts.

Sustainable Development Policy & Strategy.

The programme currently outperforms the

This commits to “deliver transport beneﬁts…

construction industry average as it has diverted

[that] create an overall positive effect on the

99% of waste from landﬁll over the past

community and the environment”.

three years. During 2013/14, this resulted in

TLP has achieved some notable success in three key areas: ✦ ENVIRONMENT: TLP seeks to deliver

approximately £4.7m in landﬁll cost savings. ✦ WORKPLACE: TLP has formed a Health & Wellbeing working group, whose on-going

beneﬁts beyond compliance and to have

initiatives include regular health checks

them externally veriﬁed, achieving ISO

for staff, nutrition and health advice and

14001 certiﬁcation in January 2013 for its environmental management system.

support. Regular Safety and Sustainability Weeks

The programme is making extensive use

give everyone on the project, be they site or

of the CEEQUAL (the Civil Engineering

ofﬁce based, the chance to reﬂect on safety,

Environmental Quality Assessment) scheme,

health & wellbeing, environmental issues, and

achieving some of the highest scores within the

community engagement.

industry. CEEQUAL Outstanding Achievement

✦ COMMUNITY: TLP has stimulated the

Awards were presented to Farringdon Station

local economy through the creation of jobs,

(Biodiversity and Ecology, Heritage) and

particularly for young people and adults

Blackfriars Station (Energy and Carbon) and

excluded from society. Since January

TLP is the ﬁrst Network Rail project to apply the

2013, 197 local unemployed people have

new CEEQUAL Term Contracts to a track and signalling project. TLP has achieved a ‘net gain’ in biodiversity

beneﬁted from jobs and/or training. It’s not just about creating jobs: TLP has organised science and engineering activities

by avoiding, mitigating and lastly compensating

in schools, improved community gardens and

impacts by pioneering the use of Defra’s

school grounds and team members and supply

pilot biodiversity unit metric and biodiversity

chain partners participate regularly in job and

offsetting model. TLP has also cut the

apprenticeship fairs to boost awareness of

dependency on diminishing natural resources

careers in the rail industry.

112 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Case Study Drivers on track for greener trains

rain drivers at East Coast are using their

of the train against the schedule, combined with

skills and new technology to drive in a more

smarter driving techniques such as smoother

environmentally-friendly way – to help save

acceleration and braking, all make a signiﬁcant

fuel, energy, money and to reduce emissions.

contribution to reducing energy consumption.”

With rail playing a central role in the

East Coast has state-of-the-art train

development of a sustainable economy for the

simulators so its drivers can develop their skills

UK, East Coast aims to provide a low-carbon

in how to drive with maximum energy efﬁciency.

alternative to car and air travel. It has already

The simulators calculate optimum energy

achieved a 6% reduction in reported carbon

use and generation, and drivers can see their

emissions for the way it operates its buildings

performance next to it. Essentially it involves

and depots. Now, East Coast is working hard to

accelerating and braking as gently as possible -

achieve reductions in the use of diesel fuel and

but within the conﬁnes of the timetable.

electricity that powers its trains.

East Coast is also deploying another

In 2015, it has targeted a 1.5% reduction in overall energy

DID YOU KNOW?

emissions – Jim Harbidge, Environment Manager for East Coast, explains how this will be achieved. “We know that much greater fuel efﬁciency can be generated by optimising the way in which we drive our trains,

new tool for their Drivers, known as ‘TAS’ –Timetable Advisory System, which uses GPS

The longest East Coast journey, which is 580.56 miles from London King’s Cross to Inverness, produces just under 50 kilos CO2 per person – that is less than a quarter of the amount produced by a medium-sized car with one occupant and around one third of the carbon ‘cost’ of ﬂying.

the way we plan our services and through the introduction of new technologies. “It may sound quite simple, but in order to

technology to accurately monitor the train’s progress against its schedule and updates an in-cab display to allow the driver to react. TAS provides realtime updates to drivers, advising them on whether

they’re running on time. This helps negate unnecessary over-acceleration and/or trains reaching ‘pinch-points’ too early or

maintain the timetable, train drivers had to

late that require the train to slow down, which

accelerate the train as quickly as possible and

are both causes of unplanned energy usage.

brake hard to run to schedule. However with

New energy meters also monitor the energy

improved timetables, new technology to give

each train uses to help East Coast to identify

constant feedback to the driver on performance

which trains are the most efﬁcient.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 113

National Grid - 2014’s Responsible Business of the Year Investing in a sustainable energy infrastructure, reducing carbon emissions, and inspiring young people to take up engineering won National Grid this prestigious award

“

Connecting you to your energy today,

part of the company’s infrastructure plans.

trusted to help you meet your energy needs

But of course the downside is that extra

tomorrow”. That is the new company vision

network capacity will increase the National Grid’s

for the UK and north-eastern USA’s provider

carbon footprint. So it has a plan to reduce its

of energy infrastructure, National Grid. As a

greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050,

company facing one of the biggest challenges

investing billions in connecting low-carbon

in society (creating sustainable energy) National Grid has launched a new responsible business strategy, called Making Connections. It is no surprise that rising power consumption and decommissioning of fossil fuel generation means the grid needs serious modernisation. But that

❝

energy sources and supporting technologies. It involves: using hot waste cooling

National Grid has a plan to reduce its emissions by 80% by 2050

involves many miles of unpopular overhead lines and pylons. To tackle this, National Grid set about

❞

water from an adjacent power station to heat a liqueﬁed natural gas terminal (saving 300,000 tonnes of carbon a year); investing in carbon capture and storage technology; and sponsoring research into alternatives to a greenhouse gas

currently used as an electrical insulator. Beyond that, National Grid has a target of

running an international competition to design a

recycling all recovered assets by 2020. Already,

visually acceptable pylon. The winning T-pylon

a purpose-built meter recycling centre

is 30% lower, takes up less space and is less

refurbishes more than a quarter of old meters.

visually intrusive than traditional lattice towers. It’s been tested in Nottinghamshire and is now

114 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

There’s more to National Grid’s responsible business strategy than reducing the use of

natural resources. The company is investing in

SOCIAL BENEFITS

a future skilled workforce through educational

✦ Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by

programmes that are aimed at inspiring young

58% in 2012/13 (against a 1990 baseline), with

people to take up STEM (science, technology,

a target to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050.

engineering and mathematics) subjects,

✦ Sourced, designed and reused resources

and through employee ambassadors visiting

to get maximum value while reducing

schools, and providing work experience. It

environmental impact, with a UK target to reuse

is also piloting Careers Lab, a new way of

or recycle all recovered assets by 2020.

delivering careers advice in schools.

✦ Reduced the visual impact of cables by

Current employees are just as important, and National Grid is engaging its workforce

developing a new T-pylon, which will be part of the biggest network expansion in 50 years.

through volunteering, citizenship and charity partnerships. Half of all its UK employees were

BUSINESS BENEFITS

involved in selecting Macmillan Cancer Support

✦ Modernising the grid will increase capacity

as the company’s new charity partner, targeted

and improve connections to renewable energy

with raising £500,000 over the next two years.

sources, while ensuring customers receive an

National Grid’s CEO Steve Holliday

affordable and reliable energy supply.

says: “We’re proud of our role serving the

✦ Inspiring schoolchildren to take up STEM

communities where we operate. We are

subjects (science, technology, engineering and

responsible for delivering clean energy to

mathematics) will help address and correct a

support our world long into the future.

future skills shortage.

“We invest time and energy working

✦ Using innovation to design new ways to

with young people today to inspire the next

connect people with their energy improves public

generation of talent and make sure they are in

acceptance and allows National Grid to deliver

place to keep the lights on and the gas ﬂowing

its capital programme more efﬁciently, meaning

for our society, long into the future.”

greater returns to consumers and shareholders.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 115

Recognition for the best of business T

he Business in the Community’s awards

their businesses to create a fairer society and a

are the most prestigious and respected

more sustainable future.

awards championing responsible business.

This year there are 14 categories, recognising

They are designed by business for business.

the variety of ways that businesses are making

Now in their 18th year, the Responsible

a difference locally, nationally or internationally.

Business Awards, which are free to enter, shine

These awards are an opportunity to celebrate the

a spotlight on businesses that create a fairer

very best of business.

society and a more sustainable future. Rigorously assessed by business and

In 2014, National Grid was named overall Responsible Business of the Year for embedding

other industry experts, the awards identify

responsible practice throughout its business.

and celebrate businesses - from small and

Chief Executive of Business in the Community

medium sized enterprises (SMEs) through to

Stephen Howard said: “Business has a vital

multi-nationals, and from all sectors - that are

role to play in creating a fairer society and more

transforming their communities and, in turn,

sustainable future for all. These awards publically

Awards process

BITC’s Responsible Business Week (April

Entries opened on 5 November 2014,

20-26), with the Awards ﬁnalists announced

and can be entered until 13 February

the following month.

2015. Businesses have a choice from 14

Businesses can celebrate and inspire

categories. Free awards workshops offer

others at BITC’s Responsible Business

further information and provide participants

events across the UK in June. This

with top tips on writing a good entry. There

culminates in BITC’s National Responsible

is a two-stage assessment process that

Business Gala Dinner in central London

identiﬁes the shortlist, ﬁnalists and winners.

on 7 July 2015, where the winners are

The shortlist is announced in April during

announced.

116 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

celebrate those businesses that understand this

entering the awards, and is an effective vehicle

wider corporate purpose. We urge businesses

for businesses to talk to their stakeholders

of all sizes to enter.â&#x20AC;?

about what they do, including customers,

In the rail sector companies including

suppliers, employees, shareholders and

East Coast, Merseytravel, Network Rail

even competitors. Previous recipients of this

Infrastructures Limited, Network Rail Cymru

endorsement brand have said how helpful it has

Wales and Southeastern have all taken part.

been to obtain internal buy-in for the work they

The process itself encourages an internal evaluation of the impact of a businessâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

do in this area. Successful businesses are recognised by

programme and Business in the Community is

BITC at celebratory events held across the UK

on hand to provide expert advice on effectively

and attended by 5,000 senior business guests,

measuring and demonstrating impact.

a media partnership with the Financial Times

An independent endorsement brand validates the achievements of the businesses

and an online showcase of the best award stories.

Further Information To ďŹ nd out more about the 2015 Responsible Business Awards, including the full list of categories, the assessment criteria, application forms and workshop details, please visit: www.bitc.org.uk/awards

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 117

Responsible Business Week R

esponsible Business Week runs from April 20 to April 26 2015. It is an awareness

they work and deliver a sustainable future. The aim of Responsible Business Week is to

week organised by Business in the Community

inspire and equip organisations and their staff

(BITC). The week offers an opportunity for

to deal with the challenges and opportunities

businesses of all sizes to demonstrate the

that face business and society - and in doing

positive impact they have on society and how

so unlock innovation and opportunity, and

they engage with their workforce, supply chains,

demonstrate how business can have a positive

partners and customers to improve the way

impact on society.

118 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

Getting involved

an event to be part of Responsible Business

Companies can run inspirational and

Week. Businesses are encouraged to use

informative events or activities. These can

social media to show their involvement and

provide opportunities to share knowledge

engage in conversations. During the week

or learn something new. Large or small,

businesses can use the #RBWeek and BITC

client, customer or staff-focused - all BITC

will re-tweet the best.

asks is that the event inspires or informs

There is a logo (planter) available for

others about responsible business. They can

publicity purposes. The Responsible

Business Week planter can be placed on

online hub, which will put their organisation

websites, press releases, event materials,

on the map as part of the UK’s largest

social media, email signatures and other

celebration of responsible business.

communications. For more details, contact

Companies do not have to attend or run

Alice Shefﬁeld at alice.shefﬁeld@bitc.org.uk

Alice Shefﬁeld, Corporate Campaigns Manager for BITC said: “The week is about engaging with all of your stakeholders, including your employees, and encouraging other companies to do the same. This is a key opportunity in the year for companies to come together to tackle the local and global challenges we face, demonstrate their positive

impact on society and share ideas.”

❝

The week is growing in proﬁle among media and the wider public. Last

The aim is to inspire and equip businesses to deal with the challenges

❞

year, more than 1,800 people participated in events hosted during the week, with more than 2.6 million people participating online. In total, media coverage of the events would have reached more than 4

million people.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 119

The Sustainable Rail Programme T

he Sustainable Rail Programme (SRP) supports the rail industry in meeting the

✦ Supporting the economy and optimising the railway.

challenges and opportunities of sustainable

✦ Being open and transparent.

development, focusing on policy, strategy, and

The RSSB provides the programme with

research. It is a cross-industry programme

ongoing support and this has included:

driven by the industry, for the industry, and

✦ Creation of a bespoke, web-based tool

managed by the Rail Safety and Standards

to help rail companies assess their

Board (RSSB).

performance and strategy against the

The foundation of rail’s approach is the Rail Industry Sustainable Development Principles, which cover social, economic and environmental issues and provide the key platform for

Sustainable Development Principles. ✦ Support to the Department for Transport to embed the principles into franchising. ✦ Agreeing a programme of carbon emission

embedding sustainability in what the industry

reduction and cost (£110 million by the end

does. They were adopted by both the rail

of CP5 and £360m by the end of CP6),

industry and government for planning ahead of

where a carbon accounting tool is also

Control Period 5 (CP5 - in High Level Output Speciﬁcation (HLOS)) and in franchise policy. As

being developed. ✦ Station Travel Plans guidance (helping

the industry faces a huge turnover in franchises

stations to more fully integrate as part of

in the next ﬁve years, sustainability will be vital

people’s door-to-door journeys).

not just in winning bids, but to those delivering

✦ The programme is governed by the

contracts as well. The principles are:

Sustainable Development Steering Group,

✦ Being customer-driven and putting rail within

made up of representatives from Network

reach of as many people as possible.

Rail, ATOC, passenger and freight train

✦ Providing an end-to-end journey.

operators, rolling stock leasing companies,

✦ Being an employer of choice.

the Rail Industry Association, the DfT, the

✦ Reducing rail’s environmental impact.

Ofﬁce of Rail Regulation, and Transport

✦ Being carbon smart and energy-wise.

for London.

120 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

An Alstom representation of High Speed 2

HS2: More than a railway Simon Kirby, CEO of HS2 Ltd explains what HS2 means for the UK Millions of people across the UK

people. The construction industry is not as

will have their job opportunities

diverse as it should be. HS2 can change

and life chances transformed by

that, recruiting people from a wide range of

HS2. The construction of the rail-

backgrounds and increasing the representation

way must be a catalyst for posi-

of women and ethnic minorities. Equality,

tive change, long before the trains start running.

diversity and inclusion are the smart ways to

The scale and duration of the build programme

run a business.

means we can create radical, long-lasting

To deliver a world-class service, we’ll need

improvements in education, jobs, skills, training

expertise from abroad – a lot of our international

and opportunity.

competitors have decades of experience in

HS2 will employ many thousands of people

delivering high-speed rail. However, it will

along the route, in our core cities and across

also be the case that from across the UK,

the country. Alongside senior engineers and

outstanding organisations and individuals

technical specialists with world-class skills and

will partner with us.

decades of experience, we’ll need thousands

From large multi-nationals to small domestic,

of apprentices and new graduates. We’ll need

owner-managed businesses, all will need to

people from dozens of different disciplines -

have the same vision, ethos and approach.

people who have worked on the railways for

We will insist that our supply chain shares our

their whole lives, people who have spent their

ambition, innovation and creativity. Moreover,

careers in other industries and people whose

our partners will have strong ethics, robust

career is yet to begin.

training and education programmes alongside

We’ll recruit senior people with multiple qualiﬁcations and we’ll offer life-changing opportunities to disadvantaged people through

rigorous prioritising of effective health and safety processes. So, the beneﬁts of HS2 won’t just be felt by

our partnerships with Jobcentre Plus and third

the passengers of the future, the beneﬁts will

sector organisations. We’ll work with businesses

be felt a long time before that as we begin the

in our supply chain to create opportunities for

process to deliver long-lasting beneﬁts to the

local, disadvantaged and under-represented

economy. That process starts now.

THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS | 121

MARK PIKE

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Membership is open to all organisations,

and we are committed to helping them. Join

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the annual membership fee your organisation

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contributes is a charitable donation, exempt of

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VAT. Your membership fee is determined by the

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JOIN BITC

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122 | THE GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS

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