I believe the reason we're all here is because we are excited about the
potential of Corporate Social Responsibility:
· to increase the success of our organizations
· to build the competitiveness of the UK economy
· to contribute innovation and commitment to addressing the social and
environmental challenges that concern all of us, both in the UK and
around the world.
Its nearly two years now since the idea of this Academy was first
proposed and I believe the launch today marks a really important step in
realising the potential that all of us are so enthusiastic about.
Last September I commissioned a Steering Group, representing a cross
sector of interests, to put forward proposals for embedding CSR into the
everyday mindsets and practices of managers in businesses of every kind.
The Steering Group has delivered excellent recommendations: on the
objectives and design of the Academy, and on the practical
implementation. So, let me congratulate the group on their achievements
this evening and offer a big thank you for investing so much time and
effort to give the Academy the best possible launch.
The Academy is a one-stop information service for people wanting to
learn about CSR, complementing and supporting existing initiatives. It
has:
- a website with a wealth of relevant information, including links to
other organisations and groups with expertise in CSR. The website is on
display this evening. Please have a browse;
- a competency framework for steering people from all types of business
through the journey of adopting CSR. I hope you have picked up a copy of
that this evening;
- it has a training and development map for signposting individuals to a
diverse range of courses addressing CSR skills. You can view the map on
the website.
The breadth and diversity of the information that the Academy makes
available will allow business managers to tailor the application of CSR
to their specific business needs and will strengthen a company's
capacity to innovate and develop.
The Academy will be a central contact point for everybody engaged in
CSR. Through the work of the Project Director and the Programme
Partners, it will:
- develop strong CSR networks and alliances;
- and research new tools and products to encourage further adoption of
CSR in management education.
So, I have great pleasure in announcing this evening the Academy's
Programme Partners. It's a consortium whose members are:
- the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
- British Chambers of Commerce
- the Association of Business Schools
- Business in the Community
- AccountAbility.
Congratulations on winning the bid. The varied perspectives that this
consortium will bring provides solid ground for a cross-fertilisation of
ideas. And this is exactly what we are keen to achieve in the delivery
of CSR. And I am pleased to announce that Clive Mather, Chair of the
Academy steering group and outgoing Chair of Shell UK has kindly agreed
to be Acting Chair for the Academy. We had all hoped that Clive's
connection with Academy would last some time but Clive will be taking up
the Chairmanship of Shell Canada on 1 August. Clive has done a superb
job with providing direction to the Steering Group. He has invested much
of his time and has shown such a great personal commitment to the
Academy's goals. We're greatly indebted to him - thank you very much
Clive, and all best wishes for Canada.
A couple of weeks ago I attended the UN Global Compact event hosted
by Kofi Annan. A huge number of people attended and one hundred
companies were present. It was clear that other countries view the UK as
one of the leaders on CSR thinking and practice. We have in the UK a
distinct CSR brand, and companies around the world view our
business-led, voluntary approach as the cornerstone for successful
implementation. And is strongly in our interests that we build up our
strategy further.
We are starting to see a lot of interest from other countries in the
Academy. For example, from Italy, Sweden, and Singapore so far. So, the
Academy is already strengthening the UK's leadership in both
communicating the importance of CSR to rest of the world and in defining
the strategy for its implementation.
CSR is fundamentally about good business. Companies which take a
wider view of their impacts, and consider the contribution stakeholders
can make, can help build long term sustainable success. So, a better
reputation with customers, improved staff motivation, a better ability
to recruit employees allows companies to:
- exploit new market opportunities,
- attract and retain capital and
- better manage risk.
These are significant gains.
Our role is to encourage more of that creativity and enthusiasm and I
believe the Academy will act as a catalyst enabling more organisations
to follow our approach. Any government interventions need to be
carefully considered, well-designed and targeted. And the Academy is an
example of how we are setting the right framework to stimulate companies
to raise their performance beyond minimum legal standards.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to making this launch a
success, and to everyone who has demonstrated commitment by being here
this evening.
My appeal now is to everybody to work together, alongside the Academy
and its partners, to build up further the momentum of the CSR movement:
· to build our competitiveness
· to build a strong society
· to safeguard the environment for generations to come.
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