How social conscience can benefit a business
By Grainne Gilmore
 
 
 
THE contrast could hardly be more stark. On the one hand, there is the National Trust's new central office, Heelis, an environmentally friendly, contemporary landmark building in the centre of Swindon; on the other, an outdoor performance area for 140 children in India built entirely from bamboo. For the architects of Feilden Clegg Bradley, both are all in a day's work.
The company is one of a growing number that combines its commercial work with corporate social responsibility (CSR). The former includes social housing projects in Britain and Madrid and offices such as Heelis, the latter includes the time and money spent helping to redevelop an orphanage in Madras, southern India, the construction of a clinic in Malawi in southern Africa and pro bono work with a homeless charity.

 
 
CSR is popular in the corridors of power these days. The Government is keen to encourage businesses to look past their profit margins and take an interest in their local community as well as in the environment. The Department of Trade and Industry, which is spearheading the campaign, says that CSR activities, such as supporting education and promoting sustainability, are "good for society and good for business".

CSR presents different challenges and benefits for big businesses and small firms. A recent study by the ERSC Centre for Business Relationships, Accountability, Sustainability and Society at Cardiff University found that consumers expect large companies with recognisable brands to have impeccable environmental and social credentials. Their brand image could suffer if they do not.

While the impetus for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to engage in CSR is not critical to their reputation, the British Chambers of Commerce said recently that more and more small businesses are being asked to show evidence of their environmental policies, as well as social and community activities, when pitching for new work.

The partners at Feilden Clegg Bradley, which turned over about £7.5 million last year, have noticed this trend. Stephanie Laslett, a partner, says that the firm drew up a CSR document last year.

"The partners who founded the company in the 1970s made sure that ethical, environmental and social concerns were at the very core of the business. This has always been reflected in everything we do, from recycling office waste and providing bicycles for employees to working with local schools on sustainability projects. But we realised about a year ago that CSR was becoming a business issue and clients wanted to read about what we did, so we drew up a document which makes it clear."

The architects from Feilden Clegg Bradley who flew out to work on the projects in Malawi and Madras mostly gave up their time for free, but Ms Laslett said that there was no difficulty in finding volunteers.There were strong reasons for choosing overseas projects, even though CSR is usually associated with local schemes. "One of our architects comes from Malawi," she says, "and encouraged us to get involved with the clinic. A partner had close connections with the Batemans Trust, a charity which was co-ordinating the work in Chennai [Madras]."

Paul Anderson, marketing and technical services director at Kent Art Printers, agrees about the feel-good factor. The Chatham-based printers has cut toxic chemicals from its printing process to lessen the environmental impact and it donates money and time to local schools and charities. "When we have had work experience students here who are genuinely interested in what we do, employees who were initially sceptical often find it very rewarding," he says.

Although happy employees are good news for any boss, the business case for getting involved in CSR is more wide- ranging, according to Heledd Jenkins, research associate at the ERSC Centre: "Some SMEs said that being engaged with CSR enhanced their reputation and raised their profile. One small business owner said it made the company look as if it was punching above its weight."

The British Chambers of Commerce has launched a series of seminars to outline the benefits of CSR for SMEs. Visit www.chamberonline.co.uk for more information.