The company
BMJ Group is one of the world's leading providers of trusted medical information for healthcare professionals and patients. BMJ Group publishes BMJ (British Medical Journal), over 30 specialist journals, BMJ Clinical Evidence and BMJ Best Treatments (currently available in the UK). Through BMJ Learning, the Group also provides continuing professional development, online modules and exam revision materials, as well as events and workshops for the healthcare profession. BMJ Group is owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). It is editorially independent and the articles and content it publishes are not intended to reflect BMA policy.
This CSR case study focuses on BMJ Group's CSR strategy and the various initiatives that are underway to reduce the company's environmental impact and improve employee satisfaction. It also touches on the newly launched CSR awards which are intended to promote the uptake of best practice CSR in the healthcare sector.
The drivers
First and foremost, the company wants to be a responsible employer that gives something back to the wider world outside the business. More specifically, they think corporate social responsibility (CSR) can help address key commercial challenges such as:
- Recruitment and retention of talented staff;
- Developing individual and team skills at all levels within the business;
- Promoting work/life balance;
- Building relationships with charitable organisations and local stakeholders;
- Attracting customers and adding value to client/supplier relationships;
- Enhancing the BMJ brand and profile;
- Enhancing our employer brand;
- Improving workplace diversity; and
- Reducing environmental impact while saving money.
Taking action
At BMJ Group, CSR is seen as crucial to the future success of the business and the company has taken a number of steps to increase activity in the area. These steps include:
- Ensure compliance with all relevant environmental legislation.
- Adopt best practice and encourage members and suppliers to do the same.
- Set environmental objectives and appoint a senior member of staff to carry out regular reviews of environmental performance, to ensure maintenance and where possible, continuous improvement.
- Maximise energy efficiency, using the best available techniques not entailing excessive cost, and explore renewable energy sources.
- Minimise waste and promote re-use and recycling, avoiding the use of disposables wherever practicable.
- Adopt an environmentally sound transport policy, setting targets to reduce staff travel, especially by car and air.
- Encourage the use of public transport and walking for local travel where time constraints allow.
- Encourage the use of cycling where practicable.
- Encourage the use of electronic communications, including video conferencing as alternatives to meetings. The travel authorisation form requires employees to confirm that video conferencing has been considered as an alternative.
- Avoid the use of building materials from unsustainable sources, giving preference to timber and wood products from responsibly managed forests.
- Reduce the use of paper stationery but, when used, maximise the use of recycled and sustainably produced stationery.
- Require similar environmental standards from suppliers.
Although ultimate responsibility for implementing its CSR strategy rests with management, all staff and members have a role in minimising adverse effects on the environment. All employees and suppliers are expected to adhere to the principles set out in the BMJ Group CSR policy.
Heart of the City:
In March 2009, BMJ signed up to the ‘Heart of the City’ (HOTC) programme. HOTC’s mission is “to help businesses in the city and city fringes to learn from one another how to develop voluntary and socially responsible programmes in the community”. Working with HOTC, the company is about to launch its own corporate social responsibility initiative for staff and the target is to have it fully communicated, up and running, and integral to the business by the end of 2009.
Green Team:
The Green Team comprises nine people from different divisions of the company who meet once per month. Their aim is to devise ways of making BMJ Group a more carbon efficient company. Recent innovations include:
- Using recycled paper to print its publications (except the cover) and oxybiodegradable polythene wrappers for mailing.
- Increasing recycling facilities to over 25 bins across all the departments to recycle plastics, aluminium cans and paper (mixed and white).
- Introducing use of ‘green cabs’ throughout the BMA.
- Installing a PIR lighting system which is recommended by the Carbon Trust. This means the lights come on when they sense movement.
- Sending out weekly ‘green alerts’ on a Friday from a dedicated Green Team inbox.
- Installing a hot water dispenser in one of the kitchens as a trial. This is to stop the use of kettles which are inefficient and waste energy.
- Trialling a scheme to reduce the amount of under desk bins so that people are more likely to recycle their waste.
- Changing the travel form so people think twice before always going away for meetings and will consider video conferencing as an alternative.
BMJ Group Awards:
In April 2009, the BMJ Group hosted its first Awards ceremony. This is a new event and is set to become an annual feature in the medical publishing calendar. The Awards are designed to recognise excellence in healthcare and the categories were chosen to reflect the various areas of medicine and healthcare in which BMJ Group is involved.
One of the categories that was seen as important to recognise was CSR – the judging panel decided that the inaugural Award in this category should go to the Medical Fair and Ethical Trade Group (MFETG)
MFETG’s groundbreaking work has led to the publication of the first ever guidance on fair and ethical procurement in health products in the UK. The Group now hopes that the guidance will be adopted by the EU and across the world. In particular, the Group demonstrated effective stakeholder engagement and this swung the voting in their favour.
For further information on MFETG’s work, read Article 13’s recent CSR case study.
Why is it CSR?
The activities and initiatives undertaken by the BMJ Group are targeted not only towards compliance and cost cutting effects, but also towards supporting sustainability in the surrounding communities, ‘Heart of the City’ programme, and extending its environmental standards to external suppliers as well. This approach is CSR in the fact that BMJ Group is a business taking on the sustainability challenge, not only applying it to itself but also to those in its surrounding environment.
What next?
The BMJ Group’s ongoing strategy to seek, join and practice its CSR commitments means the company will continue to action those targets and actions it has committed to already. For example, in addition to the actions already taken, the Green Team plans to, amongst other initiatives:
- Improve the in-house video conferencing facilities so that more people will use them.
- Further encourage the use of recycled and recyclable stationery and environmentally friendly washing up liquid.
- Work with ‘10:10 for Business’ with the aim of reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 10%.
10:10 climate change campaign:
The BMJ will also join thousands of individuals and organisations who are committed to ‘one simple idea: a 10% cut in carbon emissions during 2010’. The campaign is aimed at encouraging people to demonstrate to the government the need to drastically reduce carbon emissions and to stress the urgency of doing so.
"Cutting 10% in one year is a bold target, but for most of us it's an achievable one, and is in line with what scientists say we need right now," says BMJ Editor, Dr Fiona Godlee. "By signing up to 10:10 we're not just promising to reduce our own emissions – we're becoming part of a national drive to hit this ambitious goal in every sector of society."
Visit the 10:10 website to learn more and find out how you can get involved.
For more information on BMJ Group and its work around CSR, please contact Peter Ashman on +44 (0)20 7874 7026 or pashman@bmjgroup.com.
© Article 13 – CSR Case Study Series, October 2009
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