In this feature, Roger Eglin presents the business benefits of acting responsibly. Using the example of B&Q (part of the Kingfisher Group) who, after identifying three business critical issues, responded by developing programmes and initatives to tackle the issues. These were forests/timber, chemicals and working conditions of employees. Kingfisher were highlighted in Article 13's latest research, Business Unusual, as an example of best practice in addressing business critical issues.
The mining company, Anglo Amercian were also highlighted for their extensive social activities, ranging from programmes to encourage business start-ups to a whistle blowing campaign called Speakup, where employees are encouraged to report business violations on legal or ethical concerns.
The article concludes that social responsibility and business performance can co-exist because dealing with business critical issues are a matter of business survival. Furthermore, the costs of delivering these programmes are far lower than that of a damaged reputation or collapsed supply chain.
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