Why Does Corporate Social Responsibility Matter?

It is becoming more and more essential that companies recognise and use their resources and influence to make positive impacts on society.

Increasingly, large corporations are integrating Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into their core business operations. But CSR is not only for large corporations, it should feature in every business’s strategy, regardless of size or sector.

The way in which CSR is practiced now is a long way from the early days of philanthropy. It is no longer limited to addressing personal concerns but is about embedding responsible business practices at the core of organisations.

In the War for Talent, businesses wanting to attract the best people for their organisation need to acknowledge that today’s employees are looking to work for reputable and sustainable organisations that share their values, and contribute to the betterment of the local community and to society as a whole.

Similarly, today’s customers are more conscious than ever before of the ethical record of companies, how they source their products and the contribution they make to the local community.

Businesses in Ireland are adapting and responding to the ever changing business environment through increased use of responsible business practices. There are many business benefits to adopting best practice CSR, and many benefits to the wider community. More information can be found at www.csrhub.ie.

Put simply, CSR is “Good for Business, Good for All”.

Corporate Social

Responsibility has

never been more

important!

Issue No. 1 December 2016

NewsletterCSRGood for BusinessGood for All www.csrhub.ie

In 2016, the number of families left homeless has only increased,

with over 1,000 families in Dublin alone.

On 8th December 2016, Transdev and Inner City Helping

Homeless teamed up again with the aim of collecting even

more shoe-boxes and doing their bit to highlight the issue of

homelessness in Ireland during this, the most challenging time of

the year.

The LUAS Connolly stop in Dublin was the venue, with a

tram stationed there for a full day. The event was advertised

in advance through LUAS and Transdev social media and via

advertising at a number of tram stops. 20 Transdev staff helped

out throughout the day and around 60 Inner City Helping

Homeless volunteers were on hand to man the event, working

from 5am through until 8pm.

Shoe boxes were kindly donated by companies and the public

alike, whilst breakfasts, lunches and dinners (over 800 meals)

were served by a professional chef and haircuts (over 130)

were provided by two barbers to homeless people on the day.

In excess of 3,000 shoe-boxes were collected as a result of the

campaign, which were then distributed by Inner City Helping

Homeless, directly to people on the streets at night time and

through the numerous shelters across Dublin City in the run up

to Christmas and on into the new year.

In 2015, for the first time, Transdev Ireland teamed up with

Inner City Helping Homeless to highlight the plight of homeless

people in Ireland, running a very successful event collecting approximately 3,000 Christmas

shoe boxes for the homeless.

Switch off Standby

Log out fully and switch off your monitor

Switch off personal heaters

and don’t forget to unplug the fairy lights

Last person out switches off all lights and ensures windows are closed

Optimising Power in the Office at

Christmas

AN ENERGY SAVING MESSAGE OVER CHRISTMAS TIME!

Transdev and the LUAS - Christmas Shoebox Appeal for the Homeless 2016

Carey Building Contractors were named winner of

the ‘Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility by

an SME’ award at the 2016 Annual Corporate Social

Responsibility Awards. The annual award ceremony

hosted by Chambers Ireland recognises the significant

contribution that Irish business makes to society

through Corporate Social Responsibility practices.

The award recognises an ongoing research partnership

with the Department of Building and Civil Engineering

in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology focused

on benchmarking resource efficiency practices for

construction projects.

The research by Jan Gottsche and Dr. Mark Kelly of

GMIT was funded by the Environmental Protection

Agency under the Green Enterprise Scheme and

resulted in the implementation of energy reduction,

water reduction, and waste minimisation strategies

leading to significant cost savings and reduced

environmental impact.

The award was based on the construction of the

Podiatry Unit in Merlin Park Hospital. The low cost/no

cost solutions efficiency strategies employed on this

project resulted in savings of €8,834.64, a reduction

in energy use of over 6,000kWhrs, and the prevention

of over 160 tonnes of material waste.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is largely associated with big companies. However, CSR is important for small and medium-sized enterprises as well. To appreciate the relevance of CSR to your business, check our our CSR On-line Tool for SMEs at http://csrtool.csrhub.ie/ which was launched earlier this month by Pat Breen T.D., Minister of State for Employment and Small Business.

CSR can be challenging for small businesses, but the benefits are worth it - through new business won, by attracting and retaining talent, by saving money on energy and by being part of the communities within which you operate.

The tool will hopefully help you understand more about CSR and spark some thoughts on areas that you might like to develop.

By taking these steps towards enhancing your CSR activity, you too could win the Chambers Ireland CSR Award: Excellence in CSR by an SME. This category recognises the best practice by such businesses, which prove that size is not a factor in the ability of a business to make a positive impact in the world.

Take our CSR on-line tool for SMEsto discover

How well does your business engagein CSR activities?

Corporate Social Responsibility

Front Row: L to R - Jennifer Casey, BITCI, Pat Breen T.D., Minister of State for Employment and Small Business, Catherine Heaney, Chair of the CSR Stakeholder Forum, and Managing Director of DHR Communications

Back Row: L to R - Ian Talbot, CEO Chambers Ireland, Neil McDonnell, CEO of ISME, Tracey Murphy, Secretary to the CSR Stakeholder Forum

Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility by an SME

The Community The Environment The Workplace Suppliers and Customers

This is about how you interact with your local

community partners and organisations

• Support local clubs

• Develop partnerships

• Volunteer in the Community

• Social Inclusion

This is about the responsible commercial

decisions your company makes in the

Marketplace

• Choose local suppliers

• Value your Supply Chain

• Sign up to Prompt Payment Portal

• Make responsible decisions

This is about how you reduce, reuse or recycle resources to minimize

negative environmental impacts

• Lighten your Environmental Footprint

• Conserve Energy

• Promote a reuse, recycle culture

• Diverting waste

This is about how you support and engage

your employees

• Developing Diversity

• Motivate and Develop your People

• Providing Flexible Working Arrangements

• Support Health & Well-Being

The Four Pillars of Corporate Social Responsibility

For more information check out:www.csrhub.ieemail: csrhub@djei.ieFollow @CSRHubIrl

Useful Linkswww.bitci.iewww.chambers.ie