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ANDREW
& CO CARES
Introducing Corporate Social Responsibility
What
is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)?
As
a business, we have an impact on society and the environment
through our operations, our services and through interaction
with employees, clients, local communities, suppliers and
others.
CSR
means managing this impact so as to add value to the company
and to increase wider economic and social well being, now
and in the future.
Research
commissioned by Business In The Community (BITC*) has shown
that business leaders realise more than ever, that responsible
business practice enhances creativity and could significantly
improve profitability, [Setting The New Agenda For Business,
June 2002].
On
a practical level, this means that we should be more aware
of our impact on our local communities and seek to enhance
the economic and social environment on our doorsteps.
The
Partners have agreed to embrace CSR and the Practice Director
will be responsible for managing its introduction and development.
Please read on to see what you, the Practice and the community
can gain from your involvement; see what we have been involved
in so far; and how you can be involved in this development.
Benefits
to you
- Generating
staff commitment and goodwill.
- Developing
stronger team working skills.
- Providing
opportunities for staff to develop their other skills, by
working with different communities and cultures, sometimes
in unfamiliar situations, with people from diverse backgrounds.
- Support
from the Practice for the causes you want to support.
- Enabling
staff to make donations to charity, directly through the
payroll (see payroll giving below).
Benefits
to Andrew & Co
- Demonstrating
and communicating a commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility.
- Generating
goodwill with our business partners, many of whom, already
have similar CSR programmes
- Generating
staff commitment and goodwill.
- Providing
networking opportunities.
- Generating
public goodwill; good stories in the press that enable Andrew
& Co to create a good impression and which provide strong
marketing opportunities.
- Enabling
Andrew & Co to target its investment to the most deserving
causes.
- Providing
opportunities for staff to develop their skills, which they
will transfer to the Practice.
Benefits
to the community
- Community
organisations can harness motivated teams to perform tasks
that would otherwise not happen.
- Sums
raised for local charities are boosted by “matched”
funds.
- Organisations
are able to quantify the time given to them in kind, in
monetary sums and use this to lever more money from their
funding bodies.
Current
activity at Andrew & Co
At
the moment, the firm is involved with a number of initiatives:
ProHelp
is a national network of professional firms each of which
have offered to provide professional and strategic support,
free of charge, to voluntary and community groups in their
local areas.
The
firms undertake one-off projects, which can include feasibility studies,
surveying, architect advice, marketing, I.T advice, business plans and
legal and accountancy advice. Peter Bateson is the Lincoln ProHelp Deputy
Chair and he with other ProHelp members meet on a quarterly basis with
the BiTC ProHelp Manager and most firms commit up to 50 hours of free
professional time per annum. Membership is free.
Catriona
Wheeler is the fee earner who has undertaken this work to
date but we are keen that other fee earners should also be
able to contribute.
Charitable
support has always been an aim of Andrew & Co and local charities
benefit from this.
Getting
involved:
PAYROLL
GIVING
If
you would like to support a local charity through payroll giving, then
please let the Practice Director know. This is an extremely tax efficient
method of supporting charities as the Chancellor will not only refund
to charities the tax deducted from you, but will also offer a further
10% to worthy causes. Staff could consider electing a charity as the
annual charity, in order to pool together the funds raised.
CHRISTMAS
CARD DONATIONS
We
decline to send cards in favour of making a donation to a charity. If
you would like to nominate a charity for your office this year then
please let your staff forum representative know.
The
firm is keen to embrace CSR and make it part of everyday life.
We intend to brand all of our activities under the “Andrew
& Co Cares” heading and staff interested in acting
as “Cares” champions for the firm should contact
the Practice Director. The Cares activity will appear on the
website, be featured as part of our general marketing and
in our communications with clients and work referrers.
* BiTC is a registered charity whose purpose is “To inspire
Businesses to increase the quality and extent of their contribution
to social and economic regeneration by making corporate social
responsibility an essential part of business excellence”.
Andrew
& Co LLP
For More information
contact
Peter Bateson
Direct Dial: 01522 781478
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