An Effective Corporate

Social Responsibility

Programme

1st November 2011

Corporate Social Responsibility …

Agenda

Thomas Cook Heritage

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Key CSR Elements

Community Relations Numbers and Trends

Developing a Strategy

Benchmarking, Management & Recognition

Benefits to Businesses

Summary

Corporate Social Responsibility…

Thomas Cook‟s Heritage…

Thomas Cook, a philanthropist, created the first package holiday out of a sense of social responsibility

He believed that everyone would become better educated through travel

Built on the principles of positive social interaction

As far back as 1841 Thomas Cook was actively engaged in charity and community relations and was

passionate about making a difference

Today, this is part of what we call „sustainability‟ – ensuring our business has a positive impact on

people and the planet – saving money and ensuring we are here for another 180 years.

Corporate Social Responsibility …

What is Corporate Social Responsibility…?

“Your business dose not exist in isolation”

Employees, customers, suppliers and the local communities are all affected by your business and what

you do”

“CSR is about understanding your business impact”

Consider how you would use this impact in a positive way……

“Be seen to be a responsible business”

Going beyond the minimum and following straightforward principles that apply to whatever size of your

business”

“Building a reputation sets you apart”

Companies often favour suppliers who demonstrate responsible policies as this can have a positive impact

on how they are perceived by customers. Customers don’t just prefer to deal with responsible companies,

but insist on it!

“Reducing resource use”

Waste and emissions management doesn’t just help the environment- its saves you money too!

“CSR can help you improve your business performance”

Looking ahead, you can cope with any new laws or restrictions. You can avoid costs such as wasted

energy or paying unnecessary waste fees. Happy employees could mean improved retention.

Corporate Social Responsibility …

Key CSR Elements:

Employees:

How you treat them…doing more than simply complying with legal requirements

Training and development are a critical aspect of good retention

Employees are better motivated and more productive.

Leverage their expertise to support local community projects.

Customers:

Ensure that any collateral is written in plain English- no hiding anything in the „small print‟

Open and honest about your products

Develop good customer relations processes ..should something go wrong

Listen to your customers.

Understanding the wider impact of your business can help you develop new products and

services.

Suppliers:

Chose your suppliers carefully. Check their employment, health & safety and environmental

practises. Your reputation can be damaged if they have poor track records.

Try to use local ones if possible….helps you support the local community and reduces energy

wasted and or carbon emissions from deliveries

Ask them if they have responsible working practise or their attitude to CSR.

Corporate Social Responsibility …

Key CSR Elements

Local Community:

A good reputation will bring local customers and increase sales

You may find it easier to recruit

A positive relationship with the local authority could make life easier for the business and in many

cases local authorities prefer to award contracts to businesses with a record for community

engagement

Support local charities (staff volunteering or in- kind support)

Sponsor a local event.

Environment:

Look at creating more recyclable products or less packaging

Source more responsibly

Buy more locally

Work with suppliers/distributors who also take steps to minimise their environmental impact.

Corporate Social Responsibility...Numbers

UK Companies

Invested

£1.4b in CSR

How do people benefit?

44% improved their

quality of life

350,000

employees

involved

How do employees

benefit?

43% develop job

related skills

2.9m working

hours

contributed by

employees

110m Beneficiaries

Source: London Benchmarking Group 2010 Annual Report

46,000

organisations

supported

Contributions as

a % of pre- tax

profits

1.41% vs.

0.82%(2009)

Key Market Trends…

How companies contribute Why companies contribute

What companies support

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy…

Four Key Areas of Engagement…

Thomas Cook identified 4 main areas that would form the basis of its Community Relations &

Charity strategy and consists of:

Education & Industry: Given the current economic climate and Government cuts there are

number of areas and opportunities that could be developed

Employee Volunteering: Create an environment that encouragers employees to engage more

within their local communities and support activities that will benefit the area or population

Corporate Community Engagement: Company representation and involvement in the

community and business groups is a way of gathering information and influencing government and

regional enterprise

Charity & Cause Related Marketing: Given the current economic climate expectations from

charities for sponsorship and giving will increase.

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy…

Best Practice

Education & Industry:

Employee Volunteering:

Learning about Business & Enterprise: More than12,000 students attended education centres based at Coca -

Cola factories across the UK.

Give As You Earn: Payroll Giving. Over 2,800 employees take advantage of the scheme donating over £250,000 to

charities of their choice.

Corporate Engagement:

Charity & Cause Related Marketing:

StreetGames -Young Volunteers: Investing £1m over 3 years.

Each year over 3,000 volunteers receive training to coach children in various sports such basketball, rugby

and athletics.

The project operates in over 80 locations across the UK.

CSR Strategy Best Practice…

Benchmarking , Management & Recognition…

Benchmarking: Measuring success is essential in order to determine the impact of your CSR

programme. There are a number of third party tools that can be used :

Most FTSE 250 publish Sustainability/CSR reports online

Business In The Community (BITC)

London Benchmarking Group (LBG)

Internal Reporting Mechanisms: This is a key element that will need to be put in place in order

measure performance. Look to develop your own set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI‟s).

Management “Walk the Talk”: Central to this is practicing what we preach - demonstrating to internal

and external audiences our commitment to our CSR strategy.

Management Standards: Consider working towards a recognised management standard – example

(Environmental Standard ISO14001). These can be used to publicise your ethical, environmental and

social responsibility approach

Recognition: An agreed programme across all the businesses communication channels ensuring a

continual feedback process on how your CSR activity is working. Ensure that employees, customers,

suppliers and the local community know what you are doing.

Corporate Social Responsibility…

Proven Benefits Businesses…

Risk Management: The way a company discharges its social & environmental responsibilities can

impact on its “licence to operate”

PR & Brand Reputation: People‟s direct experience of the behaviour of your business in the community

is a powerful factor on whether they feel favourably towards you

Positive Staff Impacts: Support for staff volunteering schemes in order to carry out good works in the

community. Research has proven that staff have shown improvement in:

Communication skills

Ability to help others ( coaching/mentoring)

Adaptability (be effective in different surroundings/tasks)

Influencing/negotiations (resolving conflicts/persuading others

Wining Business: More and more people want to buy from businesses they respect. CSR can be

particularly effective for targeting ethical companies, public sector and not- for- profit organisations.

Reward & Recognition: “Celebrate success !” An agreed programme of communication across all

internal publications ensuring a continual feedback process on how both your staff and community activity

is working.

Corporate Social Responsibility…

Summary “Develop a CSR Vision Based on Key Principles …”

The key principles that should be considered are:

Have clear leadership, governance and values.

Help develop employees and the future workforce to build successful

working lives.

Influence behaviour through your products & services

Benchmarking and measuring success is essential in order to determine

the impact of your CSR programme

Manage social, environmental, and economic impacts in the supply chain.

Invest in the communities in which you operate and those communities in

greatest need.

Network and work with other organisations and companies to promote

action and greater change.