'Fluffy stuff' now seen as the route to profits

Jul 4 2007 By Karen Wilkinson-Bell, The Journal

IT wasn't too long ago that whenever I mentioned the term 'CSR', people would immediately sneer and mutter cynically about 'window dressing' or rant on about how 'proper' businesses shouldn't concern themselves with such fluffy stuff – they should be there to make profits, full-stop, and woe betide anyone who dared to squander shareholders’ funds on such nonsense.

Lately, though, I hear this less and less.

The business community seems finally to have woken up to the blindingly obvious fact that ‘good’ business really can be profitable business; that improving business performance and combating social injustice actually can be two sides of the same coin.

What’s heartening is that the North-East can boast so many examples of businesses which have recognised that ethical and environmental concerns are becoming core business – not as an alternative to making profit but as a route to it.

Take the Banks Group, for instance: recognising that its activities have the potential for a significant negative impact on the environments in which it operates, the company has invested heavily not only in minimising those impacts, but also in pushing the bar upwards for the mining industry as a whole.

Its responsible approach has earned it access to coal reserves that would otherwise have been denied, and also benefited the communities in which it seeks to work

And what about Northumbrian Water?

Although it would be easy to think that industry regulations mean that responsible behaviour is ‘built in’, NWL have consistently gone beyond what’s required: in BITC’s national CR Index, for example, it was amongst the top-ranked companies in the UK for its community investment.

And you have only to look at its recent financial results for proof that such a level of investment pays off.

For a long time, pundits have conceded that responsible business practices can bring business benefits by reducing risks and enhancing reputation; increasingly, though, they are being seen by this region’s businesses as a way of building competitive advantage.

You have only to look at the companies on these pages for the evidence.

• Karen Wilkinson-Bell is regional director of Business in the Community, a movement of over 750 of the UK’s leading companies committed to improving their positive impact on society.