Increasingly, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been used by businesses to show how they engage with the communities in which they are based. These initiatives can be part of marketing, public relations or stakeholder engagement strategies and, in many instances, the business case for engaging in CSR is either not clear or non-existent. In some organisations, CSR is delivered primarily as philanthropy, employee volunteering and/or environmental protection projects/initiatives and in a few it is embedded in the core business of the organisation.
With a strong business case for CSR, companies/organisations can create greater value and add higher benefits and impacts for key stakeholder groupings: businesses, policy makers/governments and people in specific geocommunities or communities of interest. And, in Europe and emerging economies, there are opportunities for CSR to be embraced from business competitiveness by small and large businesses, local and global.
This course is designed to be interactive with opportunities to discuss with peers and key decision makers in organisations. It aims to provide delegates with an overview of the changing faces of CSR, through case studies and discussions learn how CSR can be embedded in UK-based companies as well as serve as a lever in negotiations when investing overseas, the EU perspective on CSR and how the importance of building a robust business case for CSR.
Delegates will have the opportunity to:
- Raise awareness and understanding of CSR and its 'changing faces' in UK-based businesses and overseas operations
- Develop or strengthen the business case for CSR with a positive impact on the 'Triple Bottom Line'
- Review case studies highlighting how to strengthen the business case for CSR beyond philanthropy and into business competitiveness
- Identify how to use CSR as a lever in creating greater value for shareholders and other stakeholders
Speaker:
Veronica Broomes - Sustainablity & CSR Consultant
Veronica Broomes is a UK-based Sustainability and CSR Consultant, Trainer and Researcher. With more than 20 years professional experience, she works at the interface of practice, policy and research. Her research on CSR and Sustainability policy with the Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (2006 – 2011), a think tank on Commonwealth issues based in the University of London's School of Advanced Studies, linked policy formulation in Commonwealth member states with inward investment and accelerating progress towards achieving selected Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The findings, published as a country case studies on diamond mining in Botswana and tourism in Belize, highlighted the potential to leverage CSR initiatives in investment.
Veronica has helped businesses reduce operating costs and their carbon footprint through conducting sustainability/ environmental audits of over 70 businesses in the UK. For three consecutive years, she was a member of the Assessment Panel on the ALCAN Prize for Sustainability (global prize) and her work across sectors is evident in some of her speaking engagements. These include to post-graduate students in the Business School and on the International Relations and Democratic Policy programme at the University of Westminster Business School, Masters students at University of Nottingham's International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, delivering a Public Lecuture to students and faculty at Caleb University in Lagos, Nigeria and at the University of Nottingham and moderating a panel discussion on new oil exploration in the Caribbean.
In addition to presentations at conferences, Veronica has contributed invited articles to the 2010 and 2011 Reference Reports of Commonwealth Finance Ministers and chapters to books on CSR and Governance.
A member of the Women in Banking and Finance (WIBF) and its Toastmasters club at Canary Wharf, Veronica is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and a qualified Corporate and Executive Coach. Because of her professional experience, qualifications and communication skills, Veronica is comfortable delivering tailored training courses, speaking with and/or coaching senior policy makers, business leaders, university students and mid and senior level managers.