Charity begins in business

“If your business sees charitable giving as simply a tick box exercise, then you are really missing a trick,” says Nicole Squire of Bristol’s Frank Water.

The corporate fundraising manager for the safe water and sanitation charity argues that, implemented well, corporate social responsibility (CSR) leads to a lasting partnership that can achieve much more then ‘doing good’.

Nicole Squire of Frank Water

The corporate conglomerate and the smaller, not-for-profit enterprise have not always been easy bed fellows.

But, the role of business is changing and, with this, comes an increasing realisation that ethics and economic success are intertwined, as Bristol companies prove that collaborating with worthy causes can reap mutual rewards.

According to the latest KPMG report on CSR, the conventional lines between financial and non-financial are not only beginning to blur, but in some examples, are breaking down completely.

And this is the start of a growing trend, says José Luis Blasco, global head of KPMG sustainability services, as it hits home that business can no longer be separated from environmental and social issues, such as climate change, water scarcity and human rights.

James Durie

“A few years ago, CSR was something that many businesses and employers felt rather more obligated to do, than something that they actually felt passionate about,” said James Durie, chief executive of Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative, Business West.

“But in recent years, I think that’s really changed and moved on.”

Of course, the motivation is less a sudden change of heart and more the fact that customers vote with their feet, so firms suffer for unethical practises.

“Our planet is facing huge environmental challenges that all businesses simply cannot afford to ignore,” continued Durie. “It’s bad for business if you think that CSR is not your problem, or indeed part of your responsibility.”

Traci Lewis of Sustain Live

Sustain-Live is a St Andrews-based organisation that matches corporate companies with good causes, to drive sustainable solutions.

“Successful and innovative businesses now realise they need to be much more strategic about ethics and sustainability – that it should be part of their whole business model,” says Traci Lewis, founder and director.

Catalyst bootcamp

Last year, Sustain-Live launched Catalyse Change CIC, a new social enterprise to empower and skill young women as change-makers, with the backing of Bristol organisations, including the University of Bristol, Pukka and Triodos.

Global company EY is also making its mark on the ground in Bristol, with initiatives such as its Smart Futures programme, which has worked with 20 young people in the city to overcome barriers in the labour market, education, employment and enterprise.

“It is now widely accepted that business has to do more than make a profit – it must also must drive social and environmental change,” says Andrew Perkins, EY’s managing partner in the South West.

Bristol’s Bluepoppy Vehicle Solutions is choosing to support a worthwhile cause through monetary donations, and has pledged to donate £50 for each car or van it leases throughout 2018 to cancer charity Penny Brohn UK.

Whether hands-on or hands-off, critics argue CSR is no more than a cynical ploy for positive PR by companies who want to be seen to care.

Refill water bar at the Bristol Balloon Fiesta

But Natalie Fee, founder of Bristol-based CIC City to Sea, says she her organisation has had a really positive experience of working with corporate partners and has also been successful in helping to instigate environmental change within the companies themselves.

She said: “We do have a certain criteria for partners that if we work with them, they will look at how they can reduce plastic pollution across their businesses and ensure it’s not just green washing and that the changes we want to see are taken on board.”

Read more: Bristol’s Refill campaign goes national