NOTTS firms are taking part in a national campaign aimed at promoting responsible business
The country's first Responsible Business Week campaign, launched yesterday and run by the Business in the Community charity, has been devised to raise public awareness and understanding of the positive role of business in society and the many ways firms are making a difference in their communities.
Stephen Howard, BITC chief executive, said: "There has never been a more important time for genuine public debate about the role of business in society and a fresh look at the intertwined relationship between values, trust and corporate behaviour.
"Responsible Business Week will shine a spotlight on the powerful, positive role of business in society and those businesses and leaders that are truly transforming their businesses for the benefit of their communities, employees and the environment. We hope it will inspire many more businesses to put responsible behaviour at the heart of how they do business."
BITC is a business-led charity with 850 members and campaigns in partnership with businesses to help them make a sustained difference to communities.
It works with about 300 businesses in Notts and the East Midlands, among them Boots, Toyota and Rolls-Royce.
Sally Camm, director of brand communication at Nottingham credit card issuer Capital One, sits on BITC's regional advisory board.
Colleague Stuart Mather said: "Capital One has been incredibly active in the community since arriving in Nottingham in 1998. BITC helped us establish strong community links within the county.
"It is on these foundations that in 2012, Capital One made charitable donations of £1,042,540, directly benefiting 25,872 individuals from 466 charitable organisations."
One such programme is ClickSilver, a scheme that involves students from Nottingham Trent University mentoring older students from Age UK Notts in how to gain knowledge and confidence of using computers and the internet.
Nicola Ellen, of the Nottingham office of law firm Shoosmiths, said: "Being a responsible corporate citizen is key to our commercial success.
"Our priorities include sustainable relationships with our community partners to ensure long-term benefit for the recipient organisation and for us with sustained staff engagement."