Business in the Community’s twentieth year provides me with the ideal opportunity to look back on the changes I have seen since taking over as Chairman four years ago, and further back to my first involvement with the organisation over ten years ago. Arguments around the business case for corporate social responsibility are never far from my mind, from either the Business in the Community or Sainsbury’s perspective.

I personally believe the case for embedding corporate social responsibility into the core functions of a business, into the business model, have never been more compelling, although these arguments are different for every business. Our approach at Sainsbury’s is pragmatic: to reduce waste, attract and retain talented people and manage risk. But over this period, has there been a real change in thinking within business more broadly - and if so, what is the evidence for this?

During my involvement with Business in the Community I have in fact seen a huge move in business thinking. Central to this is the way in which the issues we consider critical to the corporate social responsibility agenda have become part of mainstream business. Consumer activism, riots, environmental issues and the gathering in pace of the anti-globalisation movement - all within a very competitive environment - are very real reasons why business has taken a hard look at their broad responsibilities and why responsible business practice is firmly on business, City, UK government and European Commission agendas.

The days of business performance equating only with financial performance are long gone - businesses which think otherwise are kidding themselves. What hasn’t changed is the need to quantify the benefits of corporate social responsibility, from both the business case and societal perspective, and secondly to build better frameworks for measuring and reporting an organisation’s impact across the community, workplace, marketplace and environment.

I took on this challenge of better measurement and reporting specifically when I took on the Chairmanship of Business in the Community. In 2002 we will achieve two significant milestones. First, the development of a corporate social responsibility index to benchmark companies’ management – significantly the first business-led initiative and which leads on Business in the Community’s real world experience.

Second, the Business Impact review group of 20 organisations is committed to measure and report against the criteria set out in last year’s Winning with Integrity report; a set of simple but comprehensive criteria designed to suit every business. What is new is that the companies involved, and Sainsbury’s included, will be measuring and reporting this comprehensive performance information on-line via a public website.

These are major initiatives and indicate real progress on difficult issues which will take the debate on measurement forward considerably over our twentieth year. When corporate social responsibility sits so firmly on the UK government and EU agendas this also shows how business can lead the way.

So in my mind there is little doubt that there has been real change in business thinking over the last ten years and understanding the business case and the imperative of measuring and reporting have been critical to this. But it would be a mistake not to acknowledge the essential role individuals have played - many within member companies of Business in the Community.

Leaders of major organisations are in a privileged position to make use of – responsibly – the resources at their disposal and our best business leaders typically become so because they are nothing if not action orientated. So business leaders are very well placed to lead on the corporate social responsibility agenda.

For myself attending an HRH The Prince of Wales’ Seeing is Believing visit in the early 1990s and being confronted with real issues first hand, was a significant spur to understand the ability of business to make a positive impact, and to see that the needs of business and the public good can be one and the same. Looking forward, as our understanding of the logic of the business case develops apace, it would be a mistake not to stay close to this hearts and minds approach.

Sir Peter Davis,
Chairman, Business in the Community,
Group Chief Executive J Sainsbury plc

Membership of Business in the Community

• Awards programmes to recognise corporate excellence and promote best practice