As we approach 2002, the twentieth anniversary of Business in the Community, I am enormously proud of all that has been achieved but equally aware we have a lot more to do. We are now the largest and longest established corporate social responsibility organisation in the world. So our twentieth year provides the ideal opportunity to reflect on and synthesise what we have learned, both successes and mistakes, as we set our own agenda moving forwards.

I hope over the next year we can engage our membership in the review we undertake as well as in the sharing of what we learn. With 75% of the FTSE 100 now in membership, Business in the Community has access to some of the best brains in business.

We will use our twentieth year to bring clarity to the fast evolving field of corporate social responsibility, engaging all levels of our membership through a series of anniversary dialogues to stimulate thinking and discussion.

The dialogues will feed into our conference next July when we plan to bring together the best corporate, academic, NGO and public sector thinkers from around the world to mark the evolution of corporate social responsibility, highlight best practice through our annual Awards for Excellence, and share leading edge developments.

We have set ourselves an additional challenge to research the impact Business in the Community and its member organisations have made over the last twenty years. As a business-led organisation, understanding the business case for corporate social responsibility has always been a major issue - how engaging with stakeholders within the community, marketplace, workplace and the environment and incorporating their perspective into strategic decision making, drives business competitiveness and builds trust and reputation. Our aim is to produce substantive research that demonstrates the lead the UK has integrating the responsible business agenda into mainstream business practice.

The debate we began twenty years ago has become increasingly more diverse and complex and is now a global one - the European Commission Green Paper signals an important coming of age.

The UK is at the forefront of thinking within Europe with the appointment of a Minister for Corporate Social Responsibility. Increasingly European and global partners and organisations come to us and our members to learn from our approach. I am particularly proud of the work that we have done to help support the establishment of a network of associate organisations across Europe, and of the close partnership we now have with the International Business Leaders Forum.

The events of September 11 have brought to centre stage the fundamental principles underpinning corporate social responsibility - active engagement and dialogue with the broadest range of stakeholders and the balancing of competing interests. Business is the principal motor of development and economic growth - I believe that responsible and intelligent business activity is a critical part of simultaneously building communities, a safer and sustainable world and a supportive culture for business.

The unique movement of companies that Business in the Community represents has never had a greater opportunity to create a step-change in the scale and reach of the positive impact of business through collaborative action on key community, marketplace, workplace and environmental issues. I hope you will join us for as many of Business in the Community’s twentieth year activities as you can, and use the opportunity to reaffirm or commit your organisation to continually improve its positive impact on society.

Thank you for your support

Julia Cleverdon, CEO Business in the Community