Corporate Social Responsibility

CSR, or its formal title of Corporate Social Responsibility, can mean a variety of things to different people. Some people may perceive it as merely donating to charities, others as being environmentally friendly. In fact CSR is both of those things but also a lot more.

Articles on the subject have produced a range of definitions - CSR is

“industry’s obligation to pursue those polices and to make those decisions or to follow those lines of actions which are desirable in terms of the objectives and values of society.

Social Responsibility is neither a fad nor an optional extra. Healthy business requires a healthy community and should be contributing to its creation and maintenance. The public increasingly wants to know about companies that stand behind the brands and products presented to them and use their power to reward ‘good’ companies and punish the ‘bad’ ones.”  Quoted by Stephen Timms

CSR encompasses everything an organisation does, from its dealings with suppliers to its treatment of staff and from its environmental stance to its community support projects. In short, as one journalist described it, “CSR is about the essence of a business”. It’s about behaving responsibly to our stakeholders and the wider community and recognising that a sustainable CSR policy is only possible if led from the top and that it needs to be effectively communicated both in terms of a firms commitment and achievements.

The Cheshire has been one of the forerunners in terms of CSR practice. We have had a formalised community support policy since 1997 and have received awards acknowledging our excellent work in this field. We have been used as an example of best practice by the Building Societies Association (opens in a new window) and asked to present to others on the issue. With the introduction of the Cheshire Foundation we are building on our strong reputation in this field. At the core of the Cheshire’s approach to CSR is conducting our business in a socially responsible manner, in respect of the environment, our staff, our customers and local communities.

More and more companies are feeling the pressure to formalise their CSR programmes, resulting in increased methods of social reporting such as the FTSE4Good Index (opens in a new window) and Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index (opens in a new window). We recognise the ever increasing importance of CSR and our strategy is constantly under review to keep us in touch with news and developments and to ensure we focus equally on every aspect of the business that encompasses CSR.