CBI reaccredited with the Good Business Charter
7th February, 2024
The Good Business Foundation announced today in its inaugural Good Business Week that it had reaccredited business group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
Good Business Charter accreditation represents a high bar of responsible business behaviour, held by companies including Aviva, TSB, St James’ Place and Richer Sounds. Following the allegations in Spring 2023 of sexual misconduct and harassment, the Good Business Foundation (the charity that runs the Good Business Charter) suspended the CBI’s accreditation because of concerns specifically around its commitments to employee wellbeing and employee representation.
The CBI was a founder of the GBC when it was launched in 2020 and helped develop its 10 components. Following rigorous assessment, its GBC accreditation was reinstated with the team satisfied that the business group has put robust measures in place. The GBC team particularly applauded the CBI’s decision to have the Chief People Officer report directly to the Board and be on the Executive Committee. This is a really effective way for any business to help ensure the voices of their whole workforce are heard.
Julian Richer, founder of the GBC and champion of responsible business commented:
‘The CBI’s experience shows that true commitment to responsible business takes time and resources but is so worth the effort. We all have areas to improve but we have been impressed with the scale and depth of the CBI’s efforts to improve its workplace culture including clear benchmarking and ongoing monitoring of how employees are feeling.’
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Executive said:
“We are incredibly pleased to have earned reaccreditation and encourage other companies to make this commitment to responsible business. It’s important to me that everybody feels proud of being part of the CBI and working together to co-create our values of integrity, respect, courage and brilliance has been an empowering experience. Working with experts we have strengthened our culture and improved our training and processes, bringing in measures to ensure that employees’ voices are heard and acted on. And while today we celebrate this achievement, I also recognise that building a better organisation is an ongoing journey, requiring constant review and evaluation so as not to allow complacency to set in.”
The GBC is taking this week to celebrate good business, focusing different days on some of the key issues such as fair pay, prompt payment to suppliers and employee wellbeing.
CEO of the charity and campaign, Jenny Herrera, said:
‘We believe there should be a clear benchmark of what responsible business behaviour looks like so that customers, employees, investors and other stakeholders can differentiate between good and bad. It’s time we all took a stand against companies dodging taxes, trampling over people and wrecking the planet. In Good Business Week we encourage everyone to share their stories of why #GoodBusinessMatters’
ENDS
Notes for Editors
About the Good Business Charter
The Good Business Charter was developed, and is overseen by, the Good Business Foundation, an independent charity established in 2019 by entrepreneur Julian Richer.
The Charter is a simple accreditation which organisations in the UK can sign up to in recognition of responsible business practices. It measures behaviour over ten components (nine for charities and public sector): real living wage; fairer hours and contracts; employee well-being; employee representation; equality, diversity and inclusion; environmental responsibility; paying fair tax; commitment to customers; ethical sourcing, and prompt payment.
An organisation must meet all ten components (nine for charities and public sector) to receive GBC accreditation. It is open to private sector, public sector and charities of all sizes including a streamlined version for organisations with 50 employees or fewer.
The Good Business Charter is an initiative of the Good Business Foundation, charity number 1186547, company number 12278437.
Contact: Jenny Herrera, CEO | jherrera@goodbusinesscharter.com | 07703 453826
Website: www.goodbusinesscharter.com