Marketing

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Business, Sustainability the Community Mick
May Groundwork Thames Valley
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Is Sustainable Business a Contradiction in Terms?
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What is a Sustainable Business?
A Sustainable Business is a successful and
profitable business. It is one that continuously
improves its productivity by taking action on the
economic, social and environmental impacts of its
business. That means a Sustainable Business takes
a sustainable approach to what it produces, how
it buys and sells, how it affects the
environment, where it invests, how it recruits,
trains and develops its own people, how it
engages with the community in which it operates
and how it respects the rights of people. Source
SEEDA Sustainable Business A Strategy for the
South East 2006-2009
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Preaching Credentials
Independent environmental/ regeneration charity.
Turnover of 2m w/ 25 employees.
Social enterprise owned by GTV. Only company in
the country where you can get a job if youve got
a criminal record. Turnover of 600k w/ 20
employees.
Social enterprise owned by GTV. Owns largest
vessel on Grand Union. Provides environmental
education to 6,000 schoolchildren. Turnover of
150k w/ 3 employees.
Social enterprise created in joint venture by GTV
SKIDZ Foundation. Turnover of 120k w/ 3
employees
Reading Motor Education Project Ltd
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Is Sustainable Business a Contradiction in Terms?

• Examples of how it can help even the smallest
• Energy efficiency saves money
• - double sided printing
• - default settings to bw printers
• - consortium procurement
• - lower energy bills
• - grant availability

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Is Sustainable Business a Contradiction in Terms?

• Environment as business developer
• Life post-Stern Report
• Emergence of new economy e.g. local planning
  guidelines around renewable energy
• Scope for local businesses
• Accreditation power

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Elsdale - A Practical Example of Sustainable
Business

• Some key statistics -
• The largest vessel on the Grand Union Canal
• Electric-powered using hybrid technology
• Delivering environmental education to 6,000
  children each year
• Significant increase in Trust asset base

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Is Sustainable Business a Contradiction in Terms?

• The community is everyones market
• Impact of crime and environmental deprivation
• Impact of higher wage packets

• Todays kids tomorrows customers

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Blue Sky - A Practical Example of Sustainable
Business

• Some key statistics the problem -
• England Wales releases 90,000 prisoners pa
• 56,000 will re-offend within 2 years
• Re-offending costs England Wales 11bn pa

• Each re-offender costs approx 200k (excl.of
  associated knock-on costs)
• Long-term employment reduces re-offending by up
  to 50
• Housing reduces re-offending by up to 25

Source Reducing Re-Offending by Ex-Prisoners
produced by the Social Exclusion Unit in 2002
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Blue Sky - A Practical Example of Sustainable
Business
An additional social benefit at no extra cost!
Long-term Maintenance Contract
Service delivered under sub-contract
I am very pleased in the way Blue Sky has
worked. We are in the process of making bids for
extra work. We are building Blue Sky into our
offer to Local Authorities, using the positives
of Blue Sky to help develop Accord. Blue Sky is a
worthwhile project. It is a win-win situation.
Tony Charlton, Slough Accord
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Reading Motor Education Project Ltd
- A Practical Example of
Sustainable Business

• Product of Partnership
• Cross borough co-operation - Wycombe Reading
• Development work substantially funded by
• Development managed by
• Roll-out of established business model

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What Does Corporate Social Responsibility Mean?

• Some of Mick Mays key rules
• Not a licence for charities/ community groups to
  beg

• Not a licence for major corporations to brag
• Must deliver tangible benefits to all parties

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What Can Corporate Social Responsibility Do?
The DECIDE Partnership