Business responsibility can mean a lot of things. More and more, we are seeing firms taking ownership of their actions while striving for positive impact on their employees, customers, the community and environment. Some firms might call this corporate social responsibility or CSR. Others may prefer corporate citizenship, sustainable business or social performance. Whatever they choose, it makes business and societal sense.
Evolving
Following our summer holiday break, the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ) Responsible Business Taskforce (RBT) has been quick out of the starting blocks, planning their next six months of activity. Members are:
- Will Farquhar (Aston Martin)
- Tove Kinooka (Global Perspectives)
- Kentaro Kiso (Barclays)
- Noriko Silvester (Candlewick)
- Trevor Webster (Taylor Brunswick)
The group has set two key performance indicators for this financial year. The first is to survey BCCJ members—about 1,000 people—on topics related to responsible business. This will ensure that we deliver the messages and programmes which are relevant to your firm’s interests. Armed with this information, they will deliver two more Responsible Business events by 31 March, 2020.
Your views
Led by Kinooka, the group is working to define the BCCJ’s definition of Responsible Business so that the chamber’s work best represents our more than 200 BCCJ member firms. We would like to hear from you on matters such as:
- What does the term “Responsible Business” mean to you and your firm?
- What aspects of Responsible Business do you find the most difficult?
- What does your firm do to promote or support work–life balance?
- Are there any particular topics or speakers you would like to see at BCCJ Responsible Business or sustainability events?
- Would you be interested in sharing your firm’s stories of success (or challenges!) related to Responsible Business for inclusion in BCCJ media?
- Would you be interested in nominating your organisation (or an organisation you admire) for the Positive Impact Award at this year’s BBA?
Watch for the full survey, which will be sent to you by 18 September.
Working for you
This is, of course, a constantly evolving field, and new research and tools are becoming available all the time. With so many resources at their disposal, the RBT is working so that you can stay ahead of the curve and discover the work of many other firms in the BCCJ network.
Responsible Business is a key pillar of our BCCJ 5.0 initiative, alongside Diversity and Inclusion and Digital Tech Innovation. Stay tuned for updates from the other two taskforces in future issues of ACUMEN.
