Responsible Business Brief - Flashback 2024

Welcome to our special end-of-year edition of the Responsible Business Brief! This is your essential annual roundup curated by Business in the Community (BITC), the UK's leading responsible business network.

Grab a mince pie, and let’s dive into what you need to know about the year gone by!

We’ve produced a wealth of content to help organisations this year, and here are just a few of the many free resources available from our website, selected to give you a flavour of our offerings.

Let’s get started!

PS. 🔗Don’t forget to subscribe for future updates.

📚2024 Responsible Business resources for your organisation

Our Impact & Reach

💡 Lifting Up the UK: State of the Nation 2024. Our flagship report showcases how businesses support young people, invest in essential skills, and cultivate community pride. With over 10 million people impacted, it provides critical insights for building a more inclusive society.

📄 Impact Report. We are delighted to release our inaugural Impact Report for 2023-2024, titled Leading with Purpose. This report illustrates our collective impact alongside our members and partners.

Environment and Climate Action

🌿 Nature and Resilience Factsheet. Nearly one in four CEOs view biodiversity as critical for ESG strategies. Our factsheet demystifies biodiversity concepts and outlines their importance.

🌍 Climate Action Routemaps. Our free routemaps focus on three key areas to help businesses achieve a fair and just transition to net zero. It's vital we act now.

Diversity and Inclusion

🔗 Diverse and Inclusive Supply Chains Insight Report. Our insightful report highlights opportunities for creating inclusive supply chains, with actionable business recommendations.

🔦 Voices from the Race at Work Surveys Report 2024. This report reveals the daily realities of racial equality in the workplace and highlights three key actions for employers, informed by nine years of employee insights.

Gender Equality

📊 The Times Top 50 Employers for Gender Equality Insights Report 2024. This report outlines key steps for creating inclusive workplaces. Progress is essential not just for society but also for business success.

📣 Equal Parental Leave Toolkit. Developed with Bain & Company , this toolkit is essential for supporting working carers and promoting gender equality in the workplace.

Inclusive Recruitment

🤝 Inclusive Flexible Working Toolkit. Our research shows that flexible working offers clear benefits to employers and employees alike. Drawing on research with our members, we've released a must-read guide with Phoenix Group .

💡 Opening Doors - What Works Report. Over 50% of jobseekers from low socioeconomic backgrounds feel overlooked. Our inclusive recruitment report, developed with Aldermore Bank , Heathrow , and Lloyd's Register , offers data-driven recommendations for enhancing inclusive recruitment strategies.

Age at Work

Becoming an Age-Friendly Employer Toolkit. With 10.9 million over 50s in the workforce, it's crucial to foster an age-diverse environment. Our guide provides practical steps for creating an inclusive workplace.

Wellbeing

📊 Workwell Self-Assessment Tool. Since its launch, 141 organisations have utilised our Workwell Self-Assessment Tool, positively impacting 1.2 million employees. Discover its measurable impact today.

📈 Prioritise People: The Next Step. This invaluable guide, developed with the McKinsey Health Institute , helps organisations measure health and wellbeing initiatives effectively.

Supporting Carers in the Workplace Toolkit. With one in seven UK employees balancing work and caring responsibilities, our updated toolkit provides essential resources for creating a supportive environment.

Future Skills

🤖 AI and Gender Factsheet. New technologies, including generative AI, are cited as challenges by 55% of CEOs from large UK companies. While AI promises productivity benefits, it’s crucial to prioritise equity and inclusion.

🚨 Upskilling For All Report. UK employers must act now to close skills gaps. Our Upskilling For All report reveals concerning disparities in development opportunities but offers practical steps for improvement.

Seeing Is Believing

We proudly visited Bradford, Tower Hamlets, Coventry, Brent, Wisbech and Manchester as part of our Seeing is Believing programme. This immersive initiative connects business leaders with communities to foster understanding and drive positive change. We look forward to more visits in 2025! Learn all about the programme.

Looking ahead to 2025

📢 Save the Date!

Members, don’t forget to register for our members-only conference, Shaping Solutions for Responsible Business, in London on 28 January 2025. The event features six interactive workshops, providing invaluable opportunities to exchange ideas with like-minded organisations. Learn more about our upcoming events.

⭐That's it, you're up to speed! Thanks for reading. Now, dust your mince pie crumbs off your desk and carry on!

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About Business in the Community

We bring together business leaders committed to changing business, transforming lives and helping the planet and communities thrive. We work with thousands of business leaders, and our network represents over 7 million people — more than 20% of the UK workforce. Over the last few years, we have benefitted nearly 10 million people - and we are transforming lives in nine of the most deprived places in the country.

🌍 Tired of business as usual? Join a movement where profit and purpose go hand in hand. Explore the many benefits of joining BITC, and reach out to us to learn how we can build a fairer and greener world together.

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