Bestselling Corporate Responsibility Books

Award for Excellence for Cause Related Marketing

"Businesses across the UK are being invited to enter the Business in the Community's Awards for Excellence 2005, in association with the Financial Times, sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, supported by Marks & Spencer, Company of the Year 2004. The categories include the Dollond & Aitchison Cause Related Marketing Award which recognizes, rewards and celebrates programmes when businesses have used the power of the brand in partnership with charities or causes to address key social issues.

Last year's Award was won by BT for its partnership with ChildLine. Blockbuster Entertainment was Highly Commended for its partnership with Starlight Children's Foundation.

Cause Related Marketing is defined by Business in the Community as “a commercial activity by which businesses and charities or causes form a partnership with each other to market an image, product or service for mutual benefits. It is an additional tool for addressing the social issues of the day through providing resources and funding whilst at the same time addressing business marketing objectives.

The Business in the Community Awards for Excellence are the most prestigious UK awards recognizing companies for integrating responsible business practice into their mainstream operations resulting in a positive impact in the workplace, the marketplace, the environment or the community. Now in their eighth year, they are the primary means by which Business in the Community identifies, celebrates and communicates good practice in corporate responsibility.

Further information about Business in the Community and the Award can be found at the website www.bitc.org.uk.

Five maturity stages of CR

Simon Zadek provides a useful best practice five-stage maturity model of how organizations deal with CR (HBR Dec04 - 'The Path to CR')

1. Defensive: deny practices, outcomes or responsibilites ("It's not our job to fix that")
2. Compliance: adopt a policy-based compliance approach as a cost of doing business ("We'll do just as much as we have to")
3. Managerial: embed the societal issue into core management processes ("It's the business, stupid")
4. Strategic: integrate the societal issue into core business processes ("It gives us a competetive edge")
5. Civil: promote broad industry participation in CR ("We need to make sure everybody does it")