|
Small Businesses Leading the Way with Social Responsibility
As someone with an
interest in a small business, you know how
important it can be to be a part of the
local community; and new research shows that
small businesses are leading the way in
demonstrating Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) in their local areas.
Entrepreneur think
tank, the Tenon Forum, has found that nearly
three quarters (71 per cent) of UK
entrepreneurs say that supporting their
local community is good for business. In
fact, the smaller the company turnover it
seems, the bigger the commitment to local
life with 71 per cent of owners of sub £1
million a year companies prioritising
community support compared to 56 per cent of
those turning over £6-20 million annually.
Such support ranges
from entrepreneurs buying local products and
using local suppliers to sponsoring local
charity events, teams and organisations.
Many entrepreneurs also give time or money
to nearby causes, with 71 per cent raising
funds for local charities and 62 per cent
donating employee time.
When it comes to giving
back to the local community, male SME bosses
are more likely to support local events,
scholarships, organizations and so on (85
per cent) compared to 73 per cent of female
SME owners who contribute in the same way.
While at the same time, 64 per cent of male
entrepreneurs hand over employee time
compared to 55 per cent of their female
counterparts.
And while Tenon Forum
Think Tank members all agree that CSR is
important to their strategic vision – it
appears that entrepreneurs in the North
support more suppliers and charities on
their doorstep, with 74 per cent of small
businesses in the Midlands and in Scotland
supporting their local community compared to
67% in London, the South East and East
Anglia. And across UK industry, most
fervent community supporters are among the
agricultural, mining and fishing sectors
with 81 per cent making CSR a priority.
Michaela Johns,
Director of Business Services at Tenon,
said: “It’s an incredibly positive trend to
see so many entrepreneurs embracing CSR and
giving back to their communities. Big
business has long been seen as the leader in
driving CSR but increasingly entrepreneurs
are dedicating time and effort to social and
environmental causes and consequently seeing
real business benefits. At Tenon, we
applaud these contributions particularly
when SMEs are juggling mounting red tape and
other challenges which all potentially push
efforts to give back to the bottom of an
entrepreneur’s priority list.”
One of the biggest
advantages small businesses have is their
personal touch and local knowledge. By
giving back to your local community and
charities you help spread a positive image
of your business to cement your place as a
caring and active member of the community.
Find out more about donating to charity
through your business with our article
Making Charitable Donations.
| 
