1 Responsible Business Awards 2015 The Freshfields Work Inclusion Award

The Responsible Business Awards Identify and showcase the best of responsible business in action in the UK and abroad – from SMEs to multi-nationals and from all sectors. Designed for business by business. Longest-running (now in 18th year). Rigorously assessed by business and other industry experts. Perceived as most robust CSR awards “These are hugely important awards in raising awareness about the extraordinary amount of work business does every day”. HRH The Prince of Wales

Highlights of the Awards Over 85,000 unique visits to the Awards webpages every year. National, regional and trade press resulting in over £700,000 advertising value equivalent and reaching over 32 million people. 5,000 senior business guests attended the UK Award dinners. Reached 4.1m twitter accounts on 8 July alone. Over 200 senior business peers involved in the awards assessment and judging process.

Open to all businesses, the Award categories focus on: Stimulating the local economy Reducing the impact of unemployment Addressing the skills shortage Creating a healthier and happier workforce Cutting our dependency on natural resources An entry can focus on one or several of the above; achieving impact in a specific area, nationally or internationally. See for full category listwww.bitc.org.uk/awards Award 2015 Categories

Recognises companies that have supported people from disadvantaged groups into employment and/or improved their employability skills. Tackling unemployment for those who face barriers to work, whether they are young people or adults. Building the skills, confidence and experience needed amongst jobseekers to find work Addressing the skills shortage necessary for business to compete in the future. The Freshfields Work Inclusion Award

BITC definition of ‘disadvantaged groups’: This award recognises programmes targeted at people who fall into one, or more of the following categories: homeless, ex-offenders, people with disabilities, refugees, lone parents, care leavers, long term unemployed etc (this list is not exhaustive). What do we mean by ‘work inclusion activity’? Programme activities may include training initiatives, work placements and targeted recruitment drives that seek to develop sustained employment opportunities from disadvantaged groups. The Freshfields Work Inclusion Award

Eligibility Criteria; This category is open to all members of Business in the Community (BITC) and any non-member private sector business that has a presence in the UK. Any size business can enter and will have an equal chance of winning [as scale will be taken into consideration and assessed as relevant to your business’ operational scope]. Please note that if your activities focus on tackling unemployment in young people (primarily year olds) but without an explicit focus on disadvantaged groups, please enter the Inspiring Young Talent Award. The Freshfields Work Inclusion Awards

The A pplication F orm Section 1: Company and programme details. Section 2: What are you doing (20% of total score). Section 3: How are you doing it (20% of total score). Section 4: What have you achieved? (60% of total score). Additional Requirements - CEO sign off tick box plus a short quote but must be included for an application form to be accepted.

What makes a good entry? Clear understanding of the business and social needs the programme is tackling, and definition of the disadvantaged group(s) the programme supports. Clear link to the core aims and values of the company. Measurable KPIs, effective performance management and continuous learning. Evidence of resource allocated to the programme commensurate with the size of the business/issue being tackled. Wide and frequent stakeholder engagement – internal and external Well evidenced social and business impacts The Freshfields Work Inclusion Award

Why enter: publically validate your achievements Use the independent endorsement brand to communicate to all stakeholders.

Leverage the free profiling provided by BITC: Media & PR: national, regional and trade press (listed in a dedicated supplement in the FT); Digital: Your success featured on our website and via social media; Events: Stage presence at BITC’s Gala Dinner series across UK in June; Public affairs: alerting Local MPs to your success; Membership engagement: Showcased to our 800 plus member companies. Why enter: publically validate your achievements

The process encourages an internal evaluation of the impact of your activities. Expert advice from BITC on effectively measuring and demonstrating impact. Free, tailored, expert feedback given to every eligible award entrant. Why enter: enable future growth of your responsible business activities

Compare responsible business success across all sectors. Free to enter (except for BITC’s Responsible Business of the Year category which is for BITC members only). Open to businesses of all sizes* – process assesses the entry relative to scale and scope And… Any size Any scale Any sector

What previous entrants think… For us, trying to champion sustainability and responsible business, these Awards are an absolutely essential tool. East of England Co-operative As an international company, we really appreciate the resonance that the Awards have around the world. Body Shop The judges’ comments were so powerful, they’ve been really well utilised internally and externally. Lakehouse This is the most robust process compared to other awards. Alliance Boots The rigorous assessment criteria make the BITC Awards worthwhile as a 'critical friend'. Mitie

If you are still achieving impact on a programme/activity that achieved an award accolade last year, then you can retain this accolade and status for another year. Simply, complete the short Re-accreditation application form on line, demonstrating the continued impact. Re-accredited your status last year? You can re-accredit for a 2 nd year running. Received an award accolade in 2014?

The awards process - key dates Open to entries – 5 November to 13 February Choose category Speak to BITC colleagues for specific guidance Assessment of all entries – March Results revealed to you w/c 13 April Prepare how you will communicate your achievement Judging the Finalists – May Finalists asked to present to Judging panel in London Results announced publically The Shortlisted – w/c 20 April during BITC’s Responsible Business Week The Finalists - end May Award Winner – 7 July at BITC's Responsible Business Gala Dinner

90% of panel are senior business peers with an active knowledge of the relevant CR policies and practices. 10% of the panel are other industry experts e.g. NGO, charities. Trained by BITC, the assessors then read and score the applications, using a comprehensive score guide (available to all entrants). Each entry is assessed by 2 or more assessors and a final score is agreed upon. All conflicts of interest are identified and addressed. Assessing your entry

The panel will use the scores to decide on which entries: are Shortlisted become a Finalist and will be asked to present to a Judging panel in May (usually around 3 – 6 entries) Are unsuccessful The assessors’ feedback on each entry will be sent to each entrant when the results are given.

The Finalists are invited to London to present to a small judging panel 13 May. Panel typically made up of 3-4 CEO/Board Level business leaders, and 1 other senior industry expert. The Finalist company usually brings their CEO, colleague that runs the specific programme and a beneficiary. Great opportunity to promote your organisation in front of a focussed senior audience. The panel will decide on Award Winner and this will be announced at BITC’s Responsible Business Gala 7 July Judging the Finalists

Whether you are Shortlisted, a Finalist or are crowned overall Award Winner, there are plenty of ways to shout out about your achievements Celebrating your results BITC platforms: Award Planter Responsible Business Gala Events Responsible Business BITC tools: E-planter to use on all your communications Communication pack to support your own communication activity Press release template to send to local/trade/national press

Next steps… Read through the categories at and decide on most suitable ones for you (sign up to website to download the application form and supporting guidance) Attend one of our free workshops in Nov and Dec across UK on how to write a great award entry Submit online at by midnight 13 February along with your logowww.bitc.org.uk/awards Any questions? us on