The second Corporate Responsibility Index results have shown an increase of 14% in the number of companies participating, with the average score for the Index up from 68% to 80%. The results were announced by Business in the Community today (Sunday 14 March 2004).

The Corporate Responsibility Index has been developed to ensure a systematic approach to managing, measuring and reporting upon the various impacts that companies have upon society and their environment. The Index works as a management tool for companies to see how their corporate responsibility activities are integrated into their mainstream business operations.

The Index reviews companies by industry sector and this year’s results have revealed that the Food and Drug Retailers have remained on top whilst the Utilities sector has retained a high rating and is one of the most engaged sectors with 11 companies participating in the Index. The results also showed:

• The majority of participating companies are looking at corporate responsibility issues across their businesses and are building it within their business risk evaluation process. Although the Index showed that further engagement of external stakeholders in the risk management process is required
• Scores for integrating responsible business practice throughout the business still lags some way behind the development of corporate strategy
• This year, the Index asked companies to select the social issues that were the most important to their business and a high proportion of respondents saw welfare and employee development as a main concern
• Of the 139 leading companies, four out of five have a board director with explicit responsibility for human rights and just under two thirds have a Human Rights policy
• The majority of companies have Policies or Codes of Practice to address business behaviour, however, many need to focus on training and educating their staff to ensure the Codes are followed

Being included in the Index illustrates that the company has taken a systematic approach to dealing with its environmental and social impacts and, just as importantly, that it recognizes the need to involve key stakeholders.

Energy Minister, Stephen Timms said:
"I'm delighted to see the number of companies embracing the Index challenge this year.  It reinforces the message that companies can successfully integrate CSR into their business practice and is testimony to the value CSR can offer both to business and society.  I hope to see more companies in future years following the excellent example set by these companies."

David Varney, Chairman of Mmo2 and Business in the Community commented:
"By participating in the Index, all these companies have shown leadership in the open and transparent way in which they manage, measure and report. They are at the vanguard of the business community demonstrating by example what it means to be a company that counts.

"All the companies who have taken part in Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index have shown that they are willing to be tested on their practice and to be listed publicly - which I believe is very positive for a number of reasons. Firstly, whatever is communicated externally has to make sense to the business – so it forces companies to stop and reflect on how this ties back to business goals and corporate strategy. Secondly, the information needs some level of assurance - which means its been audited and tested to ensure its based on fact and not spin. Thirdly, it creates debate and sometimes anxiety about how the information will be received by external audiences and again this underscores the importance of only communicating reliable information."

The Corporate Responsibility Index is sponsored by Aviva, the Department of Trade & Industry and HBOS plc and National Grid Transco

ENDS