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The History of Business in the Community


Dedicated to corporate responsibility since 1982

Business in the Community was set up in 1982 and now has over 800 members. We are the largest and one of the oldest national business-led coalitions dedicated to corporate responsibility. We inspire, engage, support and challenge companies to make a positive impact in the community, workplace, marketplace and environment.

 

Collective business action

The organisation has changed and evolved greatly, but we have always encouraged companies to get involved individually and to work together through collective business action.

Initially, we were dedicated to regenerating local economies across the UK through charitable contributions. We encouraged businesses to take part by promoting corporate community involvement.

This widened to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and we became concerned with integrating sustainability into our members’ core business strategies. As a result, we’ve helped to institutionalise and mainstream corporate responsibility.

More important than ever

Now, business has a higher profile in British society and business leaders are media celebrities. The public is more interested in business, how it makes its money and how it affects society and the environment. Corporate responsibility is more important than ever.

What's in this section ...

  • At the start: Why and how we began

    Business in the Community was created following a government conference where a group of US business leaders involved in the urban regeneration of Baltimore and Detroit in the 1970s shared their experiences with their British counterparts.

  • 1980s: Local enterprise agency champion

    Business in the Community encouraged companies to support local enterprise agencies as a way of business helping to regenerate local economies affected by corporate closures. 

  • 1990s: A maturing agenda

    Business was driven by a need to address the UK’s decline in the international competitiveness league tables,improve basic skills in literacy and numeracy,and find new talent through a diversified workforce.

  • 2000s: From CSR to responsible business

    By 2001, we had 700 member companies. Competitive advantage for individual companies and the pressures of sustainability as a business challenge were the new business drivers.

  • The context of our organisation in 2009

    Since 1982, we have mobilised business and worked with leaders to take action in some of the UK’s most deprived communities. Our greatest success has been getting influential business figures involved, and keeping them involved.

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