Nine exemplar companies recognised at the House of Lords

Angela Smith, Minister of State for the Third Sector and CSR Minister, Ian Lucas will recognised the nine new CommunityMark achievers for 2009 at a ceremony held at the House of Lords today.

This reinforces the fact that excellence in community investment not only has a positive and valuable impact on society, but translates to real business benefits.

BskyB, Cadbury, EDF Energy, John Laing, Linklaters, Liverpool Football Club, Microsoft (UK), The Midcounties Co-operative and Octink have achieved the CommunityMark, Business in the Community's national standard of excellence in community investment.

Building Stronger Communities Taskforce

The nine companies were recognised following Dame Julia Cleverdon's report to Angela Smith, Minister of State, on the recommendations of the Building Stronger Communities Taskforce. The launch of the report 'Building Stronger Communities: Innovation for business and the third sector, partnering in tough times' will also be held at the House of Lords today.

Following its establishment in April 2009, the remit of the taskforce was to explore and examine the innovative ways in which the private and voluntary sectors are working together to support communities through recession.

The report outlines ten recommendations to businesses, the third sector and to the Government under three key priorities for action: building closer connections between the sectors at local level, the importance of downsizing responsibly, and investment in innovative partnerships.

Members of Business in the Community, including CommunityMark companies, were integral to the consultation process and forming the recommendations for the report.

In achieving the CommunityMark standard, these nine companies have demonstrated that they are exemplars of best practice, integrating five principles of community investment throughout their organisation and already leading the way on many of the recommendations outlined in 'Building Stronger Communities: Innovation for business and the third sector, partnering in tough times'.

£42 million invested by new CommunityMark achievers

Collectively, new achievers of the CommunityMark have invested £42 million in their communities over the past year through corporate giving and fundraising, pro bono and employee volunteering time, in-kind support and commercial initiatives. More than one million people have benefited from this combined investment, including 871,000 young people and over 200,000 people in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

"Investing in communities is integral to commercial success in any economic climate, bringing long-term sustainable benefits to both business and communities - and this commitment has never been as important as it is now," said Stephen Howard, Chief Executive of Business in the Community. "At a time when communities are feeling the real and negative impacts of the recession, it is particularly commendable that these companies have continued to demonstrate their commitment to making a positive impact in society. We are thrilled to celebrate with our nine CommunityMark achievers for 2009."

'Real business benefits'

"The CommunityMark achievers for 2009 are leading brands in their respective sectors that have collectively invested over £40 million in their communities," said Catherine Sermon, National Community Impact Director at Business in the Community. "This reinforces the fact that excellence in community investment not only has a positive and valuable impact on society, but translates to real business benefits. These companies are distinguished by their integrated and strategic approach to managing their investment in communities - through good times and bad."