The words Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are spoken a lot in business these days and as a small high street company what they stand for are important to us.
Generally speaking, CSR means we care and take control of our social, environmental and economic impact.
In a nutshell it means we are committed to reducing our impact on the environment where we can. We aim to create a workplace where our employees feel happy and we play a positive role within our local community and do our best to get involved and have a positive impact within our society.
A few examples we’re proud of include sponsoring upcoming, sporting stars such as teenage motorcyclist Harry Rowlings and ambitious archer Katie Tonkinson.
We are active supporters of local organisation Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust and its ongoing campaign to restore and bring Newport’s canal back into operation.
Where possible we also support other local businesses within our town through partnership working and collaboration and a recent example of this was our Doors Open initiative for first-time-buyers.
And last but by no means least, the annual highlight has to be our involvement in the town’s popular Christmas card competition.
We have sponsored this fantastic competition for many years and our director Stephen Graves was on hand to judge this year’s contest along with Newport Mayor Councillor Peter Scott, Reverend Merry from St Nicholas Church and Emma Otero Salgado from charity VICTA (Visually Impaired Children Taking Action).
School children were asked to design a Christmas tag rather than a card this year and as always, hundreds of entries were submitted to Newport Town Council, who hosts the contest.
Stephen and the other judges had a difficult time picking a winning design but eventually decided that seven-year-old Chase White-Smith from Newport Infant School should be crowned this year’s winner.
He will now get to flick the switch on the town’s festive lights this Friday (November 29). Meanwhile the runner-ups will receive tickets to Jack and the Beanstalk at Oakengates Theatre.
It’s safe to say our CSR activities are growing each year and with it our reputation as a business which is invested not just in our local community but in our customers, employees and our environment.
If you’re looking for some quick CSR wins, have a think about:
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sponsorship – either a local club, team or charity
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raise money – pick an event and a local cause to support
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reduce your carbon footprint – use less plastic, recycle more, cycle to workplace
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start small, engage your employees, communicate and measure your success
Do get in touch with us if you are a local charity or business and have an idea on how we can team up and work together to improve our CSR.