Round up of Responsible Business 2012

Last week, the Blue & Green Tomorrow team ventured down to London to discover what the Responsible Business Exhibition 2012 was all about. We were greeted by a room full of inspiration, innovation and positive thinking.

Set over two days in the Business Design centre in Islington, Responsible Business 2012 brought together over 150 charities and voluntary organisations and a steady stream of interested parties. The aim of the not-for-profit event was to facilitate strategic alliances between businesses and the voluntary sector to promulgate CSR activity and drive good business, and was organised by UBM and Business in the Community (BITC).

Given that a large number of the organisations and charities at Responsible Business 2012 work directly on the issues that B&GT regularly reports on, it was a great opportunity to discuss our role in the mix and bring it to the attention of you, dear reader.

Exhibitors included pioneering water brands such as The One Brand, which has expanded from water onto a range of ‘like for like’ products with the mantra “do one good thing”, and Belu along with the charity it supports, WaterAid.

Nature was represented, among others, by GreenSpace, the Wildlife Trusts and the Woodland Trust, which was promoting its one million tree planting programme in celebration of the Queen’s diamond jubilee.

Climate change was also on the agenda, with 10:10 and a number of other organisations flying the flag. 10:10 inspires people and organisations to cut carbon emissions, something that we at B&GT fully advocate. Climate Week may now be over, but the mission continues.

One company thinking outside the box was Made in Forest, which aims to bring together green stakeholders around the world. By building a free platform on which individuals, communities or organisations involved in sustainable or environmental activities can post profiles, the company hopes to introduce eco-consumers to eco-suppliers and thus catalyse the green economy.

The Make a Difference (MAD) Foundation is much more composed than its name suggests and matches corporate responsibility initiatives with hands on volunteering programmes. Madventurer [www.madventurer.com] was also on display offering its own unique brand of very sustainable tourism.

What was truly inspiring while moving from stand to stand was the sheer determination to do good, which reminds me not to neglect one final organisation: A Very Good Company. Working with stakeholders to turn good ideas into good solutions, its mission is to build a world in which all people are empowered to “Feel Good, Do Good and Live Good”. An excellent vision for the future.

There were, of course, too many deserving exhibitors to mention them all here, but we hope to profile as many as possible over the coming months, bringing each one’s story to the fore.

In the meantime, we encourage you to speak with your IFA about sustainable investment to find out how you can more directly benefit some of these initiatives. Alternatively, you can fill in our online form, and we’ll put you in touch with a specialist ethical advisor. Getting involved is easier than you think and gives you the power to make a real difference.

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