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Conference highlights importance of CSR from Small Business

Speakers at a conference on Corporate Social Responsibility for Small Business agreed that organisations who practice social responsibility gain a competitive advantage over those who don't. Daniel Farina from Allsop Europe in Waterford told the conference that large companies expect their smaller suppliers to behave responsibly and will award contracts to them over those who don't perform responsibly. Carmel Kikkers, from Focus Visual Communication, who has developed an advertising stand that is unique in Europe for its environment properties, showed the conference how a small company can gain competitive advantage by being green.

The link between brand and being socially responsible was outlined by Jill Hincks MD of Passion For Creative, who reminded the conference that Brand is not about logos and trade marks but about how you behave as an employer and a supplier. Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, Ed Murphy of Home Instead Elderly Care, shared his experience in setting up various Franchise Businesses and asserted that small business owners are precisely the people with the drive and ability to foster a socially responsible society. Murphy gave numerous examples of how businesses can act responsibly, but advised, that their efforts should be linked to areas their own customers would like to have them be involved in. Measurement of Corporate Social Responsibility is expected to be more of a requirement in the future according to Marcel Wagenaar of Waterford Institute of technology, however the audience was warned not to just tick the boxes as practicing social responsibility was far more important. The conference was surprised to hear some examples from Enron's annual report just before they collapsed.

The organiser of the conference, Joe J Daly from Waterford Institute of Technology, gave the conference evidence from the EU, of the drive towards encouraging small to medium sized businesses to practice Social Responsibility. The audience were given an opportunity to measure their own SR performance using a questionnaire from the EU. Daly went on to thank Waterford City Enterprise Board for supporting the event and revealed that further events will be held on the subject next year. The Enterprise Boards' new web site will contain details of the conference and some of the presentations.