Heineken, Marks and Spencer on the Importance of Rolling Out CR Comms Beyond the Communications Department
LONDON, October 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
Worldwide business leaders will gather and share best practice on how to report and communicate sustainability performance in London at Ethical Corporation's 7th Annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit on the 27-28th of November.
It's time to take another look at sustainability communications, as they become increasingly focused on internal engagement. As Jan-Willem Vosmeer, who looks after all CR reporting initiatives at Heineken says: "Communications is key, not only for external stakeholders, but especially for internal ones. Our employees need to be engaged in the journey, so they know what it's about and they know what their role is. And it's not just talking about sustainability, but also integrating it in their targets and performance plans."
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Jan-Willem will be one of the panellists at the CR reporting X factor session, where the CR reports from Heineken, Centrica and ING will be critically assessed by the judges.
Confirming the importance of engaging the workforce in the company's communications strategy, Adam Ellman, Head of Delivery - Plan A at Marks and Spencer also notes: "Our communications effort definitely rolls out beyond the communications department, to our employees in the various business functions - these are the people who know what's going on and are leading the work, engaging with the relevant stakeholders; they're much better placed to drive the communications than the comms department."
Adam will be one of the judges at the CR reporting X factor session of the summit.
The 'inward reorientation' of traditionally outward-focused communication and corporate affairs teams reflects the trajectory of corporate sustainability development.
Vosmeer, from brewing giant Heineken emphasizes that, "One significant change compared to a few years ago is that previously, people thought that if you're part of the corporate sustainability department that means you actually carry out all the sustainability work yourselves. We coordinate the sustainability program, but in the end, it should be carried out by the various functions. The international head office is one part of our business, of course, but in the end it's the local businesses that really make it happen."
In other words, the role of CR communications is key in embedding sustainability practices across the whole business.
Ethical Corporation's 7th Annual CR Reporting and Communications Summit is designed to address the above, with two days of honest discussions and practical sessions on sustainability communications and CR reporting best practice to drive business performance forward.
A complete agenda and speaker list for the summit can be found here: http://www.ethicalcorp.com/reporting
About Ethical Corporation
Ethical Corporation has provided business intelligence for sustainability since 2001 and its conferences are widely recognised as the best in the field. It provides objective analysis for big businesses, NGOs, think-tanks, academia, governments and service providers to the corporate sustainability industry. Ethical Corporation is 100% focused on global ethical business and how large companies are responding to the sustainable business agenda.
Its flagship conference is the Responsible Business Summit, which takes place during the first week of May each year in London. In the past three years the summit has expanded to New York, and will take place in Asia for the first time this year.
Conference contact:
Elina Yumasheva
Conference Director
elina.yumasheva@ethicalcorp.com
+44-(0)20-7375-7573
http://www.ethicalcorp.com
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