By Jenny Herrera, Chief Executive, Good Business Charter
First published in Society Matters magazine

This year the Good Business Charter, an accreditation scheme for responsible business behaviour, launched Good Business Week which ran from 5th to 11th February and was an opportunity to celebrate responsible business practices and share why #GoodBusinessMatters.  

The idea behind the campaign was to showcase those organisations doing great work such as championing their workforce, going over and above to ensure they source their goods ethically or sorting out their systems to pay their suppliers promptly.

The Good Business Charter sets out 10 clear standards of behaviour and the campaign focused on different themes during the week to highlight why they matter.

The campaign received support from many established organisations in the business world including the Confederation of British Industry, the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, the Institute of Directors and the Federation of Small Businesses as well as partner organisations such as the Living Wage Foundation and the Fair Tax Mark.  

Accredited organisations shared quotes and videos on why good business matters to them as well as undertaking activities to celebrate good business from litter picking to an ethically sourced cake sale.

The Good Business Charter represents a high bar and only recently we had to revoke Capita’s accreditation because of their decision to stop paying the real living wage.  Financial services has proven to be a key sector for GBC accreditation with insurance giants Aviva and Legal & General, retail bank TSB and wealth management company St James’ Place all leading the way.  

West Bromwich Building Society was the first building society to receive accreditation in March 2020 and it was great to see how they used the GBC framework to communicate its commitment to people and planet in its annual report.

During Good Business Week we were also delighted to announce that Leeds Building Society has received accreditation, taking our tally of GBC accredited building societies to five.  Well known for acting in the benefit of their members, this also shows their commitment to their workforce, suppliers and the environment.

We want to engage the public in helping us raise the bar on responsible business behaviour and organisations like building societies can really help us get the message out, as West Brom did during Good Business Week.

We launched the Good Business Charter accreditation in 2020 because we believe there is a clear need to differentiate between the responsible businesses committed to all key areas and those that do not.

The truth is, even some very environmentally sustainable companies do not pay the real living wage, or a company may be championing their workforce, but not paying their fair share of UK tax.

To achieve GBC accreditation, you need to commit to all 10 of our components, which are:

In a world of confusion over ratings and accreditations, we need a clear benchmark for what responsible business looks like.  We strive to provide that in a transparent, accessible way.

Find out more: Why not join our movement for a fairer, more sustainable world where people matter.  Apply for accreditation today www.goodbusinesscharter.com