The National Federation of Builders (NFB) launched the first of a series of roadshow events in Birmingham on February 9 with the aim of helping SME contractors develop, deliver and report on their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in a way that helps them achieve the benefits an effective CSR strategy can bring.
CSR is becoming an ever-increasing feature in the UK construction arena, particularly through client driven agenda. In the public sector domain, the introduction of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 has been instrumental in bringing about a stepped change. Research carried out in 2016 by the NFB highlighted that CSR is often misunderstood amongst many construction business and that due to time, money and resource, they can lack the skills to implement CSR activities, gather information and report on their CSR performance. With this in mind, the NFB successfully secured funding from CITB to deliver its IMPACT: CSR in construction project, which aims to work with construction organisations to help them, understand, embed and implement CSR across their organisation.
The first roadshow event in Birmingham was opened by Tessa Jowell who played an instrumental role in bringing the Olympic Games to Britain. As Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, she was the first in government to back the bid and as Olympics Minister worked tirelessly to keep preparations on track for an outstanding display in 2012. Her political career also includes ministerial positions for Women, Public Health, Work and Pensions, and Regional Affairs. Her passion for education, public health, employment and equality is driven by her belief that everyone should have the same opportunity to succeed.
The day also featured keynote addresses from key regional representatives including Steve Dallaway, Development Manager of the Housing Development team at the Birmingham City Council and Simon Dingle, Operations Director of UK Construction at Carillion plc.
As part of the day, delegates were able to participate in a number of CSR specific training sessions, delivered by industry experts and representatives from CITB, the Cross-Industry Construction Apprenticeship Task Force (CCATF), and the British Standards Institute (BSI) were also on hand to offer advice, guidance, and support focused around recruitment, skills development, employer grants and funding, and organisational sustainability.
Karen Dawes, head of business and skills at the NFB said “The construction industry recognises the importance of CSR but there remains some confusion within the SME sector about what CSR entails and how to measure and report on it. Our roadshow events feature a mix of influential industry speakers sharing their expertise and CSR related training workshops designed to provide practical solutions that SME businesses can implement to improve their CSR capabilities.”
To find out more about the IMPACT: CSR in construction project, or book your place on roadshow events in Manchester, Leeds, London or Wales, visit www.csr.construction.