Image: Charles Sainsbury-Plaice
SBC works with its Members to improve their bottom line, while improving the economic, social and environmental impacts of Scottish businesses here and abroad. Working with partners in Scotland, the UK and Europe, we help businesses make sense of and benefit from the wide and increasingly important areas of CSR, responsible business and sustainability.
SBC brings together businesses and partner organisations across the sectors to more effectively play their role in a stronger, fairer, wealthier, healthier, and greener Scotland. Everyone has a role to play and something to gain. Working together, smarter and better, we can make real change happen, and help Scotland take a lead role in delivering a better way to business for all.
Our mission is Better Business for a Better Scotland. Founded in 1982, SBC is recognised internationally as Scotland’s lead in responsible business practice. We are an independent not-for-profit company limited by guarantee with charitable status. SBC is one of The Princes Charities.
Welcome from Jane Wood
Creating a sustainable business framework for Scotland continues to dominate cross sector agendas and Scottish Business in the Community will works to assist members with this transformation.
Throughout 2011 we have a calendar of strategic events including partnership events with CSR Asia and Opportunity Now and Scottish Business in the Community’s Annual Awards for Excellence 2011. Our events aim to support and develop Scotland’s transformation to a truly sustainable framework and a full list of all our events can be found at www.sbcscot.com/events
Within Scottish Business in the Community, 2011 has so far witnessed a rise in membership and the development of our own internal commitment to CSR. As we move ahead Scottish Business in the Community aims to grow our membership within Scotland and increase our international links. It is also imperative that we help businesses to increase activity within communities through our range of programmes and our Business Advisory Groups, which have been develop to include representation from member organisations.
Newly developed partnership programmes with Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise provide a robust platform for businesses to engage with the community and build upon employability issues in Scotland.
Our Key Asks for 2011 positions the needs of businesses from the new Scottish Government which will be announced following this year’s Scottish Parliamentary Elections. Used as the foundation for our cross party Policy Development Dinners in 2011, Scottish Business in the Community is working closely with each political party to represent the requirements of the Scottish Business sector.
As co-Chair of the 2020 Sub Group `Public and Business Engagement’, we have seen real progress in working towards the Scottish Government’s 2020 emission targets. Working alongside experts in their respective fields, including academics, NGO’s, civic society, government and business leaders, the various sub groups have been involved in supporting the key objectives of the 2020 sub group and this will continue throughout 2011. The recent engagement strategy and RPP published by the Scottish Government is a great example of how this group has fed into Government policy work.
Scottish Business in the Community and the Mayday Network will continue to provide delivery mechanisms to ensure that tools and research from the 2020 Sub Group is disseminated to as wide an audience as possible. This has included a round table discussion with 2020 business leaders and HRH Prince Charles, Duke Rothesay, in June 2011.
The Mayday Network in Scotland continues to flourish, with Scotland leading regional membership sign ups for three consecutive 3 months; in the past 12 months Mayday Scotland has increased sign up by more than 100%.
With the continual development of Mayday Scotland’s Skills for a Low Carbon Economy, Mayday have developed their service offering providing businesses of all sizes with the means to realise their environmental potential. Projects such as Carbon Masters have provide SME’s with the necessary tools to measure and report their resource consumption and carbon emissions so that they are better placed to manage and reduce their negative environmental impacts.
Following the hugely successful launch of Start, Prince Charles Duke of Rothesay’s latest environmental initiative, Scottish Business in the Community is proud to be leading Start in Scotland in 2011. Start aims to help people across the UK lead more sustainable lives and to show what a more energy efficient, cleaner and healthier future could look like.
We look forward to building upon our relationship with members, partners and stakeholders to help create a sustainable economic framework for Scotland.
For Jane's biography click here
