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Contents
• Why Corporate Responsibility (CR) matters
• CR at Shoosmiths
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What does CR mean?
How companies manage business processes to produce
an overall positive impact on society.
At Shoosmiths our approach to CR is to:
Shine Bright ideas for positive change
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CR matters to our stakeholders
Stakeholder Questions posed
Clients Are your practices aligned with our CR goals?
Colleagues Why should I want to work for you?
Communities and
civil society
Do you deserve a place in the community?
Government and
regulators
Have you earned the ‘licence to operate’?
Media Do I trust your words and want to acknowledge your efforts?
Partners Is there sound risk management which warrants investment?
Suppliers Do I want to do business with you and collaborate on the
CR journey? Do we have aligned CR goals?
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Shoosmiths strategy 2010-2013 - CR
objectives
• To more closely align our corporate responsibility
activities both to our core business as lawyers and to
our business priorities and those of our clients, for the
benefit of all our stakeholders
• To be recognised by all our stakeholders as an
organisation which strives to be a responsible corporate
citizen in all our relationships
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CR priorities 2010-2013
• Improved environmental performance
• Greater colleague engagement
• Colleagues work collaboratively with clients and
intermediaries
• Sustainable community relationships
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Features of the CR landscape
Community
Environment
Marketplace
Workplace
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Community in action - national
• Charity of the year
relationships since 2006
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Bedroom sponsored at Tedworth House
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National charity partners 2011 - 2013
• Staff vote chose Brainwave and Macmillan
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Variety of activities to support Brainwave –
colleague activities match funded
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Variety of activities to support Brainwave –
Thames Valley Christmas quiz
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Community in action - local
• Our office community investment committees raise
funds for COTY and local charities and also co-ordinate
local volunteering activities for groups and individuals
– e.g. painting, gardening, mentoring, reading in
schools ……
• Colleagues are able to carry out one day volunteering
activities
• Local budgets to build sustainable community
relationships
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Community in action - our trainees and the
CR challenge!
• First year trainees are set a CR challenge each year – to
turn £300 into £1,200 and include CR activities in training
programme - £1,907 raised in 2011/2012
• Activities included serving winter warmers of soup, cake
and tea trolleys, car boot sales, car washing, Krispy
Kreme sales, bingo, Burns night lunch, Jamaican buffet
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Grad Diary Interview commentary
• Really interesting, it is good to see that Shoosmiths take
it seriously, I think a lot of law firms should look in to it
more if they don’t already
• I think it is so great that they are willing to put some
money towards such worthwhile causes. It really shows
that they are looking to achieve more than just their core
business objectives!
• I never knew that any companies had ‘charity
committees’ … that’s so good! Hopefully I can get a
place at a firm that places such importance on
something so unselfish.
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Community in action - pro bono
• Legal advice or representation provided by lawyers to
individuals and community groups who cannot afford
to pay for that advice or representation and where no
public funding is available
• Pro bono services provided in Reading, Birmingham
Nottingham, Northampton, Manchester
• Two pro bono awards won in 2011
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Volunteering opportunities
• Mentoring
• Coaching
• Imparting professional skills/training
• Trustee/Governor/Committees
• Team challenges
Alignment with valuABLE behaviours and appraisals
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BTCV opportunities, Northampton
• There were 3 volunteers from
Shoosmiths and we were not
sure what to expect from the
day. It was a pleasant
surprise to discover that we
would be resourcing and
building Otter Holts close to
the canal. We were joined by
about 10 other volunteers
• It was very interesting learning
how to construct the Holt and
we were very proud of our
creations. We all had a
thoroughly enjoyable day and
would recommend anyone to
give it a try.
Valerie Johnson
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London Legal Walk fundraising May 2012
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Environment in action
• Measurement and reduction in use of gas, electricity,
waste generation, paper consumption
• Office environmental action plans and campaigns
• Allegiances to campaigns to reduce carbon emissions
• Supplier engagement reduces environmental impacts
• Shoosmiths Environment Group focuses on firm’s
environmental management system
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Apex Plaza during WWF Earth Hour 2011
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Marketplace in action - clients
• Clients increasingly expect high CR standards from all
their suppliers, including their law firms
• Clients test our performance in supplier evaluations,
360-degree feedback, bids and re-tenders
• We stand out by evidencing both performance and
innovation
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Hercules 100 cycle challenge
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Eggward road safety campaign
• C. 5,000 Northamptonshire schoolchildren shown
importance of wearing cycling helmets Road Safety
Week in 2010
• Extending to other parts of country
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Marketplace in action - suppliers
• Positive engagement with suppliers
• Fair treatment and paying bills on time
• Opportunities for shared best practice and innovation
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Workplace in action
• Work life balance activity promoted and implemented
• Inclusivity – equality of opportunity
• Learning and development opportunities
• Health and safety strategy
• Employee Forums discuss CR agenda
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• Investors in People – gold standard
• Above and beyond colleague recognition scheme has 9
categories including ‘outstanding commitment to CR’
• Colleagues encouraged to carry out volunteering
• Dress down Friday donations to charities
Workplace in action
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Thank you and contact details
Nicola Ellen
Nicola.Ellen@shoosmiths.co.uk
Tel: 03700 868830
http://shoutback.shoosmiths.co.uk/
Editor's Notes
Corporate Responsibility has many definitions but in simple terms it entails how companies manage business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society Corporate Responsibility encapsulates the voluntary approach adopted by organisations which goes beyond regulatory compliance and ‘licence to operate’
Increasingly stakeholders want to know not just the profits generated by a business but also how those profits have been created.
The three year business strategy announced last year highlights how key we believe CR to be in the delivery of our business strategy.
Corporate responsibility encompasses four strands or pillars of activities which form the focus of our CR approach. I want to explain what each of these pillars represents and provide a few examples of these approaches in practice.
Michelle Treacy, Conveyancing, Northampton, completed the Silverstone half marathon and appeared on Sky Sports!
We have active community investment committees and CR champions who are committed to delivering our CR strategy at a local level
In May 2012 Paul Milford, second year trainee gave an interview to the Grad Diary team about what CR means to him personally and to Shoosmiths. Examples of commentary article generated
A monthly legal advice clinic is operated in East Reading via Communicare with the help of LawWorks, a national pro bono charity of which we are a member. Advice provided by a rota of legal advisers on consumer, landlord and tenant, employment, debt, personal injury and civil litigation. University of Reading law students also provide support, attending clinics and helping with any follow up. http://www.communicare.org.uk
Shoosmiths team at the Legal Walk in London 210512. The team walked the 10km route alongside the Lord Chief Justice and thousands of lawyers to raise funds for the London Legal Support Trust, which funds Law Centres and pro bono agencies in and around London. These agencies do a fantastic job in preventing homelessness, resolving debt problems, gaining care for the elderly and disabled and fighting exploitation. One of those agencies is CommuniCare in Reading with whom we have a pro bono relationship and half of the funds we raise will go to support CommuniCare
Colleagues participated in a gruelling 100 mile cycle route in Rutland/Leicestershire in September 2011. They were joined by clients all helping to raise funds for Help for Heroes
