G4S strikes gold in corporate responsibility index

A LEADING security company based in Crawley has achieved the gold standard for corporate responsibility, after scoring 90 per cent in the latest Business in the Community (BITC) CR Index.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Mar 2012, 17:47 BST

G4S entered its third year in the Index, and this year’s score improves on last year’s 78 per cent which rated the company as Bronze.

David Taylor-Smith, G4S Group COO and CEO, UK and Africa, said: “We are delighted with our performance this year, which shows a significant improvement over last year’s result. It’s all the more impressive when you see how much we have improved each year, up from 65% in our first year as part of the Index. The feedback we receive from BITC and other stakeholders will also enable us to improve further and continue to integrate Corporate Social Responsibility into everything we do as a business.”

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A voluntary benchmark of responsible business practice, the CR Index looks at every aspect of a company’s CR activity – including community, environmental, marketplace and workplace management, corporate strategy and integration.

A gold-rated company is judged by BITC to be “able to demonstrate openness and transparency through effective public reporting of its material environmental and social issues, CR programmes and performance”.

As part of its CR strategy, G4S is involved in a wide variety of community-based initiatives, particularly in areas where it has a strong business presence. There is a focus on young people and constructive activity, often designed to divert vulnerable young people away from a life of crime and to instil the values of integrity, collaboration and teamwork.

G4S is the main sponsor of Scottish Rugby’s Street Rugby initiative which provides free rugby coaching to disadvantaged youngsters across deprived areas of Scotland. Last year G4S enabled nearly 6,000 young people to participate in the programme, exceeding original targets.

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For the past ten years, G4S has been supporting the Bromley by Bow Centre, in East London, which aims to help the poorest and most vulnerable families to improve their lives. Its support has enabled more than 2,000 families, adults and young people each week to learn new skills, improve their health and wellbeing and find work.