In an increasingly competitive environment, Business Working Responsibly Mark accreditation helps companies demonstrate leadership in sustainability, writes Deanna O’Connor
The commercial impetus to be a sustainable business is strengthening as consumers and procurement decision makers consider green certifications when making their purchase and tender award decisions. Regulatory bodies, ethical investors, customers and employees demand sustainability credentials, evidenced by transparency, accountability, high standards and responsible management.
It is not enough to go down this path - it also has to be communicated. One way to promote an organisation’s sustainable credentials is through a quality mark with a reputable certification process.
Step forward Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), which first established a Business Working Responsibly Mark in 2010. The aim was to develop a third party verified standard that demonstrates management systems aligned with best practice in sustainable and responsible business.
The Mark centres on management systems that underpin environmental, social, economic and governance activities across a business. The audit process leading to the award of the Mark is independently verified by the National Standards Authority of Ireland.
According to BITCI, the first cohort of companies to achieve the certification saw an opportunity to differentiate from competitors, stand out from other sites in multinational global contexts, and communicate in a different way about the excellence of their practices.
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BITCI launched Version 5 of the Mark in 2022. Originally based on ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility), the updated certification incorporates current best practices from internationally recognised standards and guidance including the UN sustainable development goals and the Global Reporting Initiative.
The three-phase process to achieve the Mark involves an audit-based assessment renewed every three years, and engages the company to develop a cohesive framework for their CSR and sustainability goals and activities, and embed their values across their business, while benchmarking against best practice.
During the first initial assessment phase, gaps and non-conformities are identified through interviews with personnel and review of documents related to management systems. The company then progresses to a pre-audit review (essentially a mock audit) before the final certification audit.
BITCI limits the Mark to its members, and earlier this year seven companies were accredited to the Mark for the first time: Alkermes, An Post, Grant Thornton, Iarnród Éireann, Ornua, Vermilion and law firm William Fry.
Bethany Fiore, Responsible Business Manager at William Fry, says that going for the Mark enabled the law firm to benchmark sustainability programme against best practice, get a detailed road map for improvement, and ultimately receive external validation of its systems.
Working towards Mark accreditation involved input from many of the firm’s senior executives, including managing partner Owen O’Sullivan. Fiore adds that the most challenging part of the process was understanding how to examine the firm’s responsible business programme through the Mark’s management system lens.
“It’s about more than just having interesting initiatives,” she explains. “By using the management systems framework to review our programme and initiatives, we were able to create a clear, strategic direction that will enable us to grow our impact in the coming years.
“Achieving The Mark enables us to demonstrate leadership in sustainability, which is a clear advantage in an increasingly competitive market. We’ve worked to move CSR from something we do as an organisation to part of who we are and what defines us as a business.”
Photo: Owen O’Sullivan of William Fry (left) with BITCI chief executive Tomás Sercovich
