At Blick Rothenberg success means more than financial performance. Success means creating a great place to work which breeds a positive, innovative culture as well as a supportive and nurturing workplace. Core to this is corporate responsibility or CSR.
Our approach to CSR supports our vision and values and we have a long and proud history of involvement with charitable and not-for-profit organisations.
Many of our partners take an active role as trustees and directors of a wide range of charities.
In December 2007, we launched a corporate and social responsibility (CSR) programme aimed at reducing the environmental harm of doing business and contributing to society through charitable activity.
Our pledge
The Blick Rothenberg CSR programme has been successfully implemented and has proven to be popular among staff.
We plan to continuously develop our CSR programme, creating a greater impact on our local community and the environment.
We have pledged to:
- Reduce volumes of dry waste and recycling as much as possible
- Reduce energy consumption
- Invest time and resources to support charitable organisations and the local community
Initiatives
Current initiatives to achieve these aims include:
- Introduction of dry recycling bins: over 50% of waste is now recycled
- Introduction of renewable forestry-sourced plain paper: Saving hundreds of trees
- Recycling of printer cartridges and batteries: reducing toxins to landfill
- Introduction of personalised mugs and glasses: reducing plastic cup consumption from 6,000 per month in 2007, to zero
- Introduction of a ‘Give As You Earn’ (GAYE) scheme to enable staff to make regular tax-free donations through payroll
- Partnering with specialist organisations to enable staff to provide pro bono advice and participate in firm sponsored community activities
- Supporting a ‘Charity of the year’ which is London's Air Ambulance.
We hope that these and many other commitments will continue to ensure that we act responsibly and make a valued contribution to the wider local community in which we work.
The Mayor’s Corporate Commitment
Blick Rothenberg has signed The Mayor’s Corporate Commitment. Launched in 2014, this is a baseline standard for businesses to commit to which recognises the value of social action in staff development.
In signing the commitment, we pledge to recognise the role that employee volunteering plays in improving employability and the recruitment of young people.
We are also committed to giving our people one day of paid leave a year so that they can volunteer and give back to the communities in which they live and work.
Access Accountancy
Access Accountancy is a profession-wide collaboration established in 2014 on the back of overwhelming evidence that people from that lower socio-economic backgrounds are less likely to be hired in the profession.
Blick Rothenberg is proud to join more than 25 professional services firms including EY, PWC, KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton, NAO, Deloitte and Mazars, to combat this trend and give everyone equal opportunity to gain access to the accountancy profession.
The programme promotes diversity across all levels of the sector and its core aims include:
- To provide 3,750 30-hour work placements to students from lower socio-economic backgrounds a year
- To collect and monitor socio-economic data of applicants and hires on an annual basis
- To generate interest in accountancy by delivering common messages in more target schools and colleges
We also commit to host four students for work experience through Access Accountancy each year.
It is vital that there is opportunity for all in our profession and the wider business community, no matter your socio-economic background.
This is an initiative which must succeed and to which we remain steadfastly committed.