Giving it away

By Samantha Clements

Following on from last week’s post from my fellow blogger Tom about the importance of a CR focused philosophy, we are always looking at ways to do things differently.No one can deny the important role charities play in today’s society and as you would expect, we actively get involved in raising and donating money for a range of worthy causes.

But why stop there?

Our reputation is built on the services we provide, so when our CR rep contacted Sheffield charity Bluebell Wood Hospice to offer professional help the opportunity was snapped up.

The charity planned to turn some surplus space into a leisure room; somewhere both the patients and visitors at the centre could relax and value for years to come. As with many ideas there is always the questions of - how, what, where!?

And that’s where we stepped in…

We were able to visit site and convert their ideas into detailed design plans and a cost plan for the project. This figure will be used as their fundraising target and brings the plans into reality.

In total we donated 16 hours of professional time and waivered all fees to help out a good cause, which we will continue to support until ribbon cutting day. It’s always important to remember what it is you can offer to make a difference and we acknowledge this and play to these strengths, both through Responsible Management for our clients and our own corporate responsibilty.

And the good feeling you get after it… well that’s just the bonus.

Community Foundations, Fair Share Trust and Localgiving

By Thomas Williams

Many of us live and work in our local communities and are not aware of the valuable work our local community foundations undertake. Community foundations are responsible for providing the support and funding to these areas and do so generally from the support of key donors, philanthropists and businesses with a presence in the local community.

More recently social enterprises, such as Localgiving, have been setup to support these community foundations which provide a platform for giving, offering the ability to give to small local charities and community groups in the UK.

‘’The Community Foundation Network is responsible for using its local giving expertise to ensure the effective implementation of the £50 million UK-wide Fair Share Trust programme, funded by the Big Lottery Fund…to build community skills, confidence, experience and networks to improve local neighbourhoods and leave a positive lasting legacy in areas that have not received their fair share of Lottery funding in the past…Working in collaboration with community foundations and other partners across the UK, to date more than £42m has been committed to local projects’’ (Taken from communityfoundations.org.uk).

As part of Rider Levett Bucknall’s Corporate Social Responsibility we have been working alongside the Birmingham and the Black Country Community Foundation, providing construction advice on a Fair Share Trust project in the area.

Our role has involved advising a local church group on the key design issues involved with undertaking a substantial refurbishment and re-roofing project. As part of our involvement we have assisted the client in ensuring that the architect has captured all construction and compliance issues before sending the tender documents out.

This support has then extended into offering guidance upon receipt of the priced tender returns and has ultimately ensured that the Fair Share trust grant money has been correctly committed.

This is a key element of our Responsible Management philosophy. One third of our model focuses on Corporate Responsibility, and how it links with business, asset and carbon strategy. By clarifying business objectives and benchmarketing performance in all categories, we can help businesses become more sustainable.

For more information on this subject please speak to Thomas Williams or visit the following websites:

http://www.communityfoundations.org.uk/

http://www.bbccf.org.uk/

http://www.fairsharetrust.org/

http://localgiving.com/

Meeting the demand for 'green skills'

By Emma Nicholson

The role of the Chartered Environmentalist is important in the promotion of sustainability throughout the industry and the qualification is becoming more ubiquitous as a demand for green skills grow.

The CEnv qualification establishes proven knowledge, experience and it is expected that as global membership increases the CEnv accreditation will become the international benchmark and commitment to professional standards.

There are 23 different bodies that you can apply for the CEnv qualification which are listed below. Once you're a member of the CIOB for example, you are then in a position to apply for the CEnv qualification which involves completing an application form and attending an interview at Englemere, Ascot. 

The designation also shows commitment to sustainable environmental management and development. 

As Chair of the CIOB's Sustainability Strategy Group I'll be hosting a workshop / presentation on facts about the CEnv qualification on the 21st September. Details are on the CIOB's website: 

www.ciob.org.uk\CIOBLondonBranch\CIOBSustainabilityStrategygroup  

SocEnv Members Licensed to Award CEnv

• Arboricultural Association
• Association of Building Engineers
• Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists
• Chartered Institute of Building
• Chartered Institution of Wastes Management
• Institution of Engineering Designers
• Chartered Institution of Water & Environmental Management
• Energy Institute
• Institution of Agricultural Engineers
• Institute of Agricultural Management
• Institute of Ecology & Environmental Management
• Society of Operations Engineers
• Institute of Environmental Management& Assessment
• Institute of Fisheries Management
• Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining
• Institution of Chemical Engineers
• Institution of Civil Engineers
• Institution of Environmental Sciences
• Institution of Mechanical Engineers
• Institute of Water
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
• The Society of Environmental Engineers
• Institute of Chartered Foresters