Introduction from Chime’s CEO, Christopher Satterthwaite
Chime CR 2009 Update (pdf)
Welcome to our 2009 corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. Since we published our first CSR report in 2005, we have made some significant steps forward: we became a carbon neutral company in 2007, and have reduced our emissions by 42% in just two years; we have saved money through projects such as replacing bottled water with our own filtered water system; we have developed Group wide CSR credentials and in 2008 won over £4 million of new business in pitches that included these credentials; we have also used our experiences to influence others and as a result have seen positive changes in our suppliers’ performance.
We are delighted by these achievements for two reasons. Firstly, despite the fact that we are operating in a difficult economic climate, we have actively demonstrated that CSR is not just ‘a nice to have’, but that it makes a real difference to our employees, our clients and our bottom line. Secondly, we have done this without complex measurements, policies and tick box exercises. Rather, we have made CSR part of the culture of the Chime Group by embedding environmentally and socially responsible practice from the ground up, encouraging employees, suppliers and clients to take small, achievable steps.
Together, these small steps add up to a significant impact. Based on our commitment to CSR, we have won new clients, attracted and retained great people, and made cost savings to our business. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint through 2009 and beyond.
To date we have been recognised for our efforts by being reaccredited with a second BITC Big Tick Award and our continued listing on the FTSE4Good Index. A recent highlight was also HRH The Prince of Wales singling out Chime Communications for our green performance in his speech at the BITC May Day Summit in 2009.
Christopher Satterthwaite
Chief Executive
