Ladbrokes, the betting and gaming division of Hilton Group, and technology company ARM Holdings have become the first two large companies to be given the GoodCorporation ‘badge of corporate social responsibility’.
They achieved the mark after being verified against the 21-point GoodCorporation charter this summer. The charter, drawn up with the Institute of Business Ethics, lays down standards on issues such as fairness to employees, customers, suppliers and shareholders, contributions to the community and protection of the environment.
Smaller organizations in the first batch of ten to be successfully verified include ARA Consulting and the Bovince printing company.
The ten companies were verified by PricewaterhouseCoopers, KPMG, Bureau Veritas, Intertek and SGS ICS over a period of between one and 14 days, depending on the size of the organization.
Ladbrokes was particularly praised by its verifiers for its use of a staff council, its attitude to communicating with staff, its commitment to the security of employees and its management of staff grievances. It was also commended for its role in GamCare, a betting industry organization that promotes responsible gambling.
GoodCorporation is a company owned by a group of individuals with an interest in CSR. It will give five per cent of its profits to charities in the CSR field and is supported by an advisory panel chaired by Lord Sharman, chairman of Aegis. It will initially concentrate on the UK, but plans to cover companies in continental Europe and the US.