Business has renewed its license to lead. Now is the time to use it.

As researched in the Edelman Trust Barometer 2018, trust in business is at its highest in years, and almost on a par with non-governmental organisations (NGOs). With increased trust comes greater expectation: society expects business to lead change, and the question is: "Where can business have the greatest impact on the society it serves?"

Businesses have to date mainly focused on specific, local projects through their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities where they can quickly and simply assess the impact of their spend. But what if more businesses looked to work with each other and with the communities they serve to achieve something bigger? We believe that values provide the key to unlocking this bigger ambition.

This World Values Day, we want to explore how businesses can engage with communities and their values, and what those bigger projects might be with community groups, business representatives and NGOs.

Our Speakers:

Amy Hulme, Senior Programme Manager, The Living Wage Foundation. Amy will talk about the Living Wage story, how it is rooted in the community and enables businesses to publicly demonstrate living their values. What can we learn from this case study for further collaboration between business and community to drive more positive change?

Eleanor Turner, Head of Corporate Reputation and Purpose, Porter Novelli. Eleanor will talk about the CBI, Porter Novelli and Opinium report Everyone’s Business, and how companies can use their communication to drive social change, speaking authentically based on their purpose and values.

Charlotte Sewell, Head of Social Impact and Learning and Development, COOK. Charlotte will talk about COOK's RAW Talent programme which helps to recruit people who face barriers to employment, and their other community initiatives driven from their core values.

Margaret Cooney, Chief Executive Officer, Hub for London. Margaret will look at opportunities for business to engage with the community from the perspective of the Not for Profit/Voluntary sector.

We’ll learn:

~ from the great example of the Living Wage initiative and how Citizens UK got it off the ground in collaboration with the community

~ from businesses who are taking their company values into reciprocal partnerships in the community

~ we’ll work together to identify other big ideas that businesses and communities could take on together

~ how you can translate the learnings into mutual benefit by supporting the community through your mission and values

Expect the event to be interactive, learning packed, collaborative and with the opportunity to network over a glass of wine at the end!

This event is hosted by the UK Values Alliance, Peakon, The EEA and Crystal Interactive.