LONDON’S BUSINESS LEADERS SHARE GAME-CHANGING IDEAS FOR THE PUBLIC & PRIVATE SECTORS

Summer 2014

HRH THE PRINCE OF WALESNICK HURD MP MINISTER FOR CIVIL SOCIETY

TASS MAVROGORDATO INMIDTOWNALASTAIR MITCHELL HUDDLE

JONNY GOLDSTONE GREENTOMATOCARSGILES GIBBONS GOOD BUSINESS

CHRISTOPHER BAKER-BRIAN BBOXX

Securing Britain

INNOVATION A! NEW WAYS OF WORKING

&

Sponsored by

2 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

HRH The Prince of Wales President, Business in the Community

“Being a ‘responsible’ business goes far beyond concern for the financial bottom line. Running businesses, as you know far better than

I, you are very much on the front line. What you do not only drives the economy, it is pivotal in creating healthy, stable and, therefore, resilient communities, without which society really has no hope.

If you think about it, that ‘stability’ in society is what attracts so many investors to this country - if you ask them why they want to invest here, as I do from time to time on visits overseas. But to

maintain that stability, it has to be invested in and that is why you play such a crucial role in helping to build resilience and skills in

many of our more deprived and struggling communities.”

Taken from the address to Business in the Community’s Leadership Summit, 6 February 2014

In partnership with

LondonlovesBusiness.com’s Securing Britain series invites London business leaders to share actionable ideas on how to create a brighter

future for Britain with government and businesses. Click on the covers on the right to read previous editions online, and sign up for

our free newsletter to discover the forthcoming Securing Britain: Responsible Business editions.

3 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Nick Hurd MPMinister for Civil Society

The young man pulled up his shirt and showed us his prize tattoo. His audience were a senior

manager from Lloyds Bank, Evening Standard campaign journalist David Cohen, Alastair Wilson from the School for Social Entrepreneurs and me. The tattoo was impressive. Even more so was the news that you can earn over £1,000 a day as a tattoo artist.

Collaboration & innovation to tackle

social challengesWe were there as “dragons”, choosing

the best ideas for new social businesses – pitched to us by young people who had been exposed to gangs, violence and difficult backgrounds. Our motivation was to encourage new role models for young people in London who had been tempted into crime and gangs, but who were putting it behind them as they looked to a future in business.

4 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Nick Hurd MPMinister for Civil Society

Faced with one of the most complex and damaging social problems in our capital, we have formed a new partnership between government, the private sector, the media and social enterprise to try something different.

This is an exciting way to work. It’s also essential as more people realise that we can’t look to government for the solutions to all the social challenges that undermine communities and shatter lives.

It is not just that government has less money to spend – it is simply time to recognise that we need to be more innovative and make better use of all the skills and resources we have as a country. Collaboration is the way forward. Easy to talk about, hard to do well, but very satisfying if we get it right.

Why values matterThe good news is that more and more businesses want to step up and make a difference. It makes good business sense. Failure to tackle social and environmental problems means we are forced to raise taxes to deal with the fallout. Social attitudes are also changing – today business has to work much harder to earn our trust both as customers and employees. Values matter and how businesses behave, and are seen to behave, has never mattered more to the public. The best business leaders recognise that the corporate social responsibility agenda is entering a different phase. And it’s not just big businesses who are thinking this way; a new platform called Trading for Good has been set up in response to the demand from SMEs to

demonstrate the social value they add.

We know that we have to do more as a country to help our young people prepare

for life and work. So government, business and the voluntary sector have come together to support a new campaign called Step Up to Serve, led by HRH Prince of Wales. It aims to double the number of young people developing valuable skills through social action by 2020.

Meanwhile HSBC has invested £30m in a new partnership with four charities to unlock the potential of thousands of young people not in education or training (NEETs).While Vodafone is also supporting charities by building a new open platform that enables text giving – now one of the fastest-growing sources of charitable donations. And thanks to government seed funding, nearly 30 businesses have seconded almost 100 senior people to become ‘Business Connectors’, who share valuable skills and make better links between businesses and charities in over 60 communities across the country.

There are so many examples, but the point is that something is changing in the way that government, business and the voluntary sector are exploring ways to work together for the common good. Whether it’s helping an ex-gang member set up his own tattoo parlour and take on apprentices, or HSBC working with NEETs, this “big society” approach is improving lives and generating value for both the taxpayer and the shareholder.

“We can’t look to government for solutions

to all the social challenges that shatter lives”

5 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Sophie Hobson Editor, LondonlovesBusiness.com

The new business landscape

It’s no longer enough to just make money. Businesses today know they need to be giving something back to

society, while minimising negative impact on the world around them. But being a more responsible business isn’t necessarily a moral decision - though it may be for some. It is increasingly a commercial necessity.

There is more consumer pressure than ever for businesses to behave more responsibly, and sales of ethical produce in the UK grew 12% in 2012, to £54bn. Procurement is increasingly taking social value into account – in the private sector, and as a matter of course for government following the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. Being responsible has an array of business benefits too, like improved employee engagement, cost-savings and risk management.

We’ve launched Securing Britain: Responsible Business to explore the new expectations being placed upon the private sector, and to profile the ways businesses can become more responsible. We’re delighted to be partnering with Business in the Community, and we’re grateful for the

support of inmidtown, the business improvement district.

There are four parts to Securing Britain: Responsible Business. We have decided to publish each digitally only, saving around 60 trees by not printing on paper. This first

one is focused on innovation, because the new responsible business landscape requires new ways of working. Read on to discover how technology and innovation can be used for radical social and environmental gain, and how forward-thinking organisations are revolutionising the responsibility agenda.

I’d like to say a heartfelt thanks to all the responsible business leaders who have shared their thoughts. I hope they inspire you and help you to support the responsible business agenda.

LondonlovesBusiness.com is the online newspaper for London’s business community. We aim to further the ambitions of London’s

businesses, celebrate good business and success, and bring you frank debate about the issues facing

London businesses. We are fast becoming the must-read website for London’s business community through our mix of the latest business news across

all sectors, profiles of London’s most exciting entrepreneurs, features exploring the trends you

can capitalise on, and London lifestyle.

Editor: Sophie HobsonSpecial projects editor: Rebecca Hobson

Designer: Jenny Knowles

Published by Casis Media Ltd56 Buckingham GateLondon SW1E 6AETel: 0203 394 1690

www.casismedia.com

Sales & marketing director: Jenny KnightingCommercial director: Frances Hughes

Business development manager: Sophie LonghurstMarketing manager: Cassandra Donovan

Head of finance: Anne HashemiChief executive: Mike BokaieChairman: Graham Sherren

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Reproduction in whole or part without written permission of Casis Media Ltd is strictly prohibited.

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6 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Contents

Tass MavrogordatoCEO, inmidtown

Benefits for business, society & the environment

Alastair MitchellCEO and co-founder, Huddle

Thinking beyond your company’s four walls

Jonny GoldstoneCo-founder,

greentomatocars LondonLet’s make Britain a world-leader

in electric vehicles

Giles GibbonsFounder and CEO, Good Business

Innovative brands are putting purpose first

Christopher Baker-BrianCo-founder and chief

technology officer, BBOXXAccelerating the growth

of green energy SMEs

7 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Tass MavrogordatoCEO, inmidtown

Benefits for business, society & the environment

How can we define innovation and responsible business? After all, innovation happens in spaces

that aren’t prescriptive – those that are beyond definition. For us at inmidtown, the business improvement district, innovation is about finding alternative models and ways of working that help 560 businesses across Holborn, Bloomsbury and St Giles. It’s about finding solutions that address the pressures these different businesses are under.

From waste removal to procurement, we constantly strive for innovative practices that help businesses grow, perform better and have a less harmful impact on their environments. Our highly successful programme, Zero to Landfill, is an exemplar of this. We started by asking ourselves a simple question: how can we encourage businesses to recycle more? In an inner city district where outdoor space for recycling bins is limited, how can we innovate within waste removal?

It wasn’t long before our simple question transformed into a stirring ambition: what if we became the world’s first capital city commercial district to eliminate the waste we send to landfill? That means ensuring every single one of our ‘waste streams’ – from glass bottles to confidential files, left-over food to redundant electrical equipment – leads to a truly sustainable outcome. It means returning as much as possible of the district’s waste as sustainable product: food waste as compost and white paper as stationery. So what started as a recycling service has morphed into a closed loop solution for waste.

The benefits for businesses are multiple:

How this business improvement

district is leading the way

8 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Tass MavrogordatoCEO, inmidtown

waste is removed and recycled cost-effectively, stationery bills are reduced, and thanks to our specially developed carbon calculator, businesses have report-ready carbon data. We now have 230 businesses on the programme and, at the time of writing, our ticking carbon calculator showed a collective saving of 1,578,465 Kgs of CO2. In fact, since 2010, we’ve achieved cost savings of £800,000, and diverted 6,500 tonnes of waste from landfill.

Just as waste is a problem for every business, so too is employee retention. I believe we’re still very much in an employee-driven working environment. For increasing numbers of people, knowing that an employer is ethical, innovative and has wider concerns than purely business are important factors when considering employment opportunities. Part of what drives inmidtown’s bee-keeping and microclimate initiatives is the impact they have on employee satisfaction and quality of worklife. The experience we’ve found is that by using space innovatively – such as cultivating a roof garden – businesses can dramatically improve their employees’ work satisfaction, in turn giving them a competitive edge.

In Holborn we have the solicitors Mishcon de Reya and Olswang, and the Radisson Blu Bloomsbury Street Hotel at the forefront of this innovation. All three businesses have created roof gardens on

their premises and are growing fruit and vegetables which are then harvested and returned to the kitchens before being eaten by staff. As well as providing cost-saving sustenance and a home for beehives, the gardens provide much needed areas for relaxing and taking time out.

Our remit at inmidtown is to provide innovative solutions for the 570 businesses that we represent. But this shouldn’t be our luxury alone. All businesses need the opportunity to think differently, and the government can support this by funding more initiatives designed to inspire collaboration and original thinking. Two such ways are through academic partnering, and peer-to-peer mentoring – both of which inmidtown has benefited from. By collaborating with Birkbeck University, University College London and the University of Herefordshire, we’ve been able to develop technological solutions which may have otherwise been too expensive to consider. Likewise, by collaborating and sharing ideas with other businesses, we’ve found new answers to old problems.

By its very nature the private sector is more diverse, fluid and fast-moving than the public sector. This is something to be supported and celebrated. Perhaps then we’ll become closer to defining what it is to be innovative.

At inmidtown, we help businesses reduce costs, improve employee engagement and become more responsible. We’ve introduced microclimate initiatives and plan to become the

world’s first capital city commercial district to eliminate waste sent to landfill. By collaborating with academic institutions

and businesses, we’ve been able to offer innovative solutions.

6,500tonnes of waste diverted

from landfill since 2010, and a cost saving of £800,000

http://inmidtown.org/

“There’s a willingness to launch CSR

initiatives, but a lack of knowledge”

Alastair MitchellCEO and co-founder, Huddle

Your business doesn’t have to donate money – there are

many ways to help

When building a business it’s all too easy to become all-consumed. You can spend

every waking minute thinking about your financials and growth, and rightly so, as you’ve likely made a huge leap from working for somebody else to embarking on your own venture – and you want to ensure its success.

The amount of funding that’s required to take the company to the next level, the number of new hires needed to help teams scale, which territory you should focus on, and where to base your next office are just some of the questions that consume the thoughts of every entrepreneur – myself included.

However, once your company is off the ground, founders have a responsibility to not only give back to the people they’ve hired and the clients they’ve secured, but also the wider community. Beyond making money, companies need to step back and consider the social, economic and environmental impacts of the way they run their business.

Business benefitsThe best corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes should be beneficial for long-term business success as well society at

large. Today’s customers carefully consider how brands engage with employees, the local community and environment – not just on the quality and price of services and goods. According to the ‘Better Business Journey’ report, published by the UK Small Business Consortium, 88% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that supports and engages in activities to improve society.

Many non-profits, particularly smaller organisations, don’t have access to the skills and assets that are readily available in the

Thinking beyond your company’s four walls

10 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

11 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

commercial sector, such as the latest technologies or large marketing departments that can help raise their profile. For this reason, Huddle created its Huddle Foundation programme and has been committed to giving non-profit organisations free access to our cloud collaboration service since its inception. The programme has now donated packages worth in total more than $10m to organisations and helped more than 1,500 non-profits worldwide transform the way they work by connecting networks of staff, fundraisers and volunteers.

Think outside the boxHowever, while technology donations provide non-profits with valuable resources, the best philanthropic programmes are about more than simply donating technology. The donation of time, skills and expertise is equally important. Last year, Huddle extended the Huddle Foundation programme to offer every

employee across all office locations two days per year donated time to volunteer and engage with local charitable causes, activities or events. Ultimately, such initiatives don’t just positively impact local communities, but also enable personal development opportunities for staff.

In order to get a CSR programme off the ground, business leaders need support from key champions within their company who are willing to help drive it. And it’s important to set realistic goals for CSR programmes from the outset. Try not to do too much, too soon. Giving fewer causes a greater proportion of time – so long as they’re the causes that employees feel most passionate about – is better than spreading resource too thinly. Once the programme

is up-and-running, you can expand it further.

To help promote CSR and the role that businesses have to play within their local community and society at large, the government should provide organisations with far more guidance. More

information is required – particularly for SMEs – on how to get initiatives started, what the expectations are, the minimal standards, and examples of best practice. Today, there’s a willingness from businesses to launch CSR initiatives, but a lack of knowledge as to how to get them started. Once companies have some clear guidelines in place, they’ll be able to give back.

88%of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that

supports and engages in activities to improve society

Businesses should think beyond traditional philanthropy when it comes to corporate social responsibility (CSR). They

can offer resources and staff time to the benefit of the charity and the business. But government must provide organisations with more guidance on CSR. More information is required –

particularly for SMEs – on how to get initiatives started.

Alastair MitchellCEO and co-founder, Huddle

12 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Jonny GoldstoneCo-founder, greentomatocars London; vice president, greentomatocars International

The car industry is in the midst of a revolution. On the one hand, smartphone technology facilitates

car-sharing and makes drivers-for-hire of anybody with a vehicle. This reduces the need for car ownership, and also threatens the survival of the taxi trade.

Meanwhile, major advances in alternative energy and electric vehicle (EV) technology, often inspired by concerns for the environment, pose a challenge to vehicle

manufacturers and energy supply industries. They also pose a challenge to the transport and energy infrastructures on which those industries depend. Driverless vehicles will cause a further transformation in car ownership and the “driving jobs economy”.

By reinventing Britain as a centre of innovation and harnessing a focused approach that ties innovative excellence closely to sustainability, we may well position ourselves better in the long run

Let’s make Britain a world-leader in electric vehicles & urban transportation

“Electric vehicle uptake has shown the acceleration

of a milk float”

13 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

than our current broad-brush approach.Urban ground transportation, then, is

an obvious sector to prioritise. The urgent need for reduced congestion, improved air quality and increased economic productivity in and between our cities – not to mention more abstract notions of national morale and self-esteem – is unarguable.

What better opportunity to drive this strategy than the private car revolution? Britain’s size and existing ground transport infrastructure – road systems, electricity network and service stations – make us better placed than most to implement the urban charging infrastructure that a successful EV industry needs. The overall cost – economic, let alone environmental and political – would likely be less than the HS2 rail project alone.

Addressing the shortcomingsAt the same time, our international transport links and other well documented attributes make us an attractive venue for the talent and investment such a strategy requires. Not only for the EVs of today, but for the mass migration to driverless vehicles tomorrow – quite possibly not more than 10 years away. Making Britain the leading nation in this sector would generate rapid returns on investment on all levels.

In May 2009, Boris Johnson trumpeted London’s place at the forefront of road transport electrification in his Electric Vehicle Delivery Plan for London framework. But since then, only 1,400 operational charging stations have been installed, compared to original targets of 25,000 by 2015. EV uptake has shown the

acceleration of a milk float: out of the two million plus cars sold in the UK last year, just 1,728 were EVs.

There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, not all charging stations are compatible with all EVs. Secondly, there is not yet a mapping technology showing EV drivers which charging points are compatible or whether they are in use – though it is coming soon. Both issues have hindered greentomatocars’ own plans to launch the capital’s first fully electric fleet, and are clearly a big part of the problem.

Government and business must work together, and fast, to address these shortcomings and to jump-start the electrification of London’s ground transport industry, let alone Britain’s.

As with many revolutions, it’s too early to tell what the private car industry will look like after this is all over. But cities transformed into harmonious hubs of self-driving EVs and other non-petrol cars, all moving us with optimal efficiency along induction-loop roads is a compelling vision.

One thing is clear: for a responsible and robust future, we need local and central government, industry and business to come together. Only by overcommitting to the electrification of urban and road transport can we drive Britain anywhere close to where she needs to be.

Make world-leading infrastructure for electric vehicles a major priority for our cities. Government and business can

help secure Britain’s future through properly funded research and development, underpinned by talent development strategies. This could make us once again a world-leader

in urban transportation.

1,728electric vehicles were sold last

year – out of two million cars

Jonny GoldstoneCo-founder, greentomatocars London; vice president, greentomatocars International

Giles GibbonsFounder and CEO, Good Business

I think we’re at an exciting moment in time for business. We’re emerging from the darkest days of the

downturn, and as businesses come up for air, they’re viewing the space where business meets society in a new light. Where once they saw risk, they see opportunity. And where once they thought small, they have started to think big.

There are inspiring examples everywhere of businesses embracing the big picture – demonstrating to everyone that they have thought through why they exist and have a clear purpose. That they are thinking about how they do things and adapting to our changing times. That they are working to make things better, actively creating their place in the future and making sure they thrive in it.

We see big, established companies like Unilever putting its Sustainable Living Plan front and centre of its growth strategy – double the profits, half the impact. We see new companies like Goldie Blox, whose goal is to inspire women into engineering and construction careers, born into this new space and thriving.

We see innovative companies like PruHealth turning insurance on its head by making it easier and cheaper for you to live a healthy lifestyle, and rewarding you for doing it. For all of these companies, it

Innovative brands are putting purpose first

14 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

As we emerge from recession, a new era is dawning for business. Those brands that keep up with

these new, moving times will thrive.

“TOMS shoes has built its entire business model around a social purpose”

15 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

makes perfect social and strategic sense – but the two must work in tandem, without any delineation between them.

The groundwork for this has been done over the last two decades. Businesses have now long accepted that their reach and scale give them power, and that with this comes responsibility. They have put in systems and processes to better understand the impact they’re having on society and the environment, and to minimise the negative impact and maximise the positive.

The brands serving societyThe houses of businesses are, for the most part, in order. And this has given them confidence. We are moving past the days in which businesses were scared to put their heads above the parapet on anything ‘social’ in case they got shot down for some issue and accused of hypocrisy.

Now, taking place at the heart of the company, are conversations about what the

Businesses should be progressive. The most successful organisations of the future will be those that are both of their times and contribute to their times. Progressive

businesses should have a clear sense of why they exist, what they are here to achieve, and why the world needs them.

They should be open and outward-looking, ready to embrace change – not fight it.

business does and how this serves society and society’s needs. CEOs seem to be really getting it. They’re talking about how to breathe new life into their brands by demonstrating that they have substance and meaning, and putting their values into action in an authentic and human way. They feel that their consumers – and their employees, and everyone else they touch – really wants this.

And we’re seeing real examples, all over the place, of big businesses and iconic brands showing just what can be done. Sainsbury’s values are at the heart of the revitalisation of its brand. Dove has demonstrated how a brand with a point of view and a purpose can effect real change on an issue – and drive its business practice

in so doing. TOMS shoes has built its entire business model around a social purpose.

Businesses like these really are better than the models of old. They’re progressive – embracing change and moving

purposefully forward. Building their business by showing just what it can do for the world. We just want more of them to wake up to the opportunity – and help make a brighter future.

GOOD BUSINESS was founded by Giles Gibbons and Steve Hilton in 1997, and is a London-based agency.

Giles GibbonsFounder and CEO, Good Business

“Companies like Unilever are putting its Sustainable Living Plan front and centre of its

growth strategy – double the profits, half the impact”

16 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

Christopher Baker-BrianCo-founder and chief technology officer, BBOXX

The UK can become a leader in renewable energy, but the sector needs more support from government

Renewable energy plays a vital role in reducing national carbon emissions, but it currently produces

only 7% of the UK’s electricity. The EU’s target is to increase this to 30% by 2020 – but British businesses can do better than that and lead the drive for green energy worldwide.

There are just 275,000 people in the UK working in renewable energy, according to government data, showing that employment within the sector is stagnating. The need for environmentally-friendly energy sources is growing on a national and global scale, and we need to develop our country’s engineering talent in response. Finding the best staff is one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. Blue-chip companies can attract this talent with lures of job stability, higher salaries and prestigious training schemes – but it’s the smaller companies that can truly invest time and resources into developing talent on the ground. It’s these companies that work at the helm of ground-breaking developments in renewable energy technology and involve new employees in important decision-making.

Being bolderYoung British companies usually have an abundance of ideas, but there needs to be a change in attitude and more investment

Accelerating the growth of green energy SMEs

7%of the UK’s electricity is renewable

17 Securing Britain RESPONSIBLE BUSINESS • Summer 2014

into promoting their expertise. Western brands tend to be trusted abroad due to their heritage and reputation. We need more young companies to take advantage of this and not be afraid to operate in untapped markets. Only by implementing brave strategies will we be leaders in this industry and compete with economies in Europe and further afield that place a greater focus on exports.

Government helpThe government can do to two things to help the UK take the lead in this sector. Firstly, we need to see an expansion in the UKTI’s work in introducing British businesses to overseas contacts. The focus should be on making it simpler for smaller companies to export renewable energy into developing markets. We would also like to see more trade missions for small companies that specifically target emerging markets. There are a lot of great British brands here in the UK and it would be fantastic to see more small businesses take part in what is usually an arena for big players.

Secondly, there needs to be more effort made towards providing financial assistance for SMEs to export products overseas. This could be through tax breaks or export guarantee schemes to help reduce or share the financial burdens placed on companies when exporting products. Focussing this support on the alternative energy sector would allow

Finding and attracting talent for the renewable energy sector is one of the biggest challenges it faces. We must highlight the benefits of working with smaller companies that can invest time and resource into nurturing young talent. The

government should connect more UK companies to overseas contacts and provide more financial assistance to SMEs.

UK-based SMEs to maximise their ability to export products around the world, directly impacting the economy and creating additional employment.

At BBOXX we design, manufacture, distribute and finance solar systems for businesses and individuals in the developing world. We currently operate in 14 markets across Africa and Asia and employ over 100 people globally. Our product knowledge, brave strategy and desire to make a difference has enabled us to make inroads in developing portable, affordable solar systems that provide users with clean, reliable power. Along with other innovative companies, we can lead the way in green energy and make the alternative choice the obvious choice.

BBOXX is a London-based company leading the solar revolution throughout the developing world by designing, manufacturing, distributing and financing innovative plug & play solar systems.

“We can lead the way in green energy and make the alternative choice the

obvious choice”

Christopher Baker-BrianCo-founder and chief technology officer, BBOXX

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