We should all strive to be more socially and environmentally conscious in business…

You may have heard quite a bit about Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). It’s all about creating a sustainable, environmentally conscious business; one which takes appropriate steps to reduce your carbon footprint, as well as tackling waste, encouraging employee development and caring about the community you live and work in.

It’s not just a PR exercise. It’s about developing your business into one that is forward thinking and attractive to potential and current employees.

• 67% of respondents prefer to work for socially inclined companies
• ¾ of millennials would take a pay cut to work for a more socially responsible company
• 32% have taken an average of 2 weeks off work as a result
• Philanthropic companies are more likely to be trusted by consumers

CSR is not a new concept. During the Industrial Revolution a number of corporations demonstrated their support to their employees and local community. Pioneers such as Cadbury’s built villages, parks and community centres away from the city slums to increase employee wellbeing and motivation. Today, global organisations such as Google, Xerox, BMW and Lego have an excellent reputation for looking after their staff, along with ethical business practices such as reducing energy consumption, refining production processes and encouraging volunteering within communities.

Here at Aston and James, we’re full of ideas to help you enhance your current CSR practices too. Let us help you:

1. Be More Sustainable: How you can become a more environmentally friendly business

• 72% of UK workers say an environmentally friendly office is important to them
• 30% is the amount we aim to reduce single use plastics by the end of 2020
• 70% of your waste could be recycled by adopting better business processes
• We endeavour to provide you with a range of products and services to help you become a more sustainable, environmentally friendly business. Through adopting a professional shredding service, recycling paper and toner cartridges and purchasing eco products such as recycled paper, your business can demonstrate commitment to helping the environment through business practices.

2. Be more Innovative: Encouraging the formation of new ideas is vital for any team, contributing to the success of your business

• 79% of employees leave their job due to lack of appreciation
• 3M Sq Ft% of flexible workspace is available in London today (2020)
• Coworking is proven to increase innovation, collaboration and productivity

Taking the time to listen to each and every viewpoint (however random!) will make each employee feel valued and sustain an excellent team. It’s essential to create a working environment that inspires brainstorming and collaboration. Our range of modern and stylish furniture along with our office planning service will help you create a workplace that everyone will love to come to each day. Designing breakout areas, fresh canteens or kitchens and meeting spaces will all contribute to workplace wellness, helping everyone reach their potential.

We all work differently today. Creating hot desks, casual work areas, hubs and quiet spaces for informal chats is essential, especially in an open plan working environment.

3. Be less Wasteful: Encouraging waste reduction to protect the environment & be more efficient

• 80%of office paper is completely wasted
• 1/3 of waste in developed countries comes from packaging alone
• 4% of your turnover could be what disposing of waste is costing you

Disposing of business waste is expensive, so it makes good business sense to reduce it wherever possible. Helping everyone at work become less wasteful needn’t be a chore. Simple tiny changes can have a big effect. From purchasing clearly labelled recycling bins to buying re-useable catering items such as cutlery, mugs and water bottles all help everyone to cut down on the amount of waste in terms of single use plastics. Why use plastic forks and spoons when you can use cutlery that can be used again and again?

You could also look to buy items such as sugar, tea and coffee in bulk to cut down on packaging as well as delivery charges.

4. Be more Charitable: Get involved, give your time & help those most in need in the world

• 58% say that work commitments prevent them from volunteering
• 96% of volunteers believe that volunteering makes you far happier
• 76% of millennials believe giving back to the community helps engagement and motivation
• One key part of CSR is about encouraging engagement in the community. If your organisation doesn’t currently support any charities, why not start? Here at Aston &
• James we have chosen to support a variety of different charities and invite you to help us do so.

Recycle with SeeSaw: What do you do with your old cartridges? If you’re not currently involved in a collection or recycle scheme, why not consider Aston & James’s free ink and toner recycling service? You’ll not only be helping the environment but be raising funds for local charity SeeSaw to offer vital grief support for young people and their families in Oxfordshire. Find out more at https://www.aston-james.co.uk/supporting-see-saw

Donate your old coats: Our 100Coats appeal is now in its third year. Thanks to our customers generosity we’ve donated over 1000 coats to local homeless charities in Oxfordshire. Find out more at https://www.aston-james.co.uk/100-coats

Keep Hearts Beating with our First Aid Range: We are working with Keeping Hearts Beating to raise money for the provision of defibrillators in our local community. With every purchase from our Health & Safety range, we donate a percentage to Keeping Hearts Beating to contribute to the purchase of vital lifesaving equipment

For more information about any of our services please get in touch.