In partnership with the University of Derby, 2024’s East Midlands CSR Summit was made up of a series of workshops, seminars, exhibiting charities and inspirational talks from organisations including Ideagen, Loughborough University and Futures Housing Group. The summit formed a key pillar of East Midlands Chamber’s #EMComingTogether campaign, an initiative to strengthen the relationship between commerce and communities in the region.
Findings from research conducted by Loughborough Business School and Derby Business School into how East Midlands businesses approach CSR were presented by Dr Barbara Tomasella (University of Derby) and Dr Elaine Conway (Loughborough University).
Discussing the summit, Dr Elaine Conway said: “It was fantastic to be able to once again join the East Midlands Chamber’s CSR Summit this year. I’ve been involved with their work for over six years now, since I was first asked to help with analysing their quarterly surveys during my time at the University of Derby. Building the relationship between local businesses and non-profits through exploring the benefits of CSR is something I am passionate about. It’s been a pleasure to continue to support this vital research in my role at Loughborough Business School.
“If we want to build a positive, responsible future for business in the UK, it’s essential that we start developing these local connections, building links between businesses and their local communities. What our findings show is that there is a strong desire from companies to get involved with the work of non-profits and charities, but they aren’t always certain of how best to do that. Events like this are a great way to bring the two sectors together and get them talking to each other to develop a better understanding of how they create mutually beneficial relationships.
“We're not surprised that people in the East Midlands want to get engaged with CSR but what has surprised us is that, in spite of COVID, in spite of the downturns of the economy or the cost-of-living crisis, companies are still wanting to engage with CSR. It's that commitment, that people want to carry on, despite everything around them. That’s a really positive thing.”
East Midlands Chamber President Stuart Dawkins, who opened the summit said: “Getting businesses together with communities and charities to look at the best ways of developing a solid CSR approach can only be a good thing. Events like this are a good springboard for thought – what are you doing yourself to assist your community. As I opened the summit, I spoke of the risk to businesses that don’t prioritise CSR getting left behind. It was encouraging to see so many East Midlands businesses share great ideas of how to deliver CSR really well.”