The Role of Partnerships in Responsible Business

I always think of myself as a people person and believe in collaboration and working in partnerships with colleagues, customers, and clients. It’s so much easier to resolve any issues with a quick chat and if you work for a large organization like Capita, knowing who to speak to is a key!

But beyond our internal people, it is the external partnerships we engage in that enable us to have a real impact with our responsible business initiatives. By collaborating with external stakeholders, companies can leverage their combined resources, expertise, and networks to address social and environmental challenges more effectively.

In this article I’ll talk through two examples of how we drive environmental change and address social issues through the power of partnerships, ?and provide some tips on how you can start your partnership journey.

Driving Environmental Change

Partnerships enable organisations to drive sustainable change by pooling their resources and knowledge. By working together, companies can develop innovative solutions, share best practices, and implement sustainable initiatives more effectively.

In Capita most of our people in the UK are homebased and we require reliable, flexible, and secure delivery services to distribute IT equipment such as laptops or mobile phones every day. We’ve partnered with CitySprint to reduce our delivery cost and cut down our carbon emissions. As part of the new solution, multi-drop delivery routes were carefully selected with route optimisation software to identify emission efficient journeys. So far, CitySprint has reduced delivery milage by 22% with an estimated annual saving of 55.74 tonnes of CO2. And as CitySprint are carbon neutral, the remaining emissions are offset by investment projects in the UK and around the world.

Using shorter routes, Capita has reduced delivery costs by over 17% with a considerable decrease of 22% in CO2 emissions produced by vehicles.

Additionally, partnerships can help organisations access new markets and expand their reach. By collaborating with local communities or international organisations, businesses can gain valuable insights into diverse markets and tailor their Responsible Business strategies accordingly. This not only drives business growth but also promotes sustainable development on a global scale.

Addressing Social Issues

Partnerships are instrumental in addressing social issues and improving the well-being of communities. By partnering with charities and non-profit organisations, businesses can contribute to social causes such as education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, and environmental conservation.

A key example of this at Capita is our partnership with Hands On Payroll Giving, where we've been able to significantly increase our charitable impact. Our collaboration enables Capita employees to seamlessly support their chosen charities and communities.

The partnership started in 2013 – empowering Capita employees to easily donate to causes they care deeply about. Thanks to Hands On Payroll Giving's expertise, we were able to streamline this process.

Since our collaboration's inception, we've been privileged to assist over 300 charities and raised and donated over ￡2.8 million since its start.

By leveraging their resources and expertise, organisations can make a positive impact on society while also enhancing their brand reputation. Partnerships that focus on social issues not only benefit communities but also foster employee engagement and customer loyalty.

So what can you do?

In conclusion, partnerships are essential for driving sustainable change and creating positive social impact through responsible business initiatives. By collaborating with external stakeholders, businesses can leverage their combined resources to address social, environmental and governance issues more effectively.

If you’re not sure where to start on your own partnership journey:

1.????? Start with a materiality assessment. What are the Responsible Business issues that are most relevant for your business and on which you can have the biggest impact? Identifying these will help you prioritise your first step.

2.????? Once you know which problem you’d like to focus on, reach out to the market to look for partners who are best place to work with you on that specific challenge. Make sure you do your due diligence before signing up to work with any specific partner.

3.????? Be clear about the goal you want to achieve, and how you’ll track progress. You want your partnership to have real, measurable impact, so you know if it’s working, or if you need to pivot.

And remember, if you find a great partner to work with, support and promote them to other similar businesses so that they can grow their impact. Together, across business, industries and partners, we can create a more sustainable and socially responsible future.

You can find out more about Capita’s responsible business approach here: https://www.capita.com/about-capita/ensuring-sustainable-future-through-responsible-business

Kasia Gulyk Rutkowska is Capita’s Group Head of Responsible Business. ?