Whilst as a company, daappa was recycling and based in an energy saving environment, we all realised that there was plenty of scope for improvement. So much in the same way as runners like to train for a particular race, in 2021, we decided to embark upon a journey to obtain a Corporate Social Responsibility Award.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become more and more an important factor, not just for individuals to build a sustainable planet for ourselves and future generations, but for businesses as well. Doing our part for the planet and the people in it - is ALL of our responsibility - and we take that seriously.
The CSR-Accreditation (CSR-A) is a leading UK based company promoting a global standard for social responsibility. They help to highlight the positive social impacts businesses are already successful in, while showing areas of improvement and helping them to broaden their efforts. Their values are to Inspire, encourage, respect and to be trustworthy through educating and promoting best practices within organisations.
We choose the CSR-A, as our first step, to be held to a high standard and accountable in our social impact efforts. Being part of a recognised standard and framework supports our success in better serving our local communities and restoring our planet for future generations.
The basis of this particular world recognised accreditation is split into four different “pillars” of achievement:
For each category, we had to provide proof of our efforts - from being more environmentally friendly – increasing the variety and amount of our recycling and conserving energy on an on-going basis - to supporting our local community and ensuring that our policies were up to the standards required.
The Workplace category related to equal opportunities, health & safety, personnel management, training and staff welfare and improved working conditions. It also related to customer satisfaction and retention and the support of local suppliers, creating awareness of CSR and ethical procurement.
Through this process, our customers, current and potential, can be assured that they are buying from a company that is ethical in its working practices.
The emphasis on Community was the support and value provided in the area through volunteering, financial giving and contributions made to the local economy. daappa has always been committed to using small, bespoke and local suppliers to support its business and will continue to do so.
Philanthropy related to the charitable projects - not only supported by the company but also by employees on an individual basis – and remarkable given the number and variety of charities supported. These ranged from numerous children’s charities, physical and mental health support and end of life care. Others included educational, sporting and environmental projects plus a selection of animal charities. In total, around 50 different registered charities are supported by daappa staff.
Preparing our submission for the accreditation required a huge amount of work. We evaluated policies and some new ones needed to be written and implemented. We had to provide detailed records of the achievements which had already been made.
One of the main advantages of this exercise was that after Covid separating us for such a long time, it enabled us to re-bond as a team and it’s given us a lot to talk and think about. It was fun and made us laugh – especially over our efforts promoting Veganuary!
But it was an encouraging, uplifting and informative process. We discovered how much we were already doing collectively and individually on a continual basis without actually realising. It was clear that being environmentally aware and caring about the planet is something which has been absorbed over the years via osmosis and, thankfully, is now part of our natural, normal and everyday behaviour.
We were pleased after six months of work that we achieved a Silver award for our efforts, and our application was put forward for an international award for which we received a trophy. The award scheme has also planted a tree on daappa Limited’s behalf.
In addition to this, the butterfly effect created through discussions on CSR - not just within our workplace, but with other colleagues, friends, family and neighbours – has been widespread. This has resulted in more awareness of the responsibility we all share for the preservation of our planet and the environment.
But, we know there is still more to be done and so we are now actively working on our journey to achieving gold. Watch this space!