Business Charter helps firms to help families recycle
Two firms signed up to the city council’s Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility are joining forces for a programme to educate families about the benefits of recycling.
Dennis Eagle, a supplier of refuse collection vehicles to the council, made a pledge to fund a Birmingham schools recycling project as part of its action plan for achieving charter accreditation.
And in order to achieve its social value goal, the firm has invested £30,000 into the production of educational booklets on recycling for Birmingham schoolchildren, being created by fellow charter signatories SKIPS Educational.
Both businesses were in February of this year amongst the first wave of organisations to earn accreditation through the charter - the creation of which was a key pledge for the council’s incoming administration in 2012.
Sir Albert Bore, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “By launching the Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility we are creating a group of businesses and organisation that have a common bond - an enthusiasm and desire to play a role in making Birmingham a better place for the people who call the city their home.
“But the charter is now doing even more than its initial aim. It is creating networking opportunities that signatories can take advantage of, such as this.
“The end product is a large well-known business supporting a smaller firm that is developing a foothold in its market place. Together they are helping us create a product that will enable children to inform their families of the importance of recycling, a key part of another council aim - to modernise its waste collection service, to make it fit for the 21st century.”
Representatives from the two firms were joined by Sir Albert and Cllr Stewart Stacey, Cabinet Member for Commissioning, Contracting and Improvement, for a meeting to discuss their plan at Birmingham’s Council House today (September 25).
Cllr Stacey added: “The overarching aim of the Birmingham Business Charter for Social Responsibility is to extract the maximum social value from every pound the council spends on goods and services.
“Annually, we have the ability to influence approximately £1billion of spending of taxpayer money, so when we award contracts we want to do more than get the cheapest price for what we buy - we want suppliers to go that extra mile to help our communities.
“I applaud the efforts of Dennis Eagle and SKIPS Educational to collaborate in this way for the benefit of Birmingham’s citizens.”
Lee Rowland, Dennis Eagle Sales and Marketing Manager, said: “By embracing the principles that underpin the Charter, we hope we can do great things for local children and for the city.
“The initiative will introduce children's books aimed at teaching the benefits of recycling and caring for the environment to nine and ten-year-olds across the city. This represents a significant investment in the future of Birmingham - and is the first of its kind.
“If we can creatively and imaginatively inspire the younger generation to change their habits and views of waste, together we will make a significant impact on the environment, possibly for generations to come.”
Ash Sharma, SKIPS founder and author, added: “This hopefully puts the first step in a common pathway demonstrating SKIPS has a cross over for many other industries.
“Not only are we encouraging fun emotional bond-building education with parents and children, but we are bringing together the corporate world by bringing to life industries which have currently no relationship with school children.
“This is a win-win for everyone involved: Dennis Eagle's Involvement with SKIPS provides clear evidence of true community involvement, a key requirement for many public sector tenders, and families have the opportunity to engage in fun education for free with their children.
“By improving how waste is separated in the homes, this project will help the city council to sell off more raw materials as well as reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill, which is at a cost to the local authority.”
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For more media information please contact Kris Kowalewski on 0121 303 3621
