Ticking all the right boxes
Simon Little, Phoenix Communications Manager, discusses how the company’s approach of embedding corporate responsibility practices into every aspect of its activities has seen them win the Big Tick award for eight consecutive years.
Business in The Community UK recently congratulated Phoenix Natural Gas on winning the organisation’s national Big Tick award for excellence in corporate social responsibility more times than any other business throughout the United Kingdom.
The continued recognition from Business In The Community for our positive impact highlights that the approach we have adopted continues to make a difference to people’s lives, and it inspires us all to do even more throughout the local communities that we serve into the future. There is no doubt that this achievement is testament to the ongoing hard work and effort of all our staff.
Phoenix LIFE
Phoenix’s CSR programme is called ‘LIFE’, which stands for ‘Leadership in the marketplace, Investing in our people, Fostering our community and Environmental responsibility’. Over a number of years, LIFE has been developed to provide an over-arching framework for the wide range of initiatives carried out by Phoenix that positively impact our marketplace, workplace, environment and community.
The progression and stewardship of all company CSR initiatives is the responsibility of a LIFE committee made up of senior managers from throughout the business, currently including representation from professionals working in the field of communications, engineering, business planning, human resources, procurement and finance. The Chairman of the committee is Phoenix’s Chief Executive, who brings leadership, support and drive to the work being done in this area. On a macro level, the Chairman makes sure that all LIFE activities strategically underpin the company’s main corporate and business objectives.
Through CSR measurement and evaluation processes we continue to conduct monthly customer satisfaction surveys, in which an independent research company interviews a random sample of new gas customers. The proportion of respondents who recognise Phoenix as a socially responsible company has increased by 12 per cent over the last year, with a strong correlation to the increasing awareness and impact of LIFE.
Increasingly there is evidence that Phoenix’s reputation as a socially responsible organisation is helping us to attract job candidates who recognise us as a company with a strong focus on our people. Our CSR work is also further communicated in detail through our bespoke Phoenix YouTube channel, our Twitter feed and our newly designed and expanded website.
Long-Term Benefits
I believe that our continued success and recognition in this area is largely down to the fact that Phoenix’s investment in CSR is a long-term one. It is an integral part of our operations, put in place to benefit the organisation, our staff and the local communities that we work in. The financial resources attributed to Phoenix LIFE are far outweighed by the voluntary effort, commitment and time given by employees to maximise the impact of all initiatives pursued.
Simon Little, Phoenix Communications Manager, can be contacted on 028 9055 5541 or at simon.little@phoenixgroupni.com
