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Pictured at the launch of the National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility (L-R) Bernadette Phelan, Membership Services Manager, Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), Kieran McGowan, Chairman of BITCI, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, Ian Talbot, Chief Executive, Chambers Ireland and Catherine Heaney, Managing Director, DHR Communications

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton today launched “Good for Business, Good for the Community”, Ireland’s National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility 2014-2016.

One of the Government’s key objectives is to make Ireland the best small country in which to do business. The National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility supports this objective and articulates a vision for Ireland to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence for responsible and sustainable business practices.

Among the measures contained in the plan are:

•Establish a Stakeholder Forum on CSR to support the development of CSR in Ireland, in the first half of 2014

•Establish a baseline of CSR activity in Ireland, through the National Standards Association of Ireland

•Work with stakeholders to raise awareness of CSR and support best practice CSR

•Explore how IDA and Enterprise Ireland can promote CSR with their client companies

•Support programmes to develop CSR in the SME sector

Speaking at the launch today, Minister Bruton said:

We in Government are very conscious of the valuable role that Corporate Social Responsibility can play in contributing to Ireland’s economic recovery. Increasingly, good CSR practices are distinguishing the best companies from their competitors, and are having a positive impact on their competitiveness. The way that businesses integrate social and environmental concerns into their engagement with customers, suppliers, employees and local communities is becoming hugely important to the sustainability of their business.

The National Plan we are publishing today, as part of the Action Plan for Jobs, outlines the key principles and objectives which underpin the Government’s approach to CSR, and sets out a series of actions for 2014. We will shortly establish a CSR Stakeholder Forum to drive development of this sector. I thank all involved in preparing this plan, and I encourage all stakeholders to get involved in this process which can be hugely positive for the development of their business.

The National Plan on Corporate Social Responsibility is an initiative under the Government’s Action Plan for Jobs. The Plan is available at: