Better City Business

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not just about philanthropy or charity but also about creating shared value for the business and society. CSR can help companies improve their reputation, attract customers, and retain employees. It can also help them reduce costs and risks.  More and more it is also a requirement from your customers, whether they are the public or government.

We know that when it comes to implementation of CSR businesses can face some challenges.

There is some ambiguity in tax rules, fear of overinvestment in a single sector, lack of a clear framework for implementing and measuring CSR and now tighter budgets brought about by rising costs of materials, inputs, and wages.

 However, there are tangible business benefits of investing in this space.

• It builds brand awareness and trust among our customers and potential customers.
• It boosts staff retention and morale as our employees feel proud to work for a company that does good things.
• It increases company investment and growth as you attract more customers, partners, and investors who share your values.
• It generates media attention and publicity, meaningful storytelling opportunities.
• It expands networking and collaboration opportunities with other local businesses and organisations.

Therefore, we know that its important but it’s not easy and where do you start?

That's why we have established Better City Business. This is an entry level CSR support programme designed for businesses in Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakriri.

Businesses sign up to the programme which then enables them to tap into our expertise and tools, to develop and implement CSR that has impact.

By joining the programme you can access;

• Research about residential aspiration and areas of community need, as well as trends, changes, and evolution in the CSR space, to inform your decision making.
• Our global network of experts can inform/coach and advise the thinking of those working with us, through our events and workshops.
• Opportunities to collaborate with other members of the programme, and our partners that can give scale to community projects, that means that they happen.
• A wide breadth of programmes to step into, which means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, and there is storytelling content ready for you to share.
• Events with other businesses with common values for staff and in some instances clients to attend.  Businesses that want to be better and want more for greater Christchurch. This leads to some wonderful collaboration and referrals.
• Access to our Better City Businesses a time and cost advisory service to help you identify objectives, build a plan, implement, and measure it.

To access the programme and tool kit requires an annual contribution of $2500 + GST.  

Contact Amy Carter on Amy@christchurchfoundation.org.nz to sign up, or for further information.