AA Awards 2008: Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Congratulations to the first winner of the Accountancy Age Sustainability
Initiative of the Year Award, Royal Liver Assurance.

The company showed responsible business and sustainability in every aspect of
the company and even developed a programme to aid the local community beyond
2008.

Entrants to the award were to demonstrate an original approach to reporting
its environmental, social and sustainability initiatives.

Royal Liver Assurance has a range of initiatives that it hopes are more than
‘cheque handouts’ and the judges couldn’t agree more.

The company has a long list of projects. Among them is ‘adopt a postcode’, in
which the business meets with the local school and commissions artwork from the
students – the art is then displayed at the Royal Liver Building. The business
also helps local parents get back to work, offering CV-creating services and
providing mock interviews.

Other projects such as the establishment of the Merseyside Cultural Legacy
Endowment Fund will support the arts, culture and sports projects post-2008,
with the company also providing two scholarships to students studying at the
Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

The continued commitment to providing for the community around it led one
judge to say that the company displayed ‘A good, long-term view and was not just
glamorising its projects’.

Royal Liver Assurance also made special mention of its finance director which
it labelled as its ‘responsible business champion’. The company felt that the FD
made sure each project led with a clear business benefit and that it was fully
supported by the director.

Leading from the top meant that staff could see the company was not just
paying lip service to corporate social responsibility, but had made it one of
the core business objectives.

Benefiting the community

The company demonstrated a relentless array of projects that would benefit
the community and ensured there would be ongoing support beyond 2008. The
business leads from the board down with the CEO advising community groups on
business matters, proving that corporate social responsibility is more than just
a report. The judges said: ‘It is a business that is plugged in well to the
local community and is trying to do something worthwhile’.