Corporate citizens take the initiative

New initiatives are introducing graduates to the concept and implementation of sustainable development in society

As well as teaching citizenship in schools, encouraging students to play an active and positive part in their community, it is equally important to teach and encourage citizenship in adults. Graduates who are just starting on their careers could be the business leaders of the next 20 years, so if they can be taught about the positive impact they can have on the community – local, national and global – this could reap benefits for all of society across many generations.

Barclays has taken this corporate citizenship to heart and is making sure that its graduate trainees are helped to understand big business's responsibility for the world it operates in. As a result Barclays is working with PP4SD (Professional Practice for Sustainable Development) to train its graduates to help them integrate sustainable development issues – from economic to social and environmental – into their business decision making.

PP4SD was launched in April 1999 by five leaders in sustainability issues: World Wildlife Fund, Council for Environmental Education, Environment Agency, the Natural Step and The Institution of Environmental Sciences. By engaging with current and future business leaders the aim is to develop a long-term support and framework for sustainability. Barclays is the first FTSE 100 corporate to work with PP4SD to introduce its training into the financial world.

The training introduces Barclays graduates to the concept of sustainable development, outlines the need and possibility for change, as well as demonstrates how sustainable development can be integrated into banking decisions.

Matthew Davis was one of the 130 Barclays graduate trainees who took part in the training: "Sussex University, were I did my degree, is quite a forward-thinking university so I was already aware of the issues around sustainable development. However I did not expect to find environmental and sustainability issues being tackled within a big corporate company, so was surprised by the investment in our training by Barclays, surprised and impressed."

At the end of the training the graduates have to create their view of Barclays as a leader in sustainability in 20 years time and then have to make a commitment to three initial actions to move Barclays towards this vision.

Matthew explains: "One of my commitments at the end of the training was to raise awareness of sustainability issues with the people I work with, encouraging them to think about what they do and how it affects the society and world around them. Certainly since the training, I think about, and question, everything I do in terms of sustainable development: in drinking a cup of coffee I think about where the coffee was grown, what trade terms it was sold under, how it has been transported and packaged; working at my desk I question how much paper I am using, where my computer was made and under what conditions. The training really highlighted my responsibility as a corporate citizen. I can work with the people around me to make a real difference."

This understanding of individual responsibility is echoed by Jimmy Brannigan, National Learning Manager at the Environment Agency and one of the trainers for PP4SD. "At the start of the training most of the graduate trainees had an awareness of the issues around sustainable development but were questioning how it was relevant to them working in a bank or felt that they were only one person in the big banking world so what difference could they make. The training helps them to understand what they can do to make a difference both now as a graduate trainee and as they move forward in their careers."

As the first company in the financial sector to introduce this training, Barclays has provided an example that PP4SD hopes other companies will follow. "The evaluation we have from the training at Barclays provides a very good example of how sustainable development can be approached by banks," explains Jimmy Brannigan. "From our work with the Barclays trainees we have over 340 specific actions that can be taken by individuals to make a difference within their company. Our next step is to share this evaluation with the financial sector through professional bodies, such as the British Banking Association in order, to encourage other banks to follow Barclays example."

Barclays work to encourage corporate citizenship does not end at graduate trainees. Employees throughout Barclays are supported and encouraged to volunteer within their community. As a result around a quarter (approximately 18,000) of all Barclays employees took part in community activities in 2002. Volunteering projects range from mentoring in schools, clearing beaches, serving meals in hostels for homeless people to gardening, painting and decorating. Some of these projects are part of nationwide Barclays initiatives such as Site Savers, a scheme managed by Groundwork in partnership with the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, which encourages volunteers to transform redundant land on deprived estates into new community facilities. For MADD (Make A Difference Day), which is run by CSV (Community Service Volunteers) with the support of Barclays, everyone is encouraged to do something in their community on that day. On 26 October 2002 over 4,000 Barclays employees took part in MADD projects in the UK, while another 4,000 Barclays employees in Africa volunteered in their community.

Barclays employees are also encouraged to take the initiative in volunteering, every individual is given the opportunity to make a difference within their community. Through Volunteer 2day Barclays enables employees to take at least two working days a year for volunteering and when that volunteering raises money Barclays matches it pound for pound.

All this activity has Barclays out at the forefront of corporate citizenship encouraging its employees to take responsibility for their community – locally, nationally and globally. Peter Davies, Deputy Chief Executive of Business in the Community acknowledges the good practice Barclays has set out. "Barclays worldclass volunteering programme is the largest single company scheme in the UK. The company is setting a leading example of excellence."

For more information visit www.community.barclays.co.uk