What is CSR?

And why has it cost Hudson Contract over £1 billion?

What does CSR stand for? Customer Service Record… Civil Service Retirement… Codes Standards and Regulations… Communication Service Requirements…

In this jargon-filled world of abbreviations, it took me a little while to remember that in business today, CSR most likely stands for Corporate Social Responsibility. And then I started asking myself, “What does CSR mean to Hudson Contract?”

Paying our taxes – without complaint

Well for a start, it means paying our taxes in full – and before the due date.

In the past seven years, Hudson Contract has paid over £1.1billion in CIS, PAYE and VAT taxes on our transactions. Additionally, we’ve paid corporation tax on profits, plus tax on capital gains and tax on our dividends.

In short, there are no taxes that have been left unpaid and the responsibility of “paying our fair share,” has been met.

But of course, it goes beyond that.

Charitable support

We have cheerfully donated to causes, charities and institutions. Here are three typical examples:

• Cardiac Risk in the Young which supports young people diagnosed with potentially life-threatening cardiac conditions, works to reduce the frequency of young sudden cardiac death and offers bereavement support to families that are affected.
• The Fatherhood Institute, the UK’s fatherhood think-tank, aiming to give all children a strong and positive relationship with their father and any father-figures.
• Children with Cancer the campaigning charity that funds research, helps families, works with children’s hospices and fights to save young lives.

And, it goes beyond that too.

Causes that are close to home

One of the enormous pleasures of running the business is that it also enables us to make a difference on a local level. And that is always a huge pleasure.

Sport: I’ve written in the past that we support Bridlington Rugby Union Club. In fact, we are one of their three main sponsors. This year, we are funding a full-time Youth Development Officer – university graduate Jack Bell – who has been equipped with a car and kit to take the game of rugby into local schools. Our aim is to re-establish junior rugby in Bridlington, creating five teams for those between the ages of twelve and seventeen and Jack has already made a great start with the Under-12’s and Under-15’s.

Nature: When we acquired our 2,000th client, Hudson Contract marked the occasion by planting 2,000 saplings in local parkland. Now in their second summer, I am delighted to report the vast majority have flourished, but like the construction industry itself, some have failed to take root and have perished. An analogy I know… but true, nonetheless!

Construction’s future: Then there’s our Yorkshire Apprentice Programme, which has yielded a bouquet of flowers for my wife the other day. Mrs J, I should explain, is Hudson Contract’s Commercial Director, and she keeps a watching brief on our CSR. The flowers were from an electrical apprentice we’ve sponsored and his card confirmed he is being kept on, and will complete his training.

This small gesture of thanks was very much appreciated as we commit to extending our Programme into a fourth year, which will mean we have helped eighty youngsters on the path to a skilled career.

So for us, CSR isn’t a cliché, a piece of jargon, or something we fell we ought to do. It’s simply about putting something back into society for the benefit of others. As we all do at different times and in our own different ways.

If you’d like to share some of your own CSR projects, then I’d love to hear from you.