Business leaders join calls for Luton to become the next ‘Good Business’ hotspot

Federation of Small Business (FSB) is encouraging small firms in Luton to get involved in a push to become the UK's first Good Business Charter town.

The Good Business Charter encourages and recognises responsible business practices. To sign up to the charter, a business must meet the ten components of the charter spotlighting how they treat the environment, their employees and suppliers.

Now a push to make Luton the first town to embrace the GBC has begun and will put a spotlight on the town’s businesses and the impact they make to their staff, environment and supply chains.

Even the smallest business can sign up, thanks to a streamlined version adapted by the FSB and GBC for businesses with fewer than 50 employees. With over 1,000 small businesses and sole traders already signed up across the UK, the charter provides a clear framework for businesses of all sizes to demonstrate to current and potential customers that your business is committed to operating responsibly.

This comes in response to polling that found 97% of consumers think it is important for a business to act responsibly and a survey showing almost half of younger workers want the company they work for to demonstrate a commitment to ESG (environmental, social and governance).

Ian Abrahams, director of Treacle Factory in Luton has joined the calls for more organisations to sign up. He said: “We are passionate about providing an outstanding level of customer service and strive to achieve the best in everything we do. We heard that Luton Borough Council were encouraging more organisation to join the Charter and wanted to be among the first to register.

We found that our values are closely aligned with the ethos of GBC and decided to join without hesitation. Our GBC accreditation is proudly displayed on our offices, on our website and in email signatures, to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to excellence.”

Jenny Herrera, CEO of the Good Business Charter, added: “We want to encourage organisations to seek GBC accreditation as a way to clearly evidence to customers, employees, suppliers and others that you care too. Together we will raise the bar on good business behaviour as organisations make changes in order to become accredited.”

The GBC team is determined to remove all barriers to entry so that any organisation that meets its 10 components can join. As a result, it is completely free for the first year and only £25 a year after that. Accreditation is done online through self-certification.

For more information about the Good Business Charter, see www.goodbusinesscharter.com