Business challenged to achieve growth by caring

The British Council organised seminar “Sustainable Business Practice” aims to explain how social enterprises can engage with big business for mutual benefit through corporate and social responsibility (CSR) programmes and wider activities in support of socio-economic development.

The event will feature prominent Vietnamese corporate and social enterprise leaders alongside government participants.

With the emphasis on social enterprise, not charity, British Council aims to promote the value of social enterprise as a way to developing a sustainable business model where responsible social and environmental behaviour drive the business.

In Vietnam, the  British Council is partnering with the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) and Social Enterprise London, working together in raising awareness of the benefits that social enterprise can offer to the community, they aim to enhance the capacity of local entrepreneurs.

In order to do this task, British Council and related bodies are sourcing practical advice, identifying sustainable funds and finding partners as well as proving training and mentoring programmes based on UK and international expertise.

They also help link local social entrepreneurs with international counterparts in order to share new approaches.

 “No business or organisation works in isolation and we all benefit from serving and building links with our wider communities.  There’s no doubt social responsibility is not only morally welcome, it also boosts brands, reputation, awareness and loyalty – not just from customers but from staff themselves,” said British Council Vietnam director Robin Rickard.

“Vietnam’s development is a success story that has been noted across the world – we’re looking now for the same entrepreneurs that helped fire that development to look at how their organisations can further contribute to their communities and ultimately their country. We are lucky that Vietnam boasts a number of fine social entrepreneurs who are proving to be excellent ambassadors in this field,” Rickard said.