Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

We take our commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility extremely seriously and not just from an environmental point of view. We aim to act ethically in all our dealings. We want to improve our workforce’s quality of life and we’re focused on ensuring that our activities have a positive impact on both society and the world around us.

Here are a few examples of how we’re fulfilling those commitments across the organisation:

As a Group

We have the UK’s largest payroll giving scheme which has generated over £35 million for good causes. We’ve also managed to obtain 100% of our electricity needs from renewable sources, and we aim to be totally carbon neutral by 2015.

The Post Office

With over 11,500 branches, the Post Office is an integral part of communities across the UK, serving customers over the counter, by phone and on-line. As part of our commitment to those communities, especially their younger members, we work closely with the charity Barnardos and sponsor a range of activities including a Young Letter Writers Competition, Children in Need and Children’s Champions.

Royal Mail

Responsible for delivering mail to 27 million addresses every day, this part of the business covers a lot of miles. To help keep our carbon footprint to a minimum, we’ve already conducted trials of alternative fuel vehicles, and over the next five years we’ll be working closely with the Department for Transport to further develop our low carbon vehicle options.

Parcelforce Worldwide

Ever the innovator, we were the first company in the express parcels market to offer customers the option of carbon-free deliveries. It turned out to be quite a success. So much so, that 40% of on-line retail customers have now chosen to send their parcels this way.

A positive impact on communities

One of the unique aspects of our organisation is that we are visibly and daily at the heart of every single community across the UK. This fact carries a huge amount of responsibility. We need to be seen to be a good corporate citizen, earning the trust of customers and colleagues alike by behaving responsibly. But it’s not just about feeling good about ourselves. Our commitment to CSR impacts on business performance too.

For example:

• Customers want to buy from a company that shares their values
• Colleagues want to work for a company that provides a healthy and safe working environment where they feel their values are respected
• Communities want to support a company that actively builds neighbourhoods by generating jobs and investing in initiatives that help to bring people closer together

Recognition for our hard work

Now, we like to think we’re achieving a lot on this area. But it seems other people are happy to recognise our efforts too. Here are a few of the awards we’ve been given for our CSR work.

CSR and you

We encourage all our employees to take an active interest in CSR. As one of our graduates, you’ll have the chance to get involved in a range of initiatives; anything from looking at new ways to make the Royal Mail Group a safer place to work, to coming up with new ideas to improve the wellbeing of our people.

Some of our most recent graduates have organised fundraising events and, alongside our apprentices, volunteered to help out at a variety of young people’s clubs in their spare time. Across the country as a whole, graduates are helping to make us a greener business by getting involved in environmental projects to reduce energy use and encourage people to recycle.