By Business & Finance 
Professor Jeffrey D Sachs
Over 200 business leaders attended the annual Business in the Community CEO Breakfast Forum at Dublin Castle, where the companies certified to the Business Working Responsibly Mark so far in 2016 were announced.
The mark, which is run by Business in the Community Ireland and based on ISO 26000, is valid for three years and is independently audited by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI).
Seven companies are being accredited to the mark for the first time (A&L Goodbody, Arup, Bank of Ireland Group Ireland, eir, Janssen Supply Chain Ireland, Veolia Ireland and Vodafone Ireland), while another seven have been recertified to the mark (Accenture Ireland, Marks and Spencer Ireland, Musgrave Group, Northern Trust, Ricoh Ireland, Transdev Dublin Light Rail and Ulster Bank).
This year’s forum was addressed by world-renowned economist professor Jeffrey D Sachs. Sachs spoke about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and how business leaders in Ireland must take action to help implement the goals. Sachs was a key architect of the goals that were agreed by 193 countries over one year ago.
Speaking at the event that acts as Ireland’s premier corporate arena for discussion of corporate responsibility and sustainability, Tina Roche, CEO, Business in the Community Ireland, said: “As the economy grows, businesses in Ireland need to look at the essential components for responsible and sustainable growth. Work life balance, ethical consumerism and supply chain risks are key areas that companies need to focus on. The mark is challenging to achieve so I congratulate the companies today on getting it. These forward-thinking companies strive to understand stakeholder expectations of them and manage their businesses accordingly.”
In total, 23 companies have now achieved the mark, the other organisations to currently hold it being Boots Retail Ireland, CRH Ireland, Deloitte Ireland, EirGrid, ESB, Fujitsu Ireland, Gas Networks Ireland, Intel Ireland and KBC Bank Ireland.
