Bharti Vyas (Bharti Vyas Enterprises), Ram Gidoomal,OBE and Pervaiz Alam (Newswallahs)

Introduction

Globalisation has given rise to new social movements and government action to ensure that its economic benefits are equitably spread and the environment is not damaged. Global business is now responding to this new agenda by promoting a new business ethic: corporate citizenship or corporate social and environmental responsibility. This ethic holds that it is no longer enough for businesses to simply employ people, make a profit and pay taxes; they must act responsibly, be accountable and benefit society as a whole.

CSM's Juanita Muise and Tony May in conversation with David Murray (Transparency International)

In industrialized countries, ethnic minority communities and businesses have been largely absent from this mainstream debate. In Britain, for example, there are more then 1.7 million people of South Asian origin contributing more than £5 billion to the economy. How are Asians in Britain squaring up to this challenge? How are they demonstrating corporate citizenship? What forms of assistance are needed for British Asian business to take leadership on corporate citizenship at home and abroad?

CSM Event in London

The BALCC Initiative

The Centre for Social Markets launched an initiative - as part of CSM's Ethnic Minorities and Diaspora Programme to promote leadership by British Asians for greater social, ethical & environmentally responsible business practice in 2001. The British Asian Leadership for Corporate Citizenship (BALCC) initiative was launched at a conference British Asian business - stereotypes, realities and challenges on Friday 6 July 2001 at the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacture and Commerce (RSA), London. The first year of the initiative focused on awareness-raising and leadership development in and around metropolitan London. Now in its second year, the initiative is taking the debate to the provincial heartland of Britain with a focus on major cities with a large South Asian populations.

Patricia Hewitt MP, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, at the CSM Roundtable in Leicester

The BALCC initiative is part of CSM's strategic programme to draw more ethnic minority and diaspora communities (especially from India and China) in the UK into the debate on corporate social and environmental

Mr Amin Mawji (The Ismaili Centre),Mr Deepak Mahtani (SADP), Ms Malini Mehra (CSM), Ms Denise Minton (The Body Shop International), Ms Julia Cleverdon CBE (Business in the Community)

responsibility. CSM believes that these communities have much to contribute and cannot remain marginalised from the mainstream debate. There is also a strong developmental angle to the BALCC initiative. We believe that mobilising these communities will create positive pressure for change - both at home and abroad - through their existing cultural and commercial links to developing countries. This in turn should contribute not only to the development of an enabling environment for business to operate responsibly and profitably, but also to the strengthening of democratic institutions and civil society.

From 2002-2003, the BALCC initiative is holding leadership roundtables in the following cities: Bradford, Leicester, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Glasgow. The initiative will conclude with a major national conference bringing together case studies and learnings in London in July 2003. The conference will feature the release of a survey of corporate responsibility in the top 200 Asian businesses, as well as a video profiling leading Asian businesses and entrepreneurs will be shown at the conference.

The BALCC initiative will continue in 2003 with events with the Afro-Caribbean and Chinese communities in Britain, events in mainland Europe, and events with Indian business communities in East and Southern Africa.

Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, with CSM's Malini Mehra and Asian leaders from Leicester Ms Malini Mehra (CSM), Ms Denise Minton (The Body Shop International), Ms Julia Cleverdon CBE (Business in the Community)  Mr Amin Mawji (The Ismaili Centre),Mr Deepak Mahtani (SADP), Ms Malini Mehra, (CSM)

Calendar of BALCC Programmes and Events (Arranged chronologically) Brochure on the BALCC initiative Background Reading for BALCC initiative: British Asians - A Statistical Overview compiled by CSM. Corporate Citizenship: Challenging business-as-usual - UK case studies. BALCC Media Advisory, 6 July, 2001. BALCC Launch Conference, British Asian Business-Stereotypes, Realities  and  Challenges, 6 July, 2001 - Programme,  Introductory Remarks and Summary of discussion Article on BALCC initiative in Asian Voice: first and foremost Asian weekly in Europe. Roundtable #1, People, Planet and Profit: The Triple Bottom Line Approach, 30 August, 2001 - Programme Roundtable #2, Ensuring Transparency: The Challenges for Business, 12 October, 2001 - Programme Roundtable #3, Community involvement - beyond philanthropy, 20 December, 2001 - Programme Roundtable # 4, On the Frontlines: The Challenge of Social Integration & Economic Development for Asian Business, 18 July 2002, Bradford, UK - Programme Media Advisory, 18 July, 2002 and Clipping. Roundtable # 5, Asian Business Today: Promoting Social Inclusion & Corporate Citizenship, 8 November, 2002, Leicester, UK - Brochure , Programme , Photos CSM Roundtable #6 on : Making our Mark : Gender & Ethnic Balance in Public leadership, 6th March 2003, Kabalous Restaurant, Comfort Hotel, Leicester, UK Invitation CSM Roundtable #7 on : Business Engagement: Across continents, With corporates, In the community, Thursday, 11th March 2003, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham, United Kingdom. Brochure Programme CSM Roundtable #8 on Asian Business: Fostering Community Development & Local Leadership in association with Chamber Business Enterprises Ltd. , Thursday, 12th June 2003 at Conference Suite,i2i Interiors Ltd, Emery Court, Vale Road, Heaton Mersey, Stockport, UK Brochure   Snap shots... CSM Roundtable #9 on Corporate Citizenship: Involving Ethnic Minority Business in association with Development & Regeneration, Glasgow City Council, Monday, 16th June 2003 at City Chambers,George Square, Glasgow, Scotland Brochure   Snap shots... CSM Roundtable #10 on Community Leadership: The Role of Asian Business, 9th July, 2003 at Cardiff City Hall, Function Room C, 1st floor, Cardiff, Wales Brochure National Conference on British Asians & Corporate Citizenship, Wednesday, 15th October, 2003 at Institute of Directors, London Flyer BOOK: 'The British and How to Deal with Them: Doing Businesss with Britain's Ethnic Minority Communities', Ram Gidoomal, Deepak Mahtani and David Porter, Middlesex University Press, 2001. REPORT: Ethnic Minorities and the Labour Market, Strategy Unit, Government of UK, March 2003 Useful Links on Ethnic Minority Resources in Britain.