Over the past few years, United Biscuits has not just sustained but even augmented its community affairs programme despite changes in senior management and commercial pressures: Lord Laing’s retirement in 1990 caused some to fear for the company’s on-going commitment, while in 1995 the company suffered a £100 million pre-tax loss. But UB believes a full community affairs programme adds value to the business – just one example being the increasing pulling power of being a ‘good corporate citizen’ as reported by graduate recruitment managers. Eric Nicoli as group chief executive remains as committed as before to the principles and ideals of the Per Cent Club which Lord Laing founded.
In the last two years, particularly under community affairs manager, Ken Musgrave, UB has become increasingly focused, updating community schemes and being more proactive. The shift from ‘confetti funding’ to long term investment has strengthened links in education and enterprise. The strength of its secondment programme and the active policy of community involvement in central European are distinctive features of UB’s approach.
The business
One of the world’s largest food manufacturing businesses, UB operates in 22 countries, has leading market positions in the UK and continental Europe and is building its presence in Asia. Manufacturing, marketing and distributing a wide range of biscuits, savoury snacks and frozen and chilled foods, brands include McVities, KP, Phileas Fogg, Youngs and Linda McCartney meat-free products.
UB employs 26,100 people worldwide, with 17,500 in the UK. The head office is located in West Drayton, with major production sites in Harlesden, Ashby, Grimsby and Teesside. Continental Europe is of growing importance to the business, contributing 12% of operating profit and 18% of employees even before the recent acquisition of PepsiCo’s European biscuits operation.
The programme
Community affairs now falls within the corporate relations function, headed by Joanna Scott. Ken Musgrave is supported by Pat Chown at corporate centre, with two part-time regional community affairs managers. In addition, there is a network of ‘champions’ at each site, helping with staff charity fundraising.
The rationale behind community affairs at UB is the belief that commercial success and social responsibility are inextricably linked. The company has two key community objectives: firstly, to help society in ways which will enhance its reputation as a good and socially responsible employer; and secondly, to provide a strong environment for the group’s future trading, by investing in activities which lead to a more stable, prosperous and educated society.
Focus
The community affairs programme aims to invest back into the local communities around UB’s sites, focusing on:
– training and economic regeneration;
– enterprise agencies and trusts;
– education; and
– community initiatives.
Last year, a total of at least ?1.2 million was contributed by UB in the UK, excluding ‘in-kind’ giving. Highlights of the programme include:
– major secondment programme, with managers at The Prince’s Youth Business Trust, Save the Children and The Prince’s Trust Volunteers, The Trident Trust and the IGD provision Programme.
– sponsorship of the NW London TEC Rubicon awards, to encourage business/education links – the UB award was for work-related applied education;
– support for the European Teacher Placement programme, especially in producing curriculum materials;
– supporting economic, social and educational activities through many voluntary organisations in the Halifax area through the Calderdale Trust, set up by UB following a factory closure;
– support for enterprise agencies in UB’s ‘new’ international territories, starting in 1991 at Kisalfold, Hungary, and now at Jaroslaw, Poland;
– support for Right Track in Easterhouse, Glasgow, working with young people to help them develop skills and confidence to find work;
– running volunteering, team initiative and school governor awards, offering grants of between £250 and £500 to projects with staff involvement or fundraising.
Matched funding and other support is offered to a single company charity; over the last nine years this has been Save the Children, for which over ?1 million has been raised. From 1998, a new corporate charity has been selected – Macmillan Cancer Relief – after several organisations made presentations and the businesses were consulted. A minimum of £80,000 is the fundraising target for the year.
The secondment programme
Employee involvement in community affairs is a key element of UB’s approach, with secondment as the largest single investment. Some ten staff are out on placement at any one time, mainly senior managers towards the end of their careers. Previously funded from the centre, responsibility was recently devolved to business units; far from cutting back, the numbers have increased and now an innovative ‘ten days out / ten days in’ approach is being adopted. This allows some work-related tasks and projects to be undertaken, keeps managers in touch with the business and improves feedback from the voluntary and community organisations. Regular meetings with secondees, ex-secondees and their partners ensure they are supported and do not lose a sense of value of their work.
European enterprise agencies
UB is active in supporting individuals who want to start or expand an independent business, particularly in areas close to its own operations. Taking and adapting the British expertise with enterprise agencies, since 1991 UB has funded Kisalfold Business Assistance in Hungary, in partnership with the British Know How Fund and the EU PHARE initiative. Now in Jaroslaw, Poland, the aim is to replicate the Hungarian initiative. Initially conceived at least in part to mitigate expected job losses when UB invested in former sate-owned biscuit operations, in fact expansion with the introduction of new brands has allowed growth and productivity increases without major down-sizing.
Future developments
To date United Biscuits has had only limited experience with cause related marketing. Possible links with its new corporate charity, Macmillan, are being carefully explored, mindful of the importance of getting right any link up close to business fundamentals. This is especially important for a food producer and a health charity, given nutritional sensitivities around excessive consumption of biscuits and snacks.
Other areas for further development are expanding community activities in continental Europe alongside business growth and integrating the programme with wider corporate citizenship issues such as the environment and government relations.
Finally, UB along with many other companies is looking at evaluation to measure the full scope and impact of the programme. As a pilot exercise, an in-depth study is underway of one site and its links with education. The aim is to record and value the totality of company inputs over ten years and assess what this has achieved. This should provide the evidence to justify a continued investment and expansion of the programme, closer to the business and its needs.
Provided the challenge which these developments pose is successfully met, the community programme looks set to play a role of growing importance to the business, as the company celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of its formation as United Biscuits.
United Biscuits
Chairman: Colin Short
Group chief executive: Eric Nicoli
Turnover: £1,987 million
Pre-tax profit: £24.4 million
Employees: 26,100 (17,500 in the UK)
Year end: December 28, 1996
Community contribution: ?1.2 million
Percentage of profit: 4.9%
Per head of staff: £46
Policy focus: training and economic regeneration; enterprise agencies and trusts; education; community initiatives
Flagship projects:
1. Support for the European Teacher Placements programme.
2. Managers seconded to PYBT, Save the Children, Prince’s Trust Volunteers, Trident Trust, IGD Provision Programme.
3. Volunteering, team initiative and school governor award schemes.
Employee involvement: extensive secondment programme; matched fundraising; support for volunteering.
Management: two full time staff within corporate relations plus two part-time regional coordinators.
Contact: Ken Musgrave, community affairs manager
Address: Group Headquarters, Church Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7PR
Phone: 01895 432100
Cadbury Schweppes
Chairman: Sir Dominic Cadbury
Chief executive: John Sunderland
Turnover: £5,115 million
Pre-tax profit: £592 million
Employees: 42,911 (13,116 in the UK)
Year end: December 28, 1996
Community contribution: £3.8 million
Percentage of profit: 0.6%
Per head of staff: £89
Policy focus: education and enterprise; health and welfare; environment
Flagship projects:
1. Sponsorship of BITC cause related marketing programme.
2. Industry education links programmes.
3. Cadbury Time – after school clubs.
Employee involvement: matched fundraising, volunteering and secondment
Management: managed at the centre through external affairs department; separate Cadbury Schweppes Foundation
Contact: Neil Makin, external affairs director
Address: 25 Berkeley Square, London, W1X 6HT
Phone: 0171 830 5048
Associated British Foods
Chairman: Garry Weston
Deputy chairman: Harold Bailey
Turnover: £5,707 million
Pre-tax profit: £430 million
Employees: 45,173 (36,000 in UK and Ireland)
Year end: September 14, 1996
Community contribution: £400,000
Percentage of profit: 0.1%
Per head of staff: £9
Policy focus: community contribution largely handled by Garfield Weston Foundation (annual grants c?19 million) which owns 79% of ABF’s parent company.
Flagship projects (foundation):
1. Grants of more than ?1m to Tate Gallery for Bankside power station conversion, Methodist Homes for the Aged, NSPCC and Thrombosis Research Institute.
2. Medium sized grants to the City Technology Colleges Trust, Royal Botanic Gardens, and SANE.
3. Grants of up to ?5,000 to Shared Earth Trust and Council of Christian and Jews
Employee involvement: not disclosed
Management: programme managed at local level, with British Sugar responsible for own activities.
Contact: Harold Bailey, foundation secretary
Address: Garfield Weston Foundation, Weston Centre, Bowater House, 68 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7LR
Phone: 0171 589 6363
Northern Foods
Chairman: Christopher Haskins
Managing directors: Jo Stewart, Neil Davidson
Turnover: £1,884 million
Pre-tax profit: £128.3 million
Employees: 24,005
Year end: March 31, 1997
Community contribution: £727,000
Percentage of profit: 0.57%
Per head of staff: £30
Policy focus: communities where the company operates; inner cities; unemployed, homeless, disabled, ex-offenders, ethnic minorities
Flagship projects:
1. The Apex Trust – support of the trust’s work with offenders including a programme which uses employee volunteers to help ex-offenders in prisons to consider work options before their release.
2. Fairbridge in Salford, Manchester – support for a young people’s development programme, including cash donations and employee secondment.
3. Instant muscle, Nottingham and Hull – funding for business start-up advisors where the target group includes the long-term unemployed and those from ethnic minority communities.
Employee involvement: includes secondments to charities
Management: social responsibility committee meets quarterly to discuss requests for cash donations.
Contact: Helen Bray, community affairs manager
Address: Beverley House, St Stephen’s Square, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU1 3XG
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