Member Article

Responsible values 'make good business sense'

Guests who attended Project North East’s 2007 Annual Lecture were given an insight into how North East companies can transform their fortunes by placing “human values” at the heart of their business model. Andy Wood, Managing Director of Adnams plc explained how the Suffolk based brewer changed from a hierarchical family business concerned with “doing things right” into a meritocracy whose focus was on “doing the right things”.

Adnams takes its social and environmental responsibility very seriously, claiming that there are business benefits in doing so, ranging from the cost savings from energy efficiency to enhanced perception of their brand. Initiatives that the company has introduced include setting up its own charity to support local worthwhile causes, running an advertising campaign to encourage responsible drinking, and operating a scheme to equip schoolchildren throughout the UK with enterprising skills.

The business is also having major success in reducing its impact on the environment. When the company needed to build a new distribution centre, they opted for a state of the art environmentally efficient construction. Andy Wood said: “Although the new building is eight times the size of its predecessor, it uses less energy. It also produces 500 tonnes less carbon, which is the equivalent of running a small family car for 250 years.”

Despite a cask ale market declining at seven per cent annually, and the dominance of national and international brewers, over the past decade Adnams has doubled its beer volumes, invested £2m in the brand and £16m in its infrastructure, and won a Queen’s Award for Sustainable Development.

Sandy Ogilvie, Director of PNE Group, said: “Adnams is a great example of how a professional socially responsible approach can become mainstream in the business world.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .