Yorkshire's News & Events
The doom and gloom of the credit crunch seems to be everywhere around us, but Mr. Yorkshire is keen to point out that there is actually much to get excited about in the Yorkshire business world.
It is very easy for the media to focus solely on the negative side, and for this reason we bring you Mr. Yorkshire's business News & Events blog, highlighting what is going right for companies in Yorkshire.
Here you will find Yorkshire business news and events, particularly related to the companies profiled by Mr. Yorkshire. We update this page regularly, so please come back soon.
Yorkshire firm leads growing trend of ‘people, planet, profit’
Monday, 13th July 2009
Big business and saving the planet are not often mentioned in the same sentence. Well, not since Bob Geldof and Live Aid anyway.
But now things are changing rapidly - and one Yorkshire business is at the forefront of a growing global trend of corporate social responsibility (CSR), sometimes known as ‘responsible business’ or ‘corporate citizenship.’
Community Partnership Solutions (CPS), based in Yorkshire, works in the field of CSR. The company helps businesses and organisations to embrace responsibility for the impact of their activities – on the environment, consumers, employees, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere.
Businesses that choose to work in this way believe they have a ‘triple bottom line’ of people, planet, profit. And CPS is among a growing number of businesses who passionately believe that this is the way forward.
Chris Leech, who started CPS a year ago after spending over ten years in the rail industry, explained, "The global financial crisis has led to a worsening of people's fears about their future security and stability. As they begin to feel less stable and less secure about their lives, then their sense of identity and of belonging to their community becomes more important.
“The strategies we develop for clients ensure that their organisations’ core values and ethos are shared to the communities they serve. This usually happens through a structured community engagement programme.”
CPS puts in place corporate social responsibility strategies for some of the largest organisations in the UK and throughout Europe, for example Serco; The British Transport Police, Starbucks, First Group, SportsAid to name but a few.
The company is also an established adviser to the Government on a variety of community initiatives, including transport safety and youth engagement and education.
In addition, CPS is corporate social responsibility strategists for HRH the Duke of York.
Chris said, “If organisations and businesses provide low level investment to develop community engagement strategies within the areas they serve, they can help heal these communities and reduce fears.”
He added, “They can also provide a positive example and raise awareness of how they interact with communities in which they do business.”
Such awareness has proved invaluable for CPS clients in changing customer perceptions, encouraging customer loyalty, winning competitive contracts and achieving successful commercial negotiations.
CPS is now recognised by “Business in the Community” (BiTC) as the leading company to create CSR strategies for clients wishing to develop youth engagement programmes throughout the UK.
Chris and his initiatives have won several awards including the BiTC Best Practice, and the Sir Robert Horton Safety Award. He also picked up the Serco Pulse Global Award - for an initiative that he designed in collaboration with the Scout Association developing a rail safety programme that was to become the most popular Scout badge in the history of the Scout Association.
One example of his work is developing a programme within the transport sector to educate young offenders as to the consequences of their actions. This reduced crime on the railways by 48% in targeted areas within the North of England. The success of this campaign was recognised nationally when Chris was awarded an MBE in the Queens Birthday Honours List in October 2007. In addition to creating community engagement strategies CPS has developed an educational website that helps deliver his clients' messages to over 23,000 schools across the UK. The Teachingzone provides free curriculum based resources to teachers that reflect his clients core values to a younger generation.
With over 280,000 hits per month this site has been endorsed by the education sector and adopted by the British Library as “Best Practice”.
I am a firm believer that the hubs of every community are the schools and colleges, therefore if my clients want to engage and deliver a message to their community, then young people can not only benefit from receiving these messages but also can become great ambassadors on behalf of my clients.
Chris is passionate in his beliefs and continues to link communities with local businesses and organisations in order to provide education through youth engagement, recognising the needs of his clients and the very communities they serve.
Future initiatives include working with young people in Newham, London, where the preparation for the site of the Olympic Games 2012 is currently being developed and where gun and knife crimes are a daily occurrence.
In partnership with Andrew Upton an award winning film Director this particular programme will be help support and capture the true meaning and impact of the Legacy initiative that will take shape with the young people living in the shadows of the Olympic village.
For further information please go to www.chrisleech.com or email Chris at cps@chrisleech.com.
For examples of CPS initiatives please go to:
www.teachingzone.org/btp
www.backstage-academy.co.uk
www.dyci.org.uk
www.eq2.eu.com
xperience launches LS Live website
Wednesday, 10th June 2009
xperience GB, Mr. Yorkshire's profiled web services company, is delighted to announce the launch of LS Live, a unique one-stop shop for sets, staging, hire and rehearsal space in the entertainment industry. A division of Litestructures Ltd, the world leader in aluminium trussing, LS Live is here to provide bespoke services for those in entertainment. It can provide not just world class structures but also custom design and manufacture, taking your project from concept to delivery.
Litestructures has worked with a number of renowned performance artists, including Pussycat Dolls, Scissor Sisters, Westlife, George Michael and Holiday On Ice. Bryan Cross, Production Manager for the Pussycat Dolls, said of the company, “When it comes to set fabrication and rehearsal space for a full production, Litestructures is the only place I trust with all of my artists. The attention to detail that is put into the sets, the people, and the rehearsal studio are all top notch."
xperience worked closely with LS Live throughout the production of the website, providing the full design and development. The site is designed to give a lively, modern feel, appealing to many in the industry. It uses video and flash effects, together with an easy-to-use interface and navigation system. It is informative with information on services, contact details, testimonials and local amenities, plus much more.
It has been a pleasure working with LS Live and no doubt xperience's relationship with them will long into the future.
View the website here: www.ls-live.com.
Club LS1 Welcomes Mr. Yorkshire as New Ambassador
Tuesday, 2nd June 2009
A press release from Club LS1:
As it continues to raise its profile among the region’s leaders, Leeds’ premier executive club - Club LS1 - today welcomed a key figure to the team. Keith Madeley, or Mr. Yorkshire as he is also known, has been a member of the Club since 2007, but now takes a more formal role as its ambassador.
Mr. Madeley said, “Club LS1 has been the place where leaders meet in Leeds since 1849 and for as long as I’ve been a member, I’ve been extolling its benefits. Nowhere else in the city can you mix with such an eclectic group of people, attracted by the Club’s feeling of community, coupled with its exclusivity. And the building itself, with its 19th Century architecture mixed with 21st Century technology, is a great base for both business and socialising.”
Club LS1’s Chairman, David Criddle, said, “Keith has a prestigious pedigree in the region – exactly why he’s earned his title as Mr. Yorkshire – and is already connected to the same audience as Club LS1’s. By joining forces in this way, Keith will help us ensure even more of the region’s leaders can benefit from what we have to offer.”
ENDS
For further information contact Jennifer Holloway, Head of Communications, on 07842 363651.
Editors’ notes
1. With a membership drawn from the worlds of business, the arts, politics and sport, Club LS1 is Yorkshire’s premier executive club, based at 3 Albion Place - a historic building in the heart of Leeds. It is the place where leaders meet and provides a programme of business and social networking events, a members-only restaurant and bar and state of the art business facilities. It also has partnerships with a number of leading organisations, including the Institute of Directors and Royal Society for the Arts and is home to Common Purpose and ACEVO (the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations).
2. Keith Madeley was born and raised in Bradford, joining British Rail in the south east in his early career, before returning to Yorkshire to form an independent financial services business (which he sold in 2004). As Chairman of the Yorkshire Society for the past seven years, he has presided over a period of significant growth in corporate and individual members. Keith is also an active participant in a wide range of community activities where his public speaking skills and long-standing links with national, regional and local media are used to great effect. His strong networking ability within Yorkshire and beyond assists both corporate relationships and many activities promoting Yorkshire.
Midland Hotel General Manager to take Big Walk for Charity
Monday, 18th May 2009
The General Manager of Midland Hotel Bradford, Gary Peacock, is to undertake a strenouous walk for charity alongside his colleagues at the Rotary Club of Bradford Bronte. Entitled 'Bronte's Big Walk', the event is taking place on 6th and 7th June 2009, and will involve the group visiting 50 peaks, lakes and pubs in just 48 hours.
Mr. Peacock provided Mr. Yorkshire with the following appeal:
"Please help us TO SAVE YOUNG LIVES, by helping our chosen charity.
"Every week in the UK 12 young people die suddenly from an undetected heart condition.
Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) is committed to reducing this statistic by creating awareness of the condition, better access to screening and research into the causes.
"The Rotary Club of Bradford Bronte is helping CRY by challenging its members and friends to 'Bag' at least 50 peaks, lakes and pubs in 48 hours, with adults and children of all ages taking part.
"I'm therefore asking you to sponsor us as a team with as little or as much as you can spare.
ALL DONATIONS GO TO THE CHARITY.
"Sponsor us at www.justgiving.com/brontesbigwalk.
"Please please help us to help this incredibly worthy cause."
Mr. Yorkshire encourages you to help with this honourable venture.
