COOPERATING ORGANIZATION

http://www.bpcc.org.pl/

A historic agreement was signed this week in Warsaw that will go a long way in furthering the cause of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Republic of Poland.  The 500 member British Polish Chamber of Commerce (BPCC), crowned the best British chamber in continental Europe for a fourth time in a row, penned a “Cooperating Organization” Agreement with the premier CSR Organization in Poland, the Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility.

The BPCC is the leading International Chamber of Commerce in Poland, and its member companies represent 25% of the invested capital in Poland.  BPCC Chief Executive Officer Martin Oxley, (Photo below right) stated, “As a priority, we want to encourage our member companies to be socially responsible.  We want to work with Poland’s leading CSR organization, the FCSR, and team up to support an action oriented, delivery based approach to initiatives which really matter between business and the community.  We see great synergies between both of our organizations.”

The FCSR is entering its 5th year of service to the Polish Business Community and to the people of Poland.  The FCSR is a Foundation of corporations that not only talks about being corporately responsible, but leads by example by functioning responsibly.  It pools the resources of its 82 member companies to meet the specific needs of some of Poland’s most needy kids.  Since its inception, the FCSR has provided over 2.5 million Hot-Meals to Poland neediest children, and presently feeds 60,000 Hot-Meals each month to 3,000 hungry kids in 15 Polish schools in Northwest Poland, a place the Foundation likes to call the PromiseLand.

Realizing the inherent value of working together as Cooperating Organizations, the FCSR and the BPCC will promote their common interests and activities by:

1. Sponsoring joint-activities such as CSR seminars, meetings, social events, etc.
2. Displaying the logos of each organization as “Cooperating Organization” in advertisements, brochures, websites, and membership communications.
3. Invite and host the other Cooperating Organization to regular and special business and social functions and events.
4. Encourage members to become involved in the activities of the other “Cooperating Organization.”
5. Notify FCSR and BPCC members, and the business community at large of the importance of good corporate citizenship, and of the “Cooperating Organization” relationship between the two organizations through press releases, magazines, newsletters, media, etc.

In announcing the new relationship with the BPCC, FCSR President, Dr. William C. Chasey, stated that, “Martin Oxley and I believe that business can be a powerful agent of positive social change, and we want to develop an open dialogue and action plan with business leaders in search of business responsibility.  In so doing, we affirm the necessity for moral values in business and decision making.  Without them, stable business relationships and a sustainable world community are impossible.  It is for this reason that we would like to develop Cooperating Organizational relationships with as many companies and organizations as practical.”

Our intention is to be a valuable CSR resource to the Polish Business Community.  We believe that we can be examples to the business community at-large.  We have just launched the “Cooperating Organization” concept with the BPCC, and it is much too early to know how many additional organizations will join us in our efforts to increase the cause of CSR in Poland, although we think it will be a significant number.

To commemorate the significance of this revolutionary business alliance, CEO Martin Oxley will briefly address the Foundation’s Fall CEO Breakfast at the Bristol Hotel on 26 September, and along with other BPCC Board Members, accept the Foundation’s “Gold Seal of Approval” as a Socially Responsible Chamber of Commerce.

We welcome the BPCC and look forward to a very close cooperation.