We're aidie London, a multi award-winning British baby brand and proud ORB members! In May 2019, 14 months after our launch, we were awarded the FSB Start-up Business of the Year Award at the annual Federation of Small Business' Chairman's Ball and Awards Ceremony in London, an event featuring appearances and speeches from Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. The week prior to this win, we had been contacted by the German Design Council in Frankfurt with the news that they had nominated us for a German Design Award 2020, for Excellent Product Design for our first walking shoes. This was completely unexpected but incredibly welcome news! Why we joined ORB Knowing that we wanted to help protect the environment our babies grow up in, we outlined our plan for environmental sustainability. The materials we use are organic ...

There appears to be an increasing trend amongst business owners currently where ethical and responsible practice is just as important as the bottom line. Protecting the environment and decreasing gender pay gaps are just a couple of issues presently playing a part in a company’s decision making process. As consumers are seemingly placing more importance on how a product is made and less importance on the price tag, businesses are actively incorporating their moral principles into their branding. Take Tony’s Chocolonely for example, the Dutch confectionery company focuses its branding completely on their ethics to produce fair trade, 100% slave free chocolate and actively invites the consumer to participate in this positive change. There is hardly any emphasis amongst their branding on how the chocolate actually tastes and the front page of their website is wholly driven towards their ethos, not the multiple flavours of chocolate they actually sell. Another example comes from Waitrose ...

Paul Palmarozza: If I can... Community Interest Company Part 1: How We Think the following We are going to look at the subject of values-based business from a practical perspective. Our recently launched E-Learning app, Ethical Entrepreneur addresses the application of fine human values in the performance of 9 core management functions leads to the establishment of a sustainable, responsible business. We explore business activities in terms of: 1. How We Think 2. How We Relate to Others 3. How We Act The aim is to show that by working to fine values we can demonstrate clearly that business can be:     Ethical & Effective Principled & ProfitableConscious & Commercial We will cover the material in 3 articles, the first being How We Think in our daily business activities. The Situation Today My observation of business practices over a business career spanning 54 years is that there ...

Article by Paul Durrant, proprietor of #ORBMember company PDT Sales Consultancy. As with anything in life, when you take a more minded approach to a task then things become a whole lot easier but what was does being more minded or, indeed, mindfulness actually mean? Mindfulness is essentially a translation of sati, a word from Buddhist texts – which basically means ‘awareness’. This translation has two distinct definitions: Achieving a mental state of awareness by focusing on the present momentBeing in a state of mind whereby one is conscious or aware of something These two definitions are closely matched but mindfulness can, in general, be summarised as ‘being conscious and more considered about a specific situation or moment’. Mindful sales is therefore about being more conscious about the person you are selling to and focusing on their specific needs and buying motives. It is also about being more considered ...

Photo: Pexels Employment laws encompass everything from detailed employment contracts to a wide range of statutory rights, including equal pay, participation in trade union activities, and flexible working arrangements. All of this means that workers’ rights are human rights and should be prioritised as such. Every employee has the right to safety, health, and happiness in the workplace. Creating an environment with rules that protect these rights doesn’t only benefit employees, but also employers. Access to healthcare is one case in point, as here on the Organisation for Responsible Businesses we noted how it improves retention. Plus, it's no secret that employees who become ill often are detrimental to the productivity of the company. Negative effects like this can be avoided if the company provides benefits such as private healthcare, and implements proper regulations, such as reasonable working hours. Businesses are also liable for the safety of their employees. Ensuring that the working environment is ...