Herd ranked top 10 for social responsibility

Striding Out's Future 100 Awards today highlighted Herd as one of the top 10 socially responsible companies in the UK from a list of 100 winners. Here at our office we're all feeling really pleased with this recognition. Herd's commitment to socially responsible business has always been a fundamental part of the way we operate, so it's good to know that our endeavours caught the attention of the judges.

This achievement has also opened some doors for us as it has helped earn us a place on Ernst & Young's Accelerate programme for social entrepreneurs, along with other social entrepreneurs from the likes of UnLtd, The Prince’s Trust, Bright Ideas Trust, Social Business Trust and Teach First.

What is responsible business?

The definition of responsible business used by Future 100 to make their decision was a company that 'demonstrates an equal balance between economic, environmental and social goals to achieve ultimate business success.' This is precisely what we aim to achieve in all the work that we do – whether it be using environmentally friendly hosting facilities, supporting community skills training projects or working with socially responsible clients to help them communicate important messages.

We share the view of Future 100 that 'the future of our world is in the hands of individuals who are committed to generating commercial and ethical returns.' The current economic climate has called into question a lot of conventional business practices and we like to think of ourselves as part of the new generation of socially minded companies helping to increase the contribution that business makes to society. We are challenging the old ways of doing business by putting the good of people and the environment alongside profit as one of the key measures of our success.

What next?

This recognition shows us that we're on the right track with the work we're doing and perhaps even helping to lead the way in improving business practice. We're working on becoming a fully fledged social enterprise in the next year or so, and this will be the next step for us in merging the social aims of Herd with the day-to-day practicalities of running a business. Keep your eyes on our blog for more updates on our journey!