Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Good Business Register?
What is Responsible Business Practice?
What are the five Principles of Responsible Business Practice?
Why should I register?
Benefits of creating a profile
How much does it cost?
How long does it take to complete the profile?
Who should complete the profile?
What happens when I have entered all of my information into the Profile?
How will creating a profile benefit my business?
Who can see my profile?
Do I need to complete each of the principles?
How do I use this profile in the procurement process?
Is my profile validated or verified by St James Ethics Centre?
Can I use an external auditor or an accountant to verify my profile?
Who is St James Ethics Centre?
What is the Good Business Register?
The Good Business Register is a simple, free, online tool that helps a small to medium sized business create a sustainability report to be used in the tender processes and ensures that the business can communicate their unique aspects to a range of stakeholders.
Following the overseas trend, more and more Australian companies are requiring that suppliers address sustainability issues in the tender process. In response the Federal Government (Treasury) funded St James Ethics Centre to create a national tool specifically for small to medium sized businesses to help them prepare and communicate their sustainability credentials.
The Good Business Register was developed by St James Ethics Centre and a range of project collaborators.
The profile can be used in the procurement or tender process – particularly with large corporations – or as a way to start building a sustainability report which can be communicated to customers, investors or other key stakeholders.
The Register allows you the opportunity to print, save or send:
A Statement of Commitment AND / OR a full Responsible Business Profile
Statement of Commitment Full Responsible Business Profile
You can send your Statement of Commitment to key stakeholders to indicate you have registered on the Good Business Register and have committed to the journey of becoming a more responsible and sustainable business. You might also like to place a copy in your shop window for customers to see or include it on your website for people to view.
You can send your full profile to a range of stakeholders including suppliers who might be interested in finding out about your sustainability credentials, as well as customers, investors, staff or your local community.
What is Responsible Business Practice?
Responsible business practices include a company's positive impact on society and the environment through its operations, products or services and through its interaction with key stakeholders such as employees, customers, investors, communities and suppliers.
Responsible business practices cover activities such as maintaining economic viability, protecting and supporting employees, engaging with and disseminating responsible business practices through your supply chain, engaging with your community and other stakeholders, and reducing your business's impact on the environment.
What are the five Principles of Responsible Business Practice?
The five Principles of Responsible Business Practice behind the Good Business Register have been derived from an analysis of the supply chain requirements of the Corporate Responsibility Index Leaders Network which includes companies such as Westpac, Toyota, ANZ and EnergyAustralia.
FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY - Operate our business in an economically sustainable manner
WORKPLACE - Provide a workplace that supports worker and employee wellbeing and inclusiveness
SUPPLY CHAIN - Promote responsible business practices throughout our supply chain
STAKEHOLDERS & COMMUNITY - Actively engage with our community and other stakeholders
ENVIRONMENT - Minimise the impact of our business activities on the environment
These principles have been developed to introduce small to medium businesses to the basic concepts of responsible business practice and provide a framework within which they can understand their existing position and identify areas for further action and improvement.
They have been created by drawing upon existing international, national and local leading practice frameworks from corporate; federal, state and local government; and non-government organisations, and tailored to align with the unique qualities and needs of the SME market (a full list of references can be found here).
Why should I register?
Businesses of all sizes will benefit from registering and beginning to build their responsible business practice profile. The Good Business Register allows you to create a profile which can then be used in the procurement (supply chain process) or help you start building a profile of your sustainability credentials across the five principles. The profile asks you to consider what your business is already doing in the area of responsible business practice and identify areas for further action and improvement.
Benefits of creating a profile
The benefits of creating a responsible business profile are many and varied - and this list is by no means exhaustive:
Improved image and reputation
Reputation and image are built on intangibles such as trust, reliability, quality, consistency, credibility and transparency, as well as tangibles such as investment in people, environmental protection and health and safety. It can take many years to build a good reputation, but very little time to ruin it.
Improved trust and understanding
Engaging with and investing in close relationships with all stakeholders will help them to understand you, your business and your approach to sustainability and build trust.
Larger, more prominent profile
Adopting a positive approach to sustainability and communicating about what you’re doing can help you to ‘punch above your weight’, raising the profile of your business and increasing your presence and visibility.
Better market position
Setting your business apart, making it a little different by being demonstrably socially and environmentally responsible may improve your market position and make you a preferred supplier.
More business
A commitment to sustainability may help you to win business, especially from customers who are looking to trade with businesses with similar credentials. Value can be added to products and services that demonstrate social and environmentally responsible characteristics.
Increased employee motivation
Personal satisfaction is a key benefit of a commitment to sustainability People measurably prefer working for ‘good’ companies, and satisfied, involved employees are likely to be more motivated and committed and therefore more productive.
Increased staff retention and decreased absenteeism
Your employees need to know that you value their contribution. Providing excellent working conditions can lead to tangible savings from decreased recruitment costs and lower absenteeism.
Increased ability to recruit and retain staff
As society expects better social and environmental responsibility from businesses so potential employees are looking for companies with strong values that they feel proud to work for and will want to keep working for.
Cost savings and increased efficiency
Investment in environmental improvements and energy saving can lead to substantial cost savings and increased efficiency, while also reducing risks by being ahead of legislation
Benefits company culture
Having shared values and beliefs that are well communicated can have a positive impact on the culture of the company.
Small to medium businesses stand to derive significant competitive advantage if they can better demonstrate their credentials in responsible business practice. The Good Business Register has been specifically developed to enable small to medium businesses to be strategic in their responsible business practice.
Responsible business practice is about being strategic in choosing the activities that align with your core business and reflect your values and challenges. It is helpful to start by identifying activities in which you are already engaged and recognising your strengths and understanding your gaps and opportunities for improvement - building your Profile can help you to do this.
How much does it cost?
The good news is that it is currently free to register and start building your responsible business practice profile. Click here to register now
How long does it take to complete the profile?
The online profile has been designed in such a way that you can provide as much or as little information as you choose. Once you have registered and accessed your profile you can save any information that you have entered at any stage and log in and out as required. Therefore the time it takes to complete the profile will be dependent on what you already have to demonstrate in terms of responsible business practices and what you learn or take away to improve. It can be completed incrementally to your time constraints and as your business grows or changes.
Who should complete the profile?
Whilst the profile was designed to meet the unique and specific qualities of small to medium businesses, businesses of all sizes will benefit from registering and beginning to build their responsible business profile. The profile asks you to consider what your business is already doing in the area of responsible business practice and identify areas for further action and improvement. It is recommended that the profile be completed by the CEO, Manager, Owner or a senior member of your business. You can also involve other areas of your business to leverage engagement and motivation of employees.
What happens when I have entered all of my information into the Profile?
You are now ready to publish your "sustainability profile" or save, print or email it if required.
How will creating a profile benefit my business?
Creating a profile allows you the opportunity to share and promote your responsible business activities to a range of stakeholders. You can use it when procuring for business, send it out to your key investors or communicate it to staff or customers.
Who can see my profile?
Unless you elect to authorise the publishing of your profile only the person that registers can view the content in their profile. The registered user can elect to print or email access to their profile to a variety of audiences as they see fit.
Do I need to complete each of the principles?
The principles do not have to be completed all at once or in a particular order, however we recommend starting with Principle 1 - Financial Sustainability. Once registered, you can log in and out any time and keep building your online profile.
How do I use this profile in the procurement process?
By building and generating your profile and using it as a continuous improvement process there may be an opportunity to differentiate yourself from a competitor. There is also the option to upload supporting evidence that the prospective procurer may wish to inspect during the decision-making process. Once you have completed your profile you have the opportunity to convert it to a PDF file and email it to a procurer or anyone else who may have requested to view your profile.
Is my profile validated or verified by St James Ethics Centre?
No, your profile is not required to be validated or verified by St James Ethics Centre. However, a procurer may request your profile to undergo a third party check. This can be done by the procurer or an external party. The nature and scope will be determined by the requestor, for example profiles that have been validated may be weighted higher than those that haven't been validated.
Can I use an external auditor or an accountant to verify my profile?
Yes. More information coming soon!
Who is St James Ethics Centre?
St James Ethics Centre is a fully independent, not-for-profit organisation which provides a non-judgmental forum for the promotion and exploration of ethics. The Ethics Centre's mission is to encourage and assist individuals and organisations to include the ethical dimension in their daily lives, and thereby help to create a better world. St James Ethics Centre has no political or religious affiliations.
The Federal Government, through Treasury is funding St James Ethics Centre over a period of three years (2008-2010) to expand responsible business practice in Australia. Responsible business practices include a company's positive impact on society and the environment through its operations, products or services and through its interaction with key stakeholders such as employees, customers, investors, communities and suppliers. The realisation of the Good Business Register was made possible via the funding. Read more about the National Responsible Business Practice Project and specifically the National SME Project here: http://thehub.ethics.org.au/sme/