So how does it all fit together?
In essence, Virgin is an international investment group with more than 200 companies worldwide. We hold different levels of ownership of the companies: some are fully owned by Virgin, we share ownership of others and in some cases the Virgin trademark is carried on ventures which are no longer owned by Virgin at all. Complicated? Well, not really….
Although managing the Virgin Group is pretty much a full time job, we have developed a canny way of doing it that keeps things fresh and lively whatever a company does and wherever it’s based. At the centre is Virgin Management which oversees all Virgin companies, providing advisory services and managerial support. Our people in London, New York and Sydney offer regional support and between us and the sector teams we manage Richard’s interests across the whole of the Virgin Group.
As the Virgin businesses are all so diverse and independent, we practise a collaborative and supportive
style of management, although they all make their own operational decisions. We give birth to new Virgin companies, help them develop and set best practice guidelines for crucial elements such as customer service standards, brand management and more recently our vision for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development1
(CR/SD). Then we keep an eye on them
as they grow and become fully-fledged members of the Virgin family.
We may be made up of many companies but we are a single brand and so it is vital that we remain consistent in order to be credible. Although Virgin’s management, our various Virgin businesses, Richard himself, Unite (our charitable foundation) all exist as separate and distinct entities, combined we can exert a powerful force in the areas in which we work. Virgin is a lifestyle brand and we now recognise that our responsibility as a consumer champion extends to improving our products and services so that it is easier for our customers to live a sustainable and low carbon life.
TARGET: We will update every company’
s product story by the end of 2010.
THE FIRST STEP: PRODUCT STORY PROCESS
Each Virgin business has its own Product Story, a document that outlines all the corporate responsibility and sustainable development (CR/SD) issues that a particular company faces, put together by quizzing our businesses in depth about all the products and services they offer.
The Product Story covers all aspects of corporate responsibility and sustainable development and so includes what the business is doing well at and striving to improve, as well as the areas which need significant work.
Researching and writing the Product Stories hasn’t given us all the solutions, but by underscoring both the good and the bad bits, we can now say, hand on heart, that we know the whole truth (and nothing but the truth) and so are better positioned to improve our companies’ impacts and help our consumers to live more sustainable lifestyles – which, is ultimately the aim of this process.
10
THE SECOND STEP: DASHBOARD
The detailed Product Story is then simplified into a succinct Dashboard which highlights the main risks and opportunities, progress made and next steps. A traffic light system measures the level of risk and opportunity of any given issue and a star system indicates the CR/SD team’s assessment of how well the company is addressing the issue.
The Dashboard is checked and updated at least twice a year or more frequently if a company has a red traffic light against a headline issue. It is completed by Virgin Management’s CR/SD team in collaboration with the company and is then passed onto the company’s MD/CEO and Managing Partner at Virgin’s management.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88