THE FIRST WORD


I


t’s now just over a year since our lives changed beyond recognition. By trading in our freedom to protect our family, friends, colleagues and the most vulnerable sections of our society from coronavirus, we made sacrifices we could never have envisaged before the pandemic. At a macro level, the effects of 12 months of lockdown restrictions on our economy is stark –


UK GDP shrank by just under 10% in 2020 – but the real-world effects have been disproportionate. Certain industries, including hospitality, retail and tourism, have borne the brunt, while the


harsh impact on the job prospects among young people has been well chronicled. It’s also shone a light on regional inequality, with the East Midlands unemployment rate


consistently above the national average since March 2020. But the bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity. Perhaps Covid-19 will be a


turning point for how we approach economic growth, with the levelling up agenda seemingly near the top of the Prime Minister’s in-tray right now – although we explore what this term actually means in our politics section on p48. The Chamber is fully tuned into the Westminster themes of “Building Back Better” and “Building Back Greener”, and our Sustainable East Midlands campaign highlights the trends, opportunities and thought leadership in this area – led by our dedicated section on p44. But two threads of progress we’ve also recently detected when speaking to members are a


greater awareness among businesses of their place within their communities, and employee wellbeing. That’s why this edition is dedicated to both these themes. Our big interview on p22 comes


with a twist as eight business leaders, rather than just one, offer their views about what CSR – or ESG (environmental, social and governance), an increasingly preferred moniker for giving back – means to them and ideas on involving more companies. Our focus feature on p52 analyses how businesses are approaching mental and physical


health in their workplaces – whether it’s the use of group sessions, space, training or new ways of thinking. While it’s been a tough year for us all, our latest Quarterly Economic Survey, which received


more responses than ever before, shows business confidence is returning strongly. Let’s hope we’ll look back on this period as the beginning of something better.


Best wishes, Dan Robinson, Editor, Business Network


CONTENTS APRIL 2021


NEWS UPDATE 4 MEMBER NEWS Book explores wellbeing in the workplace


20 APPOINTMENTS Former Reach editor joins Purpose Media as non-executive director


THE BIG INTERVIEW 22 Business leaders discuss the importance of CSR


26 PATRONS New Italian research base for university


28 CHAMBER NEWS The East Midlands: Where good business makes good sense


SUSTAINABLE EAST MIDLANDS 44 Modern slavery and the ESG agenda


INTERNATIONAL TRADE 46 Facing up to Brexit tax practicalities


POLITICS


48 Opportunities for the East Midlands in the levelling up agenda


FEATURES


51 LEGAL SERVICES Debunking the myths of burnout


52 FOCUS FEATURE Exploring mental health in the workplace and post-Covid employee wellbeing trends


57 GREEN BUSINESS A greener way to work


58 Why should SMEs consider reducing energy usage?


TRAINING & EVENTS 60 The benefits of bespoke training


Editor Dan Robinson T: 07764 431028 E: dan.robinson@emc-dnl.co.uk


Contributor Jasmine Thompson


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DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY 62 Linking in with the right connections


BUSINESS SUPPORT 65 LEGAL Looking after your workforce


66 FINANCE Sustainable investing: What you need to know


68 SKILLS What will the Skills for Jobs strategy mean for businesses?


70 PROPERTY Pandemic and Brexit to trigger real estate shift


72 MOTORING Nick Jones tests the Bentley Bentayga V8


73 INFORMATION How to get a press release published


COMMENT 74 THE LAST WORD Chamber president Eileen Richards MBE on the importance of CSR


business network April 2021 3


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