October 2007: Business in the Community Ireland launches CR Week with 'Seeing is Believing' Tour in Cork

• Week-long programme of activity to feature range of events aimed at businesses • 'Seeing is Believing' tour to promote corporate responsibility in Cork region CORK, October 15th 2007: Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), the country's leading corporate responsibility advisory group, today launched Ireland's first ever Corporate Responsibility Week, aimed at promoting sustainable, responsible business practices among the Irish business community. The week-long programme of activity will feature a number of events taking place in Dublin and Cork, and kicked off today with the ‘Seeing is Believing' tour in the Cork area, where a group of business leaders received a tour of several community initiatives taking place in the region. Kieran McGowan, Chairman, Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI), said: “All companies, regardless of specialisation or sector, must realise the importance of doing business in a responsible, sustainable manner. This is why initiatives like Corporate Responsibility Week are crucial for the ongoing development of Irish businesses”. Today's tour featured a brief introduction to the extensive community involvement programmes run in Cork by leading healthcare company, Janssen Pharmaceutical, as well as a demonstration of the community-based partnership between Pfizer Healthcare Ireland and the Irish Heart Foundation in Carrigaline. Tour participants also visited the Churchfield Community Trust, a community project in Cork, which works with young men who have spent time in prison and is supported by the business community. In addition, participants spent time with another local youth project, Mahon Action on Youth, which is supported by Hibernian Insurance. The tour, organised by BITCI was led by Bryan Mohally, Managing Director of Janssen and recently appointed board member of BITCI. Janssen's extensive community programme includes their involvement with Special Olympics Munster and their ongoing work with three schools in the north side of Cork city in the areas of career guidance, mentoring and site visits. “Today's tour provided an invaluable first hand demonstration of how businesses can integrate with the communities that they are based in and create lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships. Going forward, we hope that today's tour can provide a template that other businesses in Cork can follow,” said Mr. McGowan. Other activities that will be taking place as part of Corporate Responsibility Week include an Environment Forum, featuring a discussion of best practices on waste and energy issues, and a workshop on stress in the workplace. The BITCI also plans to publish a report later this week on best corporate responsibility practices in Ireland. Tina Roche, Chief Executive, BITCI, said: “Corporate responsibility is now firmly on the business agenda in Ireland. We expect Corporate Responsibility Week to play a major role in helping us towards our ultimate goal, where all businesses, not just the leaders, have corporate responsibility embedded into their business practices”. For further information, contact Moira Horgan, Marketing Communications Manager at 01-8743812, 086-1722105 or mhorgan@bitc.ie