Mattie Lacey-Davidson sits down with Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden and the Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce to find out what businesses and non-profit organisations can do in the community and how they are striving to lead the way…

“It is about joining the dots – we find ourselves in different situations where people are talking about the same thing, so we can prompt them to work together for the greater good. We need to drive that message more throughout Watford.” says Dan Dark, managing director of Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden.

I am sitting around a table with Dan and Chris Luff, CEO of the Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce. They have joined forces, in a way, to pioneer social responsibility in business and throughout the community and “joining the dots” is at the forefront of this.

“We kept finding ourselves at the same events,” Dan adds. “So through what I’ve been doing and what Chris was already doing we’ve begun working together on CSR, diversity, inclusion, environment… that entire world.”

Behind the scenes the pair have formed the Chamber of Conscience, which they call a “catalyst for change”.

“It is about what connects the community and business. Whether it is a business or a charity or a special needs school - conscience connects it all,” Dan explains, while Chris adds a little more insight into these endeavours.

“It is an informal group of companies with the same idea. It is about changing the conversation. Don’t go networking and ask what you do, ask people what they’re doing. The Chamber of Conscience are ambassadors going out and asking those questions.”

Chris goes on to tell me that Watford is one of the top eight most generous towns in the country, according to JustGiving.

Whether that simply means we’re doing more sponsored walks he doesn’t don’t know, but it certainly indicates a generous nature all round.

“We should be really proud of our town and what’s in it,” Chris adds. “Years ago if you scratched below the surface of a CSR policy, a business will have planted a tree to tick a box. Now it is much more highly regarded by employees and the public. People want to see businesses making a difference.

“Loads of companies have CSR policies and do great things, but what a lot of business leader miss out on is the benefits of being personally involved and it helps you work with your team better. Businesses have a role to play in inspiring their staff - it is about joining up and joining in.”

It all sounds wonderful, inarguably, but I wondered what Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden. was actually doing day-to-day to lead the way and to set an example, both for their staff and to other companies.

It turns out, they’re doing quite a lot. So much so, in fact, that they were recognised for their commitment to be an inclusive employer by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

On November 14 the company was presented a Disability Confident Award by James Snell of Beds and Herts DWP who said:

“WBSL has embraced the ethos of disability confident and has made a substantial contribution towards the government’s commitment to getting more disabled people into work by changing people’s attitude towards employing disabled workers.

“The company held a ‘Celebrating the Ability in Disability’ event to promote positivity around employing people with disabilities, to showcase capability. The event was attended by around 200 employers of varying sizes, several support organisations and representatives from DWP.”

On top of that accolade, for two days a year staff are able to volunteer, they are in the process of switching to LED only lighting, nearly 80% of the power purchased is from sustainable sources and renewable energy, zero per cent of Warner Bros. waste goes to landfill and environmental impact plays a huge role in their procurement process.

On top of this, they support several organisations across Watford, such as The Collett School for Special Educational Needs, Watford Mencap, Peace Hospice Care and Small Acts of Kindness, in a variety of ways, from volunteering and donating, to offering mentoring and business support.

“The advantage that I have here at Warner Bros. is that through the Chamber of Conscience catalyst, if we put our name to something it helps to provide a level of reassurance for other companies to get involved,” Dan tells me.

“It is about sharing good practice, sharing opportunities and sharing when things don’t go right. Every day is a learning experience for all of us and we need to be able to share those experiences. I think that if we have been able to help in any particular way, it is reinforcing to other companies to get involved.”

However, just because these steps are right doesn’t mean it is always easy, especially for small businesses and start-ups.

“The door is open,” Chris assures me. “I am happy to talk and so is Dan, if people want to know what to do and where to focus time, energy and money, then we’re happy to have that conversation.

“There are 500 charities but 4,000 businesses. We need to match them up. With our membership now you can sponsor a charity so they get all the invites and business advice that other companies with memberships are privy too.

Dan finishes by saying: “We’re really lucky to be working in a time where change for the better is happening. To be a part of our community and to be able to help support our community gives us all great pride. As Chris would say “Join up and Join In!”