If you know the department you are looking for, please select from the following list. Otherwise, scroll down to read about all the departments involved in CSR.

Cabinet Office - Office of the Third Sector
Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Education and Skills
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Department for International Development
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Department for Transport
Department for Work and Pensions
Environment Agency
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
Her Majesty's Treasury

Cabinet Office - Office of the Third Sector
The Office of the Third Sector was created in May 2006 when the Active Communities Directorate in the Home Office, and the Social Enterprise Unit, in the former Department for Trade and Industry, amalgamated. The decision to place the OTS at the centre of government in the Cabinet Office was taken in recognition of the increasingly important role the third sector plays in both society and the economy.

The Office of the Third Sector supports the following projects and programmes:

Charitable Giving
Youth Volunteering

Department for Communities and Local Government
Department for Communities and Local Government
The remit of the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) covers the promotion of community cohesion and equality, as well as policy on housing, urban regeneration, planning, fire and resilience, and regional and local government. It also takes responsibility for the Government Office network.

In addition CLG delivers the national strategy for neighbourhood renewal. The strategy is the Government’s vision for narrowing the gap between the most deprived neighbourhoods and the rest of the country - so that within 10 to 20 years no one should be seriously disadvantaged by where they live.

Central to these objectives is a commitment to create neighbourhoods and communities where:

• Individuals are empowered to take advantage of a wider range of economic opportunities;
• Businesses are willing and able to make profitable investments in these communities or close by.

We have developed a number of ways in which to engage and encourage the private sector to participate in neighbourhood renewal and to critically examine the ways in which they operate.

Projects and programmes
The Department for Communities and Local Government is currently involved in the following CSR-related programmes:

Business Brokers pilot project
Under-served Markets

Projects and programmes
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently involved in the following CSR-related projects:
Creative Partnerships (Schools and Creative Professionals)
Cultural Diversity Network (Broadcasting)

Contacts
Email: enquiries@culture.gov.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7211 6200

Department for Education and Skills
www.dfes.gov.uk
The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) aims to give children an excellent start in education, to enable young people to equip themselves with life and work skills, and to encourage adults to achieve their full potential through learning.

Projects and Programmes
The DfES has links with CSR through the following work:
Business Relations Team
School Business Links

Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)
www.defra.gov.uk
DEFRA’s aim is sustainable development, which means a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come, including:

• A better environment at home and internationally, and sustainable use of natural resources
• Economic prosperity through sustainable farming, fishing, food, water and other industries that meet consumers' requirements
• Thriving economies and communities in rural areas and a countryside for all to enjoy

Projects and programmes
DEFRA is currently involved in the following CSR-related projects:

• Sustainable consumption
• Sustainable production
• Environmental management systems
• Environmental reporting
• Flexible environmental regulation

For further information, visit the following websites:
DEFRA Sustainable Consumption and Production
Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Sustainable Consumption and Production

Department for International Development
www.dfid.gov.uk
The Department for International Development’s overall aim is to reduce global poverty and promote sustainable development. We focus our efforts on the poorest countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, but also contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development in middle-income countries, including those in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Central to our policy is a commitment to the internationally agreed Millennium Development Goals to be achieved by 2015.

We work with government departments and development agencies to promote coherent, poverty-reducing international action on CSR. We are also looking at ways of involving the private sector in poverty reduction, through their CSR activity.

Projects and Programmes
We support the following CSR-related initiatives:
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Ethical Trading Initiative
Just Pensions
Fair Trade

Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
www.berr.gov.uk
BERR's goal is to create the conditions for business success and help the UK to respond to the challenge of globalisation. Our work involves helping people and companies become more productive by promoting enterprise, innovation and creativity by:

• Championing UK business at home and abroad
• Investing heavily in world class science and technology
• Protecting the rights of working people and consumers
• Standing up for fair and open markets in the UK, Europe and the world.

The UK Sustainable Development Strategy commits all government departments to produce sustainable development action plans. BERR's latest Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) is available here.

Projects and programmes
BERR has been involved in the following CSR-related projects:
Skills for CSR practice
The business case for CSR
Raising awareness
Support for Small and Medium sized businesses

Department for Transport
www.dft.gov.uk
The Department for Transport's objective is to oversee the delivery of a reliable, safe and secure transport system that responds efficiently to the needs of individuals and business while safeguarding our environment.

Projects and programmes
The Department for Transport is currently involved in the following CSR-related project:
Promoting Travel Plans
For further information on Travel Plans and other transport-related CSR information, visit:

• The Department for Transport’s local transport home page
• The Scottish Executive travel plans page
• Transport Energy’s best practice travel information site

Department for Work and Pensions
www.dwp.gov.uk
The Department for Work and Pensions is responsible for the Government’s welfare reform agenda. Its aim is to promote opportunity and independence for all.It delivers support and advice through a modern network of services to people of working age, employers, pensioners, families and children, and disabled people.

Projects and Programmes
The Department for Work and Pensions has links with CSR through the following work:

• Responsibility for the UK’s membership of the International Labour Organisation


• Promoting the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work


• Promoting the ILO Declaration on Principles concerning Multinational Enterprisesand Social Policy


• Contributing to the ILO Business and Social Initiatives Database
• Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation, A Fair Globalisation for All

In addition to this, the Department for Work and Pensions is also a member of the UK OECD National Contact Point Steering Board which oversees the UK NCP and plays a key role in promoting the labour principles of the UN Global Compact.

A recent speech from Rt. Hon. John Hutton, when he was Secretary of State for the Department for Work and Pensions, to the Global Compact Policy Dialogue can be found here

Environment Agency
www.environment-agency.gov.uk
The Environment Agency is the leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales.  It's our job to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today's society, so that tomorrow's generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world.  The Business section of our website details a wide range of initiative to support CSR initiatives which help green business

Projects and programmes
Improving your business performance - Good environmental management goes hand in hand with good business performance. These pages contain information on our research work targeted at influencing the environmental policies of business, and specifically the finance and investment sectors. Our research work is designed to support and complement our pension fund investment strategy, supporting our belief that companies that manage and reduce their environmental risks are well run, profitable companies. In addition it includes our section on environmental accounting, which provides practical advice, based on our own experience of developing an environmental accounting system, on how implementing such a strategy without an organisation can deliver both financial and environmental savings.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office
www.fco.gov.uk
The role of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is to co-ordinate and pursue UK policies abroad. The FCO works on CSR at three levels.

Overseas, with the support of our network of Posts, we promote CSR principles to governments, companies and civil society and explain the role that they can play in promoting sustainable development and preventing conflict.

Multilaterally, through the CSR activities of international organisations, we help to incorporate CSR action in the outcomes of international fora, such as the Africa Action Plan, which emerged from the G8 Kananaskis Summit, and through the World Summit for Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation.

In the UK, we seek to mainstream CSR in the FCO and UK Trade and Investment by ensuring that international considerations are adequately reflected in the Government’s CSR policies, and by using out network of UK contacts in companies and non-governmental organisations to further the Govenrment’s CSR objectives.

Click on the link below to access the UK embassies overseas website which includes news and events that promote the UK's policies and activities to host countries.

Projects and programmes
The FCO is currently involved in the following CSR-related projects and programmes:
UN Global Compact
Voluntary principles on security and human rights
Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights

Together with the Department for International Development, we also promote the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative

Health and Safety Commission and the Health and Safety Executive
www.hse.gov.uk
Britain's Health and Safety Commission (HSC) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are responsible for the regulation of almost all the risks to health and safety arising from work activity in Britain. The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. HSE inspectors enforce the law.
HSC’s strategy ‘A Strategy for Workplace Health and Safety in Great Britain to 2021 and beyond’ includes in its aims:

• Protecting people by providing information and advice; promoting a system of goal-setting regulations that sets goals; undertaking research and enforcing the law where necessary
• Influencing organisations to embrace high standards of health and safety and to recognise their social and economic benefits
• Developing new ways to establish and maintain an effective health and safety culture in a changing economy so that all employers take their responsibilities seriously, the workforce is fully involved and risks are properly managed.

Projects and Programmes
CSR-related programmes for HSE include considering health and safety at board level, public reporting by companies on health and safety, and maintaining a health and safety performance index. Click here for a summary of these programmes.

HSC have produced free guidance relating to CSR and there are many ongoing events to raise awareness. Visit the HSE website for these and other information on CSR-related topics such musculoskeletal disorders, computer use and working with chemicals.

Research - Corporate Social and Safety and Health at Work by the European Agency for Safety
This report explores the interactions between CSR and safety and health at work, both at company and policy level.  To read the report please log onto:
http://agency.osha.eu.int/publications/reports/210/en/CSR_Report_EN.pdf

Contact
Further information can be obtained from HSE’s Infoline on 08701 545500 or email hseinformationservices@natbrit.com

Home Office
www.homeoffice.gov.uk
The Home Office is the Government Department responsible for internal affairs in England and Wales. It works to build a safe, just and tolerant society, to enhance opportunities for all and to ensure that the protection and security of the public are maintained and enhanced.

Project and Programmes
The Home Office is currently involved in the following CSR-related project:
Charitable Giving.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs
www.hmrc.gov.uk
HM Revenue and Customs’ aim is to ensure society’s financial wellbeing. Our main functions are:

We hosted a Corporate Responsibility Summit on 24th October 2006 at which HRH the Prince of Wales and the Chancellor of the Exchequer made key note speeches. They launched a debate about how the private, public and voluntary sectors can overcome the barriers to working together, learn from each other and have a greater impact on the issues that face our society. A report of the summit can be found here.

Working with the Chartered Institute of Taxation and Sustainability, we co-hosted a business breakfast for leaders from large businesses, major investors and tax advisers to discuss what part responsible tax behaviour plays in Corporate Social Responsibility. We are facilitating further discussion and action on this issue through our consultative forums.

We collect and administer a range of taxes, levies and duties through which the government seeks to change economic behaviour that impacts on the environment. These taxes are described in more detail here.

We administer the tax relief on donations to charities through payroll giving. This is an effective way of enhancing the monetary and social value of the link between donors and their nominated charity. Over 10% of our own staff make donations in this way. You can find out more about this here.

We work with the voluntary and community sector on many of the issues facing our society, particularly to help some of our most vulnerable and hard to reach customers. More about this relationship can be found here.

With responsibility for so many activities that impact on the well-being of people and businesses in the UK, we must be leaders by example. Our plans for transforming our organisation into one that is fully and consistently corporately responsible are here.

Her Majesty's Treasury
www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
HM Treasury is responsible for formulating and implementing the UK Government's financial and economic policy. Specific objectives include promoting UK economic prosperity and stronger economic growth, and expanding economic and employment opportunities for all.

HM Treasury has hosted occasional CSR-related events. In October 2006 the department collaborated with HMRC to host a summit on responsible giving, attended by HRH Prince Charles and Prime Minister Gordon Brown (then Chancellor). The summit showcased UK collaborative best practice through exhibition stands and workshops, and brought together leaders from business, the third sector and government to share ideas on how to integrate and sustain corporate responsibility activities across individual businesses and sectors for long term benefit. Find out more here

Projects and programmes
HM Treasury is currently involved in the following CSR-related initiatives:

Support for the Third Sector
Volunteering and charitable giving
Community Investment Tax Relief
Unclaimed assets