Author Archives: Tim Purcell

Not for the first time, listed companies have been receiving conflicting suggestions about what is (and is not) corporate governance best practice.
The new Corporate Governance Code, published by the FRC and applicable to UK listed companies for reporting periods commencing on or after 29 June 2010, indicates that best practice now requires FTSE350 companies to [...]

We have noted that parts of the UK media have decided recently to engage in a debate about CSR. This was, perhaps, inevitable following the recent and ongoing events in the Gulf of Mexico. Obviously this development is useful to us in CO3 world.  However it is a shame that much of the commentary seems [...]

Over the last few days the new UK government has signaled that it plans to re-introduce the Operating and Financial Review (OFR) reporting requirement. This idea has had a chequered history to say the least. The previous administration introduced it as a way of improving transparency only to, at the last minute, abruptly kill it [...]

Whatever your views are concerning the extremely sad and unfortunate events which have unfolded in the Gulf of Mexico recently, it is worth noting the efforts that BP has clearly employed to communicate its response.
The home page of the main company website has largely been taken over by information about the episode. The company is [...]

Not for the first time we were reminded over the last week of the importance of cross-sector CSR initiatives. The solutions for CSR related reputational issues which have become a threat to an entire sector are often so complex that they are beyond the capability of individual companies no matter how large or powerful they [...]

Social media, when applied thoughtfully for communications purposes, can be a very useful way of putting a point across or disseminating information. However, it is important to realise that its application for these reasons is still in its infancy and, if not thought through correctly, can have some interesting, colourful, unintended and unpredictable results.
Over the [...]

The sheer enormity of what Google has achieved over the last few years is there for all to see. The company and its brand have now become so omnipresent that it’s become quite hard to define what it does and why. Google is here, there and everywhere and it’s not going away.
Google’s activities were, until [...]

A few weeks ago I was rather surprised to come across a project called Accounting for Sustainability which is associated with the Prince of Wales. Further investigation revealed it to be supported by the great and the good drawn from the UK’s accountancy world. It aims, apparently, to supply companies with a uniform set of [...]

UK politicians have had a sharp reminder this week, in case they weren’t already aware, of why it is important to take social media into account when designing a communications strategy. A campaign poster, featuring the Leader of the Opposition, has become the focus of a satirical website and online chatter which is lampooning it [...]

Today saw the publication of the annual Greenpeace survey into the green credentials of the electronics industry. It looks at the progress that the leading manufacturers have been making over the last year in managing their environmental impacts.
The scope of the survey has always been limited by the fact that it principally examines the materials [...]