Business in the Community

BUPA is one of over 750 companies who are members of 'Business in the Community' (BITC), including around 70 percent of the FTSE 100 companies. BUPA makes every effort to measure, improve, and report on the effect we have on the environment, work, marketplace and the communities in which we operate.

BITC was set up to help with the economic and social regeneration of British communities by increasing each business' level of quality and commitment to their communities, ultimately making such efforts a natural part of their day-to-day operations.

BUPA works with BITC on a number of its initiatives to improve the impact of we operations and services to the community. These include:

BITC Cares

BITC Cares is a national campaign to engage employees in volunteering. More than 400 companies support city-based and regional BITC Cares partnerships in 32 locations across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Community Connections works closely with BITC Cares to help source team challenges in London, Manchester, Leeds, Brighton and Surrey.

Hundreds of BUPA staff have volunteered in the community through Cares, and in 2006 BUPA's Manchester site was shortlisted for the Cares team of the year award for their work in a local school.

BITC Business Review Group

BUPA is a founding member of the BITC Business Review Group. This group was set up to measure people's achievements.

BITC Percent Club

As a member of the BITC Percent Club, businesses are asked to donate a minimum of one percent of pre-tax profit to charitable causes.

BUPA is extremely proud of its strong record in this area and in 2006 we donated 2.68 percent of our pre-tax profits to charitable causes.

Opportunity Now

BITC's 'Opportunity Now' intiative aims to increase the profile of women in the workforce. The campaign, which BUPA is a strong supporter of, works with employers to recognise the benefits and potential of women in the workforce and to challenge stereotypes. BUPA's Alison Platt, group development director, sits on the leadership team.

Race for Opportunity

BUPA is a member of the BITC campaign 'Race for Opportunity' (RfO), a national network of organisations working on issues of race and diversity. The RfO recognises the working potential of ethnic minorities and encourages its supporters to create new opportunities and initiatives.

Seeing is Believing

Set up by BITC, the 'Seeing is Believing' programme invites senior business leaders to see for themselves how business can play a role in tackling some of the country's most pressing social issues. BUPA chief executive Val Gooding has previously hosted a "Seeing is Believing" visit where senior business colleagues from various organisations paid a visit to a number of community facilities, including the Coram Family Campus in central London.

Visit the Business in the Community website