Corporate Social Responsibility Manager

James Leach: Head of Corporate Responsibility at Norwich Union

James Leach grew up in London, and says you’d never know as he’s lived in Yorkshire for over 10 years now. His job takes him back to London most weeks so he doesn’t miss it too much.
His ambition at school was to be a sports journalist. He says: “Who wouldn’t want to be paid to go to the best sports events in the world?”

Now he is Head of Corporate Responsibility at Norwich Union, based in York, where he has been for nine years. James tells us more about his job…

What is Corporate Social Responsibility (‘CSR’)- in your words?

It’s making an overall positive impact on society, in whatever form that takes. It is about how companies conduct their business in a way that is ethical. This means taking account of their impact socially, environmentally and economically.

WHAT DOES YOUR WORK IN CSR INVOLVE?

Firstly making sure Norwich Union is a responsible company, then influencing responsible behaviour among our customers, our employees and our suppliers. CSR is increasingly important to clients, potential employees, graduates. As an example, I saw this interesting fact recently: that graduates in the US would take a lower-paid role with a company that shares their views on corporate responsibility than a higher paid role with one that doesn’t. That speaks volumes for the importance of CSR.

WHAT’S NEEDED TO GET IN TO YOUR TYPE OF JOB?

Currently, there are no specific qualifications in CSR, so transferable skills and knowledge from other areas such as environmental management, marketing, communications and HR, are valued. I have done other roles, for example, product marketing, then communications (PR and Public Affairs). All of these were at Norwich Union.

I was attracted to work in CSR as it was an opportunity to work in an area of growing importance. I came to the financial services sector purely by chance. In my immediate post-university days, the Norwich Union office was just 5 minutes from my front door. So in that sense, the draw of the financial services sector was too compelling to ignore!

SOME PEOPLE ARE CYNICAL ABOUT THE CSR MOTIVES OF LARGE COMPANIES. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

Be cynical. But also make judgements on fact rather than myths and preconceptions. Critics come from both inside and outside of the company – changing their opinion is part of my job I enjoy the most.

James’s last words: Outside of work my interest is surprisingly, sports! Although being the proud father to 1 year old twins, Jack and Isabella, I now have little spare time. If there was one thing I could change I’d make each day 25 hours long. Time constantly escapes me – having more would be really beneficial.