Stephen Howard has been chief executive of Business in the Community for barely six months, but he is fizzing with ideas for pushing forward the corporate social responsibility agenda. The economic forecast is cloudy, and many of the organisations that have been pillars of the responsible business community are dealing with the fallout from the credit crunch. But Mr Howard remains confident that member companies will see the strategies developed through BITC as part of the solution to their current woes.

"It's inevitable that companies will be much more cautious on how they spend their money," he says. "Less will go into traditional charitable causes, as in previous downturns. But I believe companies will realise that, in a decline, how they relate to their employees and their communities becomes more important than ever."