What a company means by its “community” varies widely. For some, it may be the population living in the area surrounding a factory or office building. For others, it may be customers or employees. However, savvy companies have all experienced the same phenomenon – that paying attention to this community not only fulfils their aspirations to act as a responsible company, it also brings benefits to the business.

Such programmes are likely to be more sustainable in a worsening economic climate, argues Leo Martin, director and co-founder of Good Corporation.