Delegate feedback from our annual CR conference in Bristol makes instructive reading. Above all, it reveals the high importance that our customers and managers attach to corporate responsibility. Seventy-one per cent of delegates recognised that Serco's customers are increasingly using sustainability of approach when evaluating tender documents. From an internal perspective, 82 per cent of delegates recognised that Serco's internal procedures and processes show that it takes social responsibility seriously. There was strong agreement that CR is integral to Serco's business.

While this feedback may be drawn from inside Serco, its significance goes well beyond our business. As Robert Smith, Serco's Assurance Director, points out: “It demonstrates how successfully we have engaged and inspired our staff – the people who are responsible for championing our CR agenda. Their buy-in is critical to transforming policies into tangible results that benefit all our stakeholders – internal and external.”