1. Introduction
Citizens Advice North East Derbyshire (CA NED) exists to help local people find a way forward, and our mission already reflects a strong commitment to fairness, inclusion, and social justice. However, our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy goes beyond our mission. It sets out how we take responsibility not only for what we do, but how we operate as an organisation.
This means strengthening our impact through ethical employment, inclusive leadership, sustainable environmental practices, and strong community partnerships. By bringing these commitments together into a clear framework, this CSR Strategy ensures that responsibility is embedded across all parts of CA NED, not only in our services, but also in our culture, operations, and organisational decisions.
Aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and SORP (FRS 102), this strategy helps us demonstrate public benefit, meet funder expectations, and show that CA NED is a responsible, forward-looking organisation committed to doing the right thing at every level.
2. Our CSR Approach
Our CSR strategy is built around three pillars:
- Social Responsibility – Supporting people, promoting equality, and strengthening our communities.
- Environmental Responsibility – Reducing our environmental impact and operating more sustainably.
- Governance Responsibility – Ensuring transparency, ethical practice, and strong leadership across our organisation and supply chain.
These pillars guide our decisions, shape our culture, and provide a consistent structure for planning and reporting.
2.1. Social Responsibility
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
We are committed to providing services and an organisational culture that are inclusive and accessible. We will continue embedding EDI principles across our advice work, decision-making, and governance. This includes maintaining clear policies, offering ongoing EDI training, and actively promoting equality for groups most affected by poverty and discrimination. As part of this commitment, we are a certified Disability Confident employer and aim to achieve Disability Confident Leader status by 2029.
Ethical Employment and Workforce Wellbeing
CA NED is a Real Living Wage employer, and we maintain a formal commitment to review staff salaries annually to ensure fairness and consistency.
We will strengthen staff and volunteer wellbeing through:
- Trained Mental Health First Aiders/Champions
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
- Implementing regular Mental Health and Wellbeing Surveys to gather actionable data and insight on workforce needs
- Carrying out mental health/wellbeing surveys to temperature check
- Partnerships with organisations such as Joined Up Care Derbyshire
We are accredited with the ‘We Pledge Prioritising Mental Health in our Organisation‘ from Derbyshire County Council, recognising our formal commitment to staff and volunteer mental health. This dedication was further honoured by winning a National Citizens Advice Award in November 2025 in the Championing Wellbeing category.
These commitments support a positive workplace culture and help us attract and retain high-quality staff and volunteers.
Volunteering and Community Participation
Volunteers play a central role at CA NED. We have structured volunteer progression pathways and will continue to develop these and continue to widen opportunities to support skills development and confidence building.
We actively recruit and support volunteers across the local community. We provide comprehensive induction, continuous training, and dedicated support to ensure our volunteers feel valued and that their roles contribute directly to their personal development goals, whether those relate to career progression, fulfilling their motivation for a rewarding role in helping others, or increasing social connection and wellbeing.
To ensure transparency and full recognition of their efforts, we measure and report the social value that our volunteers contribute, demonstrating their significant, tangible impact on the community.
Tackling Poverty and Food Insecurity
Using anonymised client data, CA NED will support campaigns around food access and cost-of-living challenges. We will also coordinate seasonal donation drives that involve staff, volunteers, and the local community.
CA NED acts as a food bank collection point, operating in partnership with Trussell and Clay Cross Food Bank to ensure donations reach those most in need.
We are active members of the Feeding Derbyshire Steering Group, a key county-wide network dedicated to improving access to emergency and affordable food across the region. Through this strategic collaboration and our strong local partnerships with local foodbanks, we collectively provide client information, data, and support to strengthen the entire network.
2.2. Environmental Responsibility
CA NED recognises our responsibility to actively minimise our environmental footprint and operate more sustainably. Our commitment is formalised in our Environmental Policy and is driven by the principles of Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.
Specifically, we focus on efficient resource use (reducing electricity and water), sustainable transport (encouraging car sharing and reduced unnecessary travel), and responsible purchasing. This involves prioritising local suppliers, using recycled goods, and conducting bulk ordering to minimise the environmental impact of both production and distribution. We also actively raise awareness and train our staff and volunteers on these key environmental issues.
Read our Environmental Policy here→
2.3. Governance Responsibility
Good governance is central to delivering public benefit and maintaining trust. Our governance commitments include:
- Reporting progress on CSR in our SORP-compliant Trustees’ Annual Report
- Ensuring Trustees and senior leaders review CSR activity through annual and quarterly monitoring
- Ethical AI & Technology: We commit to the ethical, fair, and transparent integration of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This commitment ensures the human element remains central to our service, requiring human oversight and final decision-making, and promotes energy efficiency by ensuring technology is used purposefully and only when required
- Conducting due diligence on all key suppliers and partners to ensure their full compliance with the Modern Slavery Act and wider ethical standards. We actively prioritise working with Real Living Wage providers and require adherence to our sustainable procurement expectations
- Carrying out regular reviews of suppliers and partners to ensure alignment with our values and ethical standards
This ensures that CSR remains integrated into our governance and long-term organisational planning.
3. CSR Action Summary
| SDG / Theme | Why It Matters | Our Actions | SORP Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDG 8 – Decent Work & Economic Growth | Ethical employment strengthens trust and retention. | Real Living Wage employer; annual salary reviews; Supplier Code of Conduct; volunteer progression. | Social |
| SDG 2 – Zero Hunger | CA NED supports communities facing hardship. | Client-informed food access campaigns; seasonal donation drives. Member of ‘Feeding Derbyshire’. | Social |
| SDG 3 – Good Health & Wellbeing | Wellbeing improves service quality and sustainability. | MH First Aiders; EAP; perks and wellbeing; steering group; surveys; partnerships. | Social |
| SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities / EDI | Equality strengthens inclusion and fairness for all groups affected by poverty and discrimination. | Clear policies; awareness campaigns; ongoing EDI training; actively promoting equality; Disability Confident Employer status; aiming for Leader status by 2029. | Social |
| SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption | Reduces environmental impact and operational costs. | Guided by our Environmental Policy and the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle principles, with a focus on sustainable transport and responsible purchasing. | Environmental |
| SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals | Collaboration strengthens impact and ensures compliance. | Reporting CSR progress in Trustees’ Annual Report (SORP-compliant). | Governance |
| SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals | Embeds ethics and sustainability in the supply chain. | Due diligence to ensure Modern Slavery Act compliance and prioritise Real Living Wage providers. Regular reviews of partners. | Governance |
| SDG 9 / 12 – Technology & Ethics | Ensures technology is used ethically, efficiently, and does not negatively impact jobs. | Commitment to Ethical AI; ensuring human oversight and final decision-making is always retained; promoting energy efficiency through purposeful and essential use of technology. | Governance & Environmental |
4. Monitoring and Reporting
To ensure transparency and accountability, CA NED will:
- Review CSR progress quarterly at the Business Planning sub-committee meetings
- Include CSR updates in internal reporting and staff communications
- Report annually on Real Living Wage compliance to the Real Living Wage Foundation
- Voluntarily report on Disability Confidence data in line with the government’s light-touch framework for employers
- Report on CSR activity within the Trustees’ Annual Report (SORP-compliant)
This structured approach will help us measure impact, identify improvements, and demonstrate value to funders and partners.
5. Expected Benefits
Implementing this CSR Strategy will enable CA NED to:
- Strengthen organisational credibility and public trust
- Improve staff and volunteer morale, wellbeing, and retention
- Enhance funding and tender readiness, especially where CSR standards are assessed
- Demonstrate measurable social and environmental value
- Position CA NED as a responsible and ethical leader within the voluntary and community sector
January 2026
