Supporting an outstanding reputation – a guide for your business

At a time when the UK is making decisions that will define a generation, it has never been a more important for business to demonstrate its value and responsibilities. In July last year, the CBI’s Everyone's Business research aimed to stop and listen to what people were saying about business. People told us that they do recognise the important role that business plays in society – from the services and goods firms provide, to the tax they pay and the jobs they create.

But the research also revealed a clear disconnect between what businesses do and what people believe. This disconnect is undermining the public’s trust in business and is reducing the credibility of business in the debates which matter most – tackling regional inequality, raising living standards and improving social mobility.

To overcome this disconnect, the CBI has drawn on the unique insight from the Everyone's Business research to identify the three building blocks behind an outstanding business reputation. This guide is not prescriptive, instead it sets out the public’s expectations for what constitutes an outstanding business, and then offers support to help firms reach this standard.

Our hope is that companies use this guide as a tool to support good practice, and that over time this will help improve the reputation of business.