From Philanthropy to Essential BusinessInvestment 
- the evolution of CSR in the UK, by Ian Blythe and Takeshi Shimotaya

Speakers:
- Ian Blythe, Head of CSR for Boots UK, a member of Alliance Boots
- Takeshi Shimotaya, Managing Director, SustainaVision Ltd.

Chair: 
 - Phillida Purvis, Links Japan

This seminar will introduce the background to Corporate Social Responsibility in the UK and, through the story of one of this country's most famous companies, explain why and how corporate good practice has changed from being a reactive response into a strategic investment for sustainable business success. The speakers will first look back at the origins of CSR and question the extent to which, in its current form, it can genuinely help companies, across the board, realise their corporate strategic objectives. This seminar is the inaugral event in a new series which will inform Japanese and other interested corporate sector professionals and researchers about recent CSR thinking and trends in the UK.

Ian Blythe is a former Pollution Control Officer for Severn Trent Water, who joined Boots in 1990. His experience has been used in developing Boots UK's approach to broader CSR strategy and reporting and he has been a key contributor to developing an international approach to CSR across the Alliance Boots Group. Ian represents the Boots UK business on various national and local committess, including the All-Party Parliamentary Environment Group, British Retail Consortium's Environment Policy Advisory Group, CBI Environmental Affairs Committee, and Business in the Community's East Midlands Advisory Board.

Takeshi Shimotaya is a founder and Managing Director of Sustainavision Ltd. Sustainavision Ltd aims to contribute to the development of a sustainable society through supporting company's CSR strategy. It proposes to achieve this through reviewing and, where necessary, improving CSR programmes, Carbon Management programmes, and undertaking tailor-made CSR related research and CSR related workshops. Prior to founding Sustainavision Ltd, Takeshi worked for well-known industrial companies, such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Eco Mining, gaining valuable experience in CSR and the renewable energy field.