Ms Catherine Heaney:

Perhaps I will start with the Chairman's questions and then defer to other members of the delegation.

To respond to the Chairman's question about how the forum engages with SMEs, one thing that is peculiar to us as a nation is that we like to talk to others. If somebody else has done something and it has worked for him or her, we might try it for ourselves. Word of mouth and the ambassadorial approach work. There is not an endless supply of people who are able to take time off in their day job to tell others to change the type of cup they use, for example, but where there are representatives of businesses together in a room talking to each other and understanding the advantages of making such a change, it is effective. It helps to have strong messaging in the media, including t he social media. It also helps to have leaders from all disciplines, including elected representatives, talking about this issue. It struck me before I came in to the meeting when I picked up a wrap in Tang café around the corner that it had a little noticeboard on its menu. It indicated that it charged a fee of 20 cents if anybody used a takeaway bag or a takeaway cup, but if a customer brough his or her own bag or cup, it gave them 20 cents back. Clearly, the café has a strong desire to reduce its waste and change consumer patterns. When people see this and talk about it, that is where a new habit is picked up and how the message is amplified. It becomes part of the dialogue and the norm. As the unit in the Department is small, if we want to big it up, we all need to sit down together to see how it can be done.

We attempt to talk about our achievements at our meetings, in social media and media engagements. We engage the usual means of communication, apart from knocking on doors, something we have not yet done. We try to do as much as we can within the available capacity, but there are limitations. I have to say the 40 members of the forum are completely devoted and give great time to advocating for CSR. They go to businesses and talk to the business community. They do everything we could expect of them, but-----