Newham Council launches call to action for local businesses to make well-being and fairness pledge.
The drive to put fairness, equality and climate emergency at the heart of how organisations operate in Newham reached a further stage today (5 November) with the launch of Newham Council’s call to action for local businesses and organisations to sign up to its Community Wealth Building Pledge. The Pledge is part of a new accreditation system introduced by the Council calling for organisations across Newham to demonstrate their commitment to building long-term prosperity, wellbeing and fairness for local residents in the borough.
The Pledge was launched at an online meeting of the Royal Docks Networking Forum, a twice-yearly meeting for local stakeholders to share updates and collaborate on the regeneration of the Royal Docks, London’s only Enterprise Zone. The Pledge is another milestone in the Council’s Community Wealth Building Agenda, alongside its inclusive economy and Covid-19 recovery strategies, which is being pursued by Mayor Fiaz and her administration to tackle poverty, inequality and address climate emergency. Involving residents, small business and the borough’s voluntary sector and faith communities, the Community Wealth Building Agenda will shape fairer approaches to Newham’s local economy and neighbourhoods so that all residents benefit in ways that promote their health, well-being and happiness.
The launch comes in the same week that the Council’s ‘Towards a Better Newham Covid-19 Recovery Action Plan’ was approved at a meeting of the Council’s Cabinet. This action plan sets out Newham Council’s implementation plan in response to the unprecedented economic impact of Covid-19 on residents, businesses and communities. In delivering it, Newham will become the first borough in London to use livelihood, well-being and happiness as its prime measure of economic success.
The Community Wealth Building Pledge will be the vehicle through which Newham Council can support and encourage local organisations to take action and be part of the borough-wide movement to bring to life the administration’s commitment to social, economic and environmental justice. It will also help the Council better understand the contribution of the local business community.
The event also saw the launch of the Royal Docks Internship Programme, through which the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone (RDEZ) is partnering with local organisations to create up to 20 full-time, high quality internship opportunities for local young people (aged 18-30) by subsidising the London Living Wage salary of interns by up to 50%. Recruitment is currently underway and the successful interns will spend twelve months working in placements that will give them critical insight and access to new industries and equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to kick start their careers.
Rokhsana Fiaz, the Mayor of Newham and Co-chair of the Royal Docks Enterprise Zone Board, said: “The Community Wealth Building Pledge, new models of internships and the Royal Docks Good Growth Fund are just the start of what we want to do. We’re committed to the reorientation of our economy to create places where everyone benefits, no matter their background; where well-being and happiness is more important that productivity and growth. We’re working to create new models of co-operative business which better meet local need; the Pledge is an important part of our response, at a time where economic growth is slowing down significantly and we continue to deal with implications of 50% budget reductions in less than a decade.
“The Pledge provides a detailed framework which defines a new type of partnership between the private sector and local government. This, along with the Royal Docks Internship Programme, is just the start of what we want to do. We’re committed to the reorientation of our economy to create places where everyone benefits, no matter their background; where wellbeing and happiness is more important that productivity and growth. The response from businesses to the creation of the Pledge has been unanimously positive, with new investors coming forward with proposals and recognising that this is not just about moral responsibility, but also about better commercial outcomes,” she said.