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Business and Finance Diploma students visit Waitrose to explore Corporate Social Responsibility.

As part of our Business and Finance Diploma, we have been learning about “CSR” (Corporate Social Responsibility).  For this unit we needed to research a business that has a good CSR policy, so we decided to use Waitrose as they are local and successful. After researching them in our lessons, we decided to visit our local Waitrose supermarket for an interview with the Store Manager and an opportunity to look around the supermarket during the working day.

We arrived by minibus and were escorted upstairs to a well presented conference room where the Store Manager gave a detailed presentation of the “Waitrose Way” He showed us videos, posters, figures and slides of information and after the talk he allowed us to ask him questions in which we noted down and discussed when we came back to school. We then returned to the shop floor and were given a tour around the store rooms and we were allowed to access the freezers to experience the conditions in which the food is kept. The coldest we went in were -24 degree’s C!

We learnt about the charity work they do and the initiatives they are taking to reduce their impact on the environment.  At the end of the trip we did a taste test of their strawberries - the Waitrose ones were great!

We left with a ‘bag for life’ full of information and goodies to enjoy.  Our appreciation goes to Nick Leverett and Sally West for all the information they gave us and for giving up their time to look after us. 

Sinead Delaney

Year 10 BAF Student