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Our purpose

Heart of the City is an award-winning charity helping small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) build responsible, sustainable businesses that make real impact. 

We work with businesses across the UK to support them to reduce their environmental impact, strengthen their communities, and create better workplaces. Through practical training programmes, workshops, peer-learning and expert support, we upskill SMEs to take meaningful action on responsible business and sustainability. From developing responsible business strategies to reducing carbon emissions and improving employee wellbeing, we give businesses the tools and confidence to create lasting change. 

Founded in 2000 by the City of London Corporation and the Bank of England, we partner with leading organisations across the public and private sectors to deliver programmes that support SMEs to grow responsibly and sustainably. 

What is responsible business?

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Responsible business practices are not a separate initiative or tick-box exercise. It is about embedding positive social and environmental impact into the way a business operates, grows and makes decisions. 

For SMEs, this can include: 

  • Reducing environmental impact and carbon emissions 
  • Supporting employee wellbeing and creating inclusive workplaces 
  • Strengthening local communities through volunteering or partnerships 
  • Building ethical and sustainable business practices 

At Heart of the City, we help SMEs turn responsible business ambitions into practical, achievable action. 

Ambassadors

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We’re supported by responsible business professionals from a wide range of big businesses. These ambassadors provide their responsible business expertise by hosting events, speaking at our workshops, writing resources and mentoring our members.

Governance

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Pete Daw
Director
Olivia Beecham
Head of Programmes
Giulia Trabacchin
Programme Manager - Social Value & Climate
Katie Rogers
Programme Manager - Climate & Social Value
Milly Gurton
Events & Communications Officer
Sandra Fernandes Da Costa
Finance Systems and Governance Officer
Nadia Forde
Business Development & Partnerships
Phillippa O'Connor
Partner PwC
Alison Gowman
Alderman, Dowgate Ward
The Lady Mayor of the City of London
Alderwoman Dame Susan Langley Co-President
Aedamar Comiskey
Senior Partner and Chair Linklaters
Prem Goyal OBE
Advisor Hinduja Group
Michael Davison
Deputy CEO Hogan Lovells
Georgia Dawson
Senior Partner Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Andreas H Luginbuehl
Managing Director, Chief of Staff to the President EMEA, Head Non-Core & Legacy and UK CEO UBS Group AG
Zahir Bokhari
London Senior Partner & Vice Chairman Deloitte
Chris Hayward
Policy Chairman City of London Corporation
Sushil Saluja
Chair Heart of the City
Andrew Bailey, Co-President
Governor Bank of England
Melissa Fogarty
Joint Head of Corporate London Partner Clifford Chance
Tom Heylen
London Managing Partner DLA Piper UK
Dame Sarah Mullally
Bishop of London Church of England
Jo Goddard
Founder & Director Green & Good Consulting
Lord Clement-Jones
Chairman Queen Mary University of London
Shravan Joshi
Common Councilman for the City of London’s Bishopsgate Ward City of London Corporation
Kate Neale
Climate Action Director City of London Corporation
Joanne Filbin
Co-Founder Globacap
Taraneh Farzaneh
Director of Group Government Relations Barclays
Suzanne Scatliffe
Global Sustainability Director AXA XL
Martin Powell
Group Sustainability Director AXA
Rob Elder
Agent for Greater London Bank of England
Sushil Saluja
Chair Heart of the City
Nick Turner
Founder and Managing Partner Stratforma
Carmen Whitelock
Digital Marketing Lead Cynergy Bank
Fiona Clark
Practice Director David Miller Architects
Luisa Harman
Social Value Business Partner ISS Facility Services
Tara Foy
Senior CSR Manager BNP Paribas
Emma Cooke
Director of Responsible Business Herbert Smith Freehills
Anna Farquharson
Social Value Expert
Charles Joly
Associate Director of Responsible Business The Wellcome Trust
Nimi Gabrie
Associate Formation Architects
Tom Beagent
Director, Sustainability and Climate Change PwC
Sam McCarthy
Head of Sustainability Nando's
Jan Phayre
ESG Manager Telefonica Tech

Our values

We’re a small, friendly team. We have a flexible approach to guiding our SMEs through our programmes, and our events are welcoming and encouraging.

We forge good connections, sharing the experiences of our SMEs and ambassadors to give everyone the opportunity to have a positive impact. We’re committed to bringing great programmes to our community – we actively seek feedback and run our own responsible business programme to practice what we preach.

We’re ambitious. We adapt our services to reach new industries and we challenge ourselves to keep our programme relevant to companies and their changing needs.

We’re practical. We make sure our SMEs always leave our events with ideas they can put into action and our support is grounded in the real work and experiences of our community.

Join our team

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Take a look at our current vacancies.

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