Responsible Business Essentials for SMEs

A practical six-month programme that helps small and medium-sized enterprises strengthen their leadership, support their people, improve environmental resilience and create positive impact. Develop a tailored Responsible Business Action Plan and gain the tools, confidence and network to turn ideas into action.

November 2026 – May 2027 | Early sign-up offer £500 + VAT

Apply now

Why join

As businesses grow, so do the opportunities and challenges they face. From attracting and retaining talented people, to responding to customer expectations, managing risk and demonstrating positive impact, responsible business is becoming an increasingly important part of long-term success. Designed for SMEs at every stage of their responsible business journey, this programme will help you to transform ambition into action.

How you learn

Hear from expert practitioners, successful SMEs and receive tailored guidance
Connect and share experiences with other ambitious SMEs
Access practical tools, resources and online learning materials
In-person and online workshops and support sessions
Self-paced learning through our online learning platform

Benefits to your business

Gain knowledge, skills, and confidence to transform your business
Strengthen your leadership, workplace culture and approach to sustainability
Create a positive impact for your people, community and environment
Enhance your credibility and be better placed for future work
Identify opportunities to enhance resilience and manage risk
Develop an Action Plan tailored to your SME
Join Heart of the City’s network of SMEs

Programme overview

Spanning six months with over 20 hours of expert and peer-led sessions, and access to tools and resources.

Our hybrid programme combines learning and practical application across five areas:

Module 1: The Essentials: Governance, Strategy and Risk
Build strong foundations through purpose-led decision-making, risk management and business resilience.

Module 2: Your People, Skills and Growth
Strengthen your approach to recruitment, inclusion and workplace culture.

Module 3: Creating Community Impact
Explore how your business can build meaningful relationships and create positive social value.

Module 4: Green Growth and Climate Resilience
Understand your environmental impact and identify practical opportunities for improvement.

Module 5: Turning Ambition into Action
Bring everything together by developing a tailored Responsible Business Action Plan and identifying your next steps.

We encourage participants to fully commit to the programme to maximise their learning and impact.

To receive a certificate of completion, participants must attend at least 80% of programme sessions and submit a completed Responsible Business Action Plan.

If your business is interested in taking part but is unable to commit to the in-person sessions, please provide further details in the registration form.

Who is the programme for?

This programme is designed for small and medium-sized businesses at every stage of their responsible business journey that:

Are registered in the UK
Have between 10 and 250 employees
Want to strengthen their approach to responsible business
Have the capacity to engage throughout the six-month programme
Are looking for practical expert-led support, tools and peer learning to help drive action

Programme fees

£500 + VAT for applications received by 30 September 2026
£670 + VAT for applications received from 1 October 2026

A limited number of fully funded places are available through partner sponsorship, by invitation only.

Further details, including payment instructions, will be provided to successful applicants.

Why Heart of the City?

Over 25 years supporting SMEs to become a force for good

For more than two decades, we’ve helped 1700+ small and medium-sized businesses take practical action on responsible business, supporting them to strengthen their organisations while creating positive impact.

Our approach is:

Designed specifically for SMEs
Practical, action-focused and achievable
Built around peer learning and collaboration
Supported by a trusted UK-wide business network

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“You have all been fantastic, great platform, great events, thank you.”
CILSFoundations for Responsible Business - Siemens sponsored SME

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“I learnt a huge amount in a short space of time. Really useful sessions and information from credible sources.”
Inner CirclesResponsible Business Essentials SME

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“I felt very comfortable and part of a warm group.”
M for Menopause LtdResponsible Business Essentials SME

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“I found the support invaluable. The knowledge sharing from the Heart of the City team was superb and enabled me to move from a very low level of base knowledge to being able to measure our baseline and put together a net zero action plan”
QBE sponsored SMENet Zero Accelerator participant

If you’d like to know more, have a look at our case studies

Ready to strengthen your business?

Apply now for Responsible Business Essentials for SMEs.

The application form takes approximately 5 minutes to complete.

Once submitted, our team will review your application and be in touch shortly with the outcome.

Applications close on Friday 30 October 2026.