Orchid CEO invited to address the UN

Rufus Hall, chief executive of Orchid Group, the 295-strong managed pub company, has been invited to address the United Nations (UN) in New York on the issue of corporate social responsibility.

The Junior International Chamber (JCI) of the UN has requested Hall's presence after seeing the group move up the Sunday Times list of the top big companies to work for - from 20 to fifth, which aided by the company's successful corporate social responsibility strategy.

Hall will speak during the opening plenary session entitled Global Collaboration to Implement the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The session will examine the importance of collaboration and give a global perspective on how business, civil society and government can come together to achieve the MDGs.

Hall said: "I look forward to sharing Orchid's vision and goals with like-minded people from around the world. Being socially responsible in a whole range of ways is something any company can work to achieve and it doesn't matter how big or small your business is. The opportunities to provide valuable support to others are out there and the benefits to the business community in doing so are proven."

Orchid is the only UK leisure company invited to give a presentation and one of just a handful of UK firms attending.

Alongside Hall, speakers and attendees will include the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the International Chamber of Commerce, Vice President of International Government Relations at the Coca-Cola Company, Afzaal Malik, the Social Enterprise Alliance, and the Editor of the UN Dispatch Mark Leon Goldberg.

Orchid's key corporate social responsibility initiatives include: Regular community-focused campaigns; community regeneration projects; and carrying out a variety of challenges for charity.