That's the conclusion reached by Top UK business leaders and guests who took part in an interactive half-day conference on corporate responsibility called 'Getting under the skin of responsible business practice', held 21st November.

Martin Glenn, President of Pepsico UK (the parent group of Walkers Snack Foods), said of his company's approach to responsible business practice "It's not about giving back, we've never taken anything out. The business case is that good companies tend to do it, they are just being smart. It isn't about how you spend it, it's about how you make it".

After considering the speakers' opinions and round-table discussion, the audience agreed that corporate responsibility should be embedded into the 'DNA' of a business, eventually eliminating the cost of Corporate Responsibility specialists. Businesses that have been successful for a long time, i.e. Rolls-Royce, Boots, Walkers Snack Foods, have always acted responsibly, and they know that it starts with being a responsible employer. There are many simple, effective and inexpensive ways to act responsibly - start small and watch the company grow.

Each of the 7 speakers was given free reign to talk about responsible business practice for 10-15 minutes. The guest audience was made up of business leaders, thinkers and opinion-formers from around the country. After a series of speaker presentations, both guests and speakers debated the issues raised before returning to take part in another series of presentations followed by discussion.

The debate focused on four main areas:

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