New network launched to support businesses to drive forward inclusive growth

Building on the success of the Leeds Anchor Network, the council is launching Leeds Business Anchors. An initiative to bring together large businesses operating in Leeds, that are committed to working together to create growth in the Leeds economy that works for everyone.

Membership of the network is underpinned by a commitment to complete the Business Anchors Progression Framework – a tool to help businesses shape their contribution to inclusive growth across four key areas: employment, procurement, environment and assets, and corporate and community behaviours.

Developed in partnership with large businesses in Leeds the framework has been adapted from the approach used with public sector anchors and enables firms to take an ‘anchor’ perspective on their relationship with Leeds, providing them with an effective tool to measure their impact on driving forward inclusive growth.

‘Anchor’ working refers to the ways in which organisations can positively contribute to the place where they operate, strengthening the local economy, and contributing to employment, skills and health and wellbeing for local people.  

Social impact is increasingly important for businesses of all sizes and the framework will provide an innovative way for business to evidence their local impact and provide a vehicle for reflection on their progress and ambitions.   

Having tested the framework businesses are now coming together to form a network to identify ways they can work together to maximise their impact for Leeds.

Leeds Building Society, a key employer in the city with a significant history of delivering positive social outcomes and a founding member of the network, used the framework to sense check their responsible business strategy and ensure the progress aligned with the city’s needs and ambitions. 

“Being part of a network of organisations committed to responsible business will allow us to work together to have greater social impact in the city” said Wendy Carter, Responsible Business Lead at Leeds Building Society. 

More information about the network, case studies and how to join is available here.

Leader of Leeds City Council, Councillor James Lewis, said, “We recognise the important work businesses already undertake driving forward inclusive growth across Leeds. The new network will allow these businesses to come together to pool knowledge and resources, helping them to take their impact to the next level.   

“The network that we are launching is further welcome news; it is so important that as a council we support organisations that want to deliver real impact, and I look forward to hearing more success stories of business harnessing the framework to prioritise impactful change in Leeds. 

“Fundamentally our Anchors approach is rooted in a culture of collaboration, bringing key anchors of Leeds’s public and private sector together to improve outcomes across the city.” 

Professor Peter Slee, Vice Chancellor Leeds Beckett University and chair of the Leeds Anchor Network said:

 “The Anchors network is part of Team Leeds. We are 14 public facing organisations who together employ around 1 in 6 of the people who work in Leeds and have a combined spending power of some £3bn. Our aim is to work together to ensure we maximise the benefit we can bring to the people of Leeds. We are thrilled to see the launch of the Business Anchor Network. The opportunities for collaborative working to increase our economic and social impact are huge.”

The new Businesses Anchors network builds on the successful Leeds Anchor Network, established in 2018 to bring together the city’s largest employers, mostly in the public sector, to combine their collective resources to deliver real impact for people across the city. 

Leeds Anchor Network is made up of fourteen partners, including the council, local NHS Trusts, NHS England, universities and colleges, regional utility firms, and British Library, who work together to raise the bar on employment, increase local spend, and reduce their climate impact.

 This new initiative provides an opportunity for the private sector to work alongside Leeds Anchor Network and demonstrate leadership in delivering inclusive growth.   

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