Guardian Media Group

 
Responsibility
Corporate responsibility - the idea that businesses have obligations to the society in which they operate - is seen as a relatively new phenomenon, and many organisations have only recently begun to make it a priority.

At GMG an awareness of the wider responsibilities of business has always been at the heart of what we do. The Manchester Guardian was created to support social reform in the early 19th century, and the ethos of public service has been part of the Group's DNA ever since.

The great Manchester Guardian editor CP Scott summed this up in his famous 1921 leader marking the centenary of the paper, in which he asserted that newspapers have 'a moral as well as material existence'.

He also listed the essential attributes he believed should form the character of a newspaper. GMG's owner, the Scott Trust, adopted these values as its own, and they continue to inform the way in which we run our business - operating GMG as a commercial enterprise while always seeking to adhere to principles of decency and public service.

The Scott Trust values are:
  • honesty
  • cleanness (now interpreted as integrity)
  • courage
  • fairness
  • a sense of duty to the reader and the community
We aim to put these principles into action and fulfil our responsibilities primarily through our day-to-day business conduct and the editorial content of our newspapers, websites and other media.

The Scott Trust Foundation and GMG's subsidiaries are also involved in a range of other activities designed to support the wider community, manage our environmental impacts and promote press freedom in the UK and abroad.

Our core division, Guardian News & Media, has led the way for the UK newspaper industry in terms of corporate responsibility and sustainability reporting with the award-winning Living Our Values - social, ethical and environmental audit.

In March 2010 GMG launched a new sustainability vision and strategy for the entire Group, taking in all of its various businesses and joint ventures. 'The Power of 10' committed the Group to ten areas of change, from addressing its impact on climate change to ethical procurement.

Read about our community activities
Managing our environmental impacts
Our approach to corporate governance