Compass Group is fully aware of its responsibilities to the communities in which it operates.

Our people pride themselves on being good neighbours and actively support their local communities using, whenever possible, their skills and the locations where they work to provide support to community initiatives.

Such efforts are recognised through our 'Compass In The Community' (CITC) programme which channels our wide-ranging charitable support.  Successful teams are rewarded for their activities and donations are made to their nominated charities on a regional, national, divisional and global level.

Compass Group was positioned at number 47 in the FTSE-100 Giving List published in 2005 by The Guardian. The list grades companies by the percentage of pre-tax profit contributed to charity. Compass Group UK & Ireland is also a member of the Business in the Community's PerCent Standard, which is given to companies that contribute at least 1% of pre-tax profits  to charities and good causes.

CITC complements our on-going roll commitment to our ethos of Great People, Great Service and Great Results. The scheme incorporates projects large and small; complex and simple; some undertaken by individuals, others as a team - all with the aim of giving something back to the communities and the environments in which we work.

Centrally, Compass Group UK & Ireland supports Hospitality Action, a  benevolent fund that provides for people in the hospitality industry with difficult or unforeseen circumstances such as illness or injury.

The Group also supports some larger projects. One example is the sponsorship of charity Training for Life's 'Hoxton Apprentice', a professionally run restaurant business, which  provides support and skills training for socially excluded and disaffected people. This project was presented with an 'Award for Excellence' in the 2005 Power in Partnership 'Big Tick' awards by Business in the Community.

Another prize-winning example is the Junior Chefs' Academy; a Compass-sponsored scheme launched at Thames Valley University in 2003 to encourage young people into the foodservice industry. Click here for more information on the JCA.