Mark Carney appointed co-president of Heart of the City

Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England, has been appointed as co-president of Heart of the City, the charity that puts Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at the heart of business.

Carney will join the Lord Mayor to share the responsibility of presidency for Heart of the City, a 700-strong powerhouse of responsible business leaders, CSR practitioners and change agents committed to sharing their experiences and their time with others in order to measurably improve our society. Heart of the City was launched in 2000 as a joint initiative of the Bank of England, City of London Corporation and Financial Service Authority. Lord Eddie George was a founding co-president.

Carney commented: “The Bank of England, notably through former governor Lord George, has a long history of involvement with Heart of the City, and I am delighted to continue that tradition of support by serving as co-president alongside the Lord Mayor. Lord George rightly believed that firms must recognise their responsibility for the broader system. Such a sense of the systemic is necessary in order to build and maintain social capital and contribute to inclusive capitalism. Heart of the City plays an important role in this regard, helping firms large and small to develop their corporate social responsibility programmes. I encourage all businesses to become part of its network and take full advantage of its broad range of resources and support.”

Alderman Fiona Woolf, the Rt Hon The Lord Mayor of the City of London and co-president of Heart of the City added: “We’re delighted that governor Carney is joining us at Heart of the City. CSR has already become an integral part of business for most corporates in the UK, but for many smaller businesses – which account for 99% of the country’s employers – it is still an unknown and daunting challenge. So Heart of the City aims to engage as many SMEs as possible and we are delighted that the Governor has also chosen to support this aim.”