Dozens of business and charity leaders are planning to boost volunteering in Suffolk, following a conference at Adastral Park in Martlesham.

The Suffolk Volunteer Conference, organised by Community Action Suffolk, discussed the concept of Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) initiatives, which are becoming increasingly important for firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) contribution and to support staff wellbeing.

“I am hugely excited and encouraged by the level of enthusiasm and interest shown by the conference attendees,” said Community Action Suffolk boss Pete Richardson. “We wanted this to be an event which would really ‘start the conversation’ about getting more businesses to develop meaningful volunteering programmes, and even with the small snapshot of companies present here today, I have a sense we’ve really accomplished that.”