This week is the UK’s first Responsible Business Week (15-19 April), run by Business in the Community (BitC) network. The week was created to make the case for why businesses must hold a vital place at the heart of communities and society and to redefine what people understand by responsible business.

At Sky we’re supporting the week in a number of ways. As well as attending a number of events ourselves, Bella Vuillermoz, Director of the Bigger Picture will be speaking at BitC’s Better Business Forum on Wednesday and also taking part in a Responsible Business Week Debate on Thursday. The online debate is about engaging consumers in sustainability - send in your questions and follow the debate here or on twitter using the hashtag #RBDebates from 13.00 on Thursday.

At Sky there are lots of ways we work to be a responsible business day to day and inspire action. Here are just some of the ways people are getting involved with Sky;

• Sky Rainforest Rescue - Sky and WWF have joined forces to help save one billion trees in the Amazon and protect around three million hectares from deforestation. In partnership with the Forestry Commission we are running a series of sponsored trails across England to get people closer to nature and the Amazon rainforest. During Responsible Business Week two discovery trails are open, one at  Cannock Chase in Staffordshire and the other at Sherwood Pines in Nottinghamshire. You can find out more here.
• Arts- Sky Arts Futures Fund supports five young artists a year with bursary of £30,000 each, enabling Sky Arts to back the creation of their new work as well as offering mentoring to nurture emerging talent. Felix Mortimer, Sky Arts Futures Fund winner has been supported by Sky’s investment to create a new production, RETZ's The Trial you can book tickets to see this production here.
• Sky Ride - we’ve been working with British Cycling for 4 years to enable enabled elite success which inspiring people to get on their bikes. To turn inspiration into participation, Sky has created Sky Ride, a programme of cycling events for people of all ages and abilities, across the UK, promoted through a multi-channel, integrated marketing campaign. This week there are a number of cycling events, to find out how you can get involved and join Sky Ride visit goskyride.com
• Sky Sports Living for Sport uses sport stars and sport skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people across the UK every year. Our professional Athlete Mentors are locally-based elite sports people, who motivate and inspire the students, sharing learning’s from their journeys to success. You can find out more and see how teachers can sign up for Sky Sports Living for Sport here: skysports.com/livingforsport
• Sky Skills Studios brings learning to life for 12,000 young people per year with an inspiring experience that raises aspirations and develops life skills. We’ve built four studios at our headquarters in Isleworth for young people to get hands-on experience of making a TV report while helping teachers deliver on the Curriculum.  Starting with a tour of Sky Studios we show them how we make, shape and share TV, inspiring them about the world of work.  Then in Sky Skills Studios, they write, shoot and edit their own TV report using cutting-edge technology, including broadcast quality cameras, green screens and touch-screen edit tables. Visit sky.com/skills to read more and see how teachers can sign up their school.