The Prince of Wales has launched an initiative to encourage leading EU companies to visit their local communities and help tackle social issues.

Businesses on the Continent are being encouraged to adopt a sense of "corporate social responsibility" and put something back into their neighbourhoods.

The Prince's Seeing is Believing programme, which has been running in the UK for more than a decade, takes business leaders into deprived inner-city and rural areas and challenges them to help solve the problems they have encountered.

Since its launch in the early 1990s, 3,500 business leaders have taken part in the programme, which is administered by the organisation Business in the Community.

Prince Charles, speaking as president of Business in the Community, a post he has held since 1985, said during the reception at Clarence House: "As far as Seeing is Believing is concerned, it's been marvellously successful in the last 10 to 12 years since I suggested the idea and since I first started taking some of the somewhat hesitant business leaders around the country in buses, trains and aeroplanes - 3,000 business leaders is pretty good going.

"We now have an alumni of 360 members, which is a powerful business network, which above all else spreads good practice."

Wednesday June 09, 2004