CSR
Overview
We acknowledge that running our business has an effect on society. In particular, we have a responsibility to our clients, our employees and contractors as well as the broader community in which we operate.
We are committed to taking responsibility for our actions and encourage a positive contribution towards improving standards for our clients and employees, minimising our impact on the environment and improving the quality of the local community.
By putting CSR into practice, we are committed, wherever possible, to:
• Conducting ourselves responsibly and in an ethical manner.
• Creating a positive and supportive working environment.
• Supporting local communities.
• Improving service levels to clients.
• Acting fairly in our dealings with suppliers and other third parties.
• Minimising the impact on our environment.
Communication
We communicate this policy to our employees, clients and other stakeholders by means of our website, publicity materials and internal communications. We provide our employees with training on our CSR strategy and this policy and seek to raise awareness of any negative impacts of our business and methods to reduce them.
Responsibility and review
Corin Bowyer-Crombie, who is the company’s nominated officer, has overall responsibility for our CSR strategy and for implementing this policy. She has a key role in ensuring the systems and controls we have in place are effective.
All employees have a role to play in complying with our CSR objectives and are encouraged to make further suggestions in relation to initiatives we could undertake. If anyone has a suggestion, they should contact Corin.
We are fully committed to the highest possible standards of openness, honesty and accountability. In line with that commitment, we actively encourage all employees who have serious concerns about any real or perceived departure from the high ethical standard that we set, to voice those concerns openly.
We are committed to ensuring our policy remains effective. As part of our ongoing commitment, this policy is reviewed at least annually to verify its effective operation. Records of the reviews are maintained and any necessary amendments are made to the policy, as appropriate.
Our CSR principles
Our conduct
We aim to adopt the highest professional standards and not to act in such a way as to compromise our company’s integrity. We actively promote respect between our employees in their dealings with each other and with clients and other third parties.
Our working environment
We recognise that our employees are our most important resource. We actively seek to offer our employees a positive and healthy working environment and ensure that they have rewarding careers and job satisfaction.
We maintain an Employee Handbook, which sets out the rights and expectations of all employees.
We seek to ensure that all employees have access to the training they need both for their own development and to enable them to deliver a high quality service. Our procedures in relation to training and development can be found within our Employee Handbook.
We consider all employees to be equal and we aim to create a working environment, which is free of unlawful discrimination. In this regard, we maintain an Equality and Diversity Policy.
Our community
In considering our impact on the community we have resolved to sponsor or otherwise support local charities. We encourage employees to carry out work in support of their chosen charity and are open to allowing time off to enable this to happen.
Our clients
We are committed to delivering a high level of service to all our clients. We understand that our business exists in a very competitive market and in order to retain our clients we need to deliver a professional and courteous service.
Suppliers
We are committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination and to promoting equality and diversity in our professional dealings with suppliers and other third parties. Our Equality and Diversity Policy can be found in our Employee Handbook.
We endeavour to enter into clear and fair contracts with our suppliers. We commit to the timely settlement of suppliers’ invoices and wherever possible, we aim to support the local economy by contracting with local suppliers.
Environment
We are committed to behaving responsibly and to minimising our impact on the environment. We aim to minimise our impact on the environment by:
• Minimising waste and adopting sensible recycling policies in respect of our paper and food consumption.
• Providing safe and comfortable working conditions.
• Ensuring that electrical equipment and lights are off when not in use.
• Ensuring that heating is turned off or down outside office hours.
Responsibility
Responsibility for this policy, including an annual review of the policy to:
• Ensure that it remains up to date, compliant and relevant to the needs of the organisation and its clients.
• Verify it is in effective operation across the practice.
