ESG Report 202223 - Flipbook - Page 33
To demonstrate our focus, we take steps to identify, analyse and manage the social,
economic and environmental risks to which our business is exposed, enabling corrective
and pre-emptive actions to be taken to retain our position as a leading exponent of ESG
in the UK and Ireland. In the year ahead, we will enhance the scope of our dedicated ESG&I
team, adding a new Technical Content Manager, whose role will be to work with each of the
operating businesses in our Group to identify, record and share best practice across
all business divisions.
By continuing to manage our compliance and reputational risk, we protect our people, our
business assets and our commercial capacity, contributing to our continued and sustainable
development. Corporate Responsibility risk assessment forms a part of our Corporate Risk
Management Policy. This policy defines the company’s assessment, evaluation, mitigation,
monitoring and auditing across the full spectrum of corporate risk. Our existing approach
and any adaptations that may be required will be subject to a full and independent external
benchmark during the winter of 2023/24.
Our focus on risk identification and management, combined with our governance structures,
ensures that these policies are not just fit for purpose, but examples of industry best practice.
Responsibility for the management of the processes involved in each area of risk is assigned
to the appropriate member of our operational board, ensuring personal and involved
accountability from the highest level.
A word on social value
Although there is no single national measure of social value on which we are required to report, there
are various social value reporting providers who offer this function. Some of the companies in our
Group are already experienced and established in working with these agencies to record outputs such
as engagement with schools, figures for local employment and training, to calculate a social return on
investment.
We are excited about the opportunities that social value reporting provides us and have been
undertaking market engagement exercises to review providers and identify which of them best suits
our needs and those of our clients. We recognise that due to the diversity of our Group, we may not
ultimately be able to establish a single overarching social value framework for for all our operating
businesses. Investigating these options has been identified as a key area of enquiry for us over the
next 12 months.
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