Our core belief is that the only way to create long term value in our business is through sustainable, responsible growth.Consequently, we seek to embed responsible practice throughout our activities. The corporate responsibility impacts, achievements and strategy of our business are evaluated through the three pillars of our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Framework:
- Creating Shared Value
- Social Responsibility
- Environmental Impact.
Our ESG Steering Group was established two years ago to guide implementation. Its outputs are monitored by the Chief Executive, who along with the Executive Board ultimately decides the ESG strategy.
Creating shared value
We strive to maximise the positive impact of our work, dealing honestly and fairly with all stakeholders and, in the process, building mutually beneficial partnerships.
Environmental impact
We support our people and clients in looking for low carbon solutions and environmentally sensitive ways to work. Our employees have access to mobile, remote and video conferencing technology as standard, which they are encouraged to use instead of travelling.
We have reduced business travel through the use of collaborative tools. Video conferencing is popular among our staff and has become an alternative to travelling for internal meetings.
Reducing carbon emissions remains a primary goal. As a key part of our ESG strategy and activity review we implemented improved systems to record our CO2 emissions which gave a baseline for our reduction strategy, which includes a variety of potential improvements, including replacing fluorescent lights with more efficient LEDs and installing photovoltaic panels.
Environmental impact also forms part of our property strategy. During 2016/17 we improved utilisation at our key properties and moved a significant amount of IT equipment from our offices to our data centre, these activities have contributed to considerable C02 savings.
In the final two financial quarters of 2015-2016 we estimated that our UK offices would emit a total of 1844 tonnes of CO2. We have now collected full year figures in 2016-2017 and can report as follows:-
- April 2016 – March 2017:- Annual estimated CO2 usage across all NPS sites was 1955. Actual reported usage at 11 monitored sites is 1136. Both figures show a considerable reduction in those estimated in 2015 – 2016 (which was 1844 for two quarters).
We have a centralised IT recycling policy, at the end of the last financial year (2016/17) 97% of our redundant IT equipment was recycled or re-used, with the remainder disposed of according to Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment recycling (WEEE) regulations.
Social responsibility
We consider the positive impact our business can have both through our client partnerships and the active contribution of our people.
- Our staff in India supported the NGO Rescue Foundation which helps women who have been the victims of commercial sexual exploitation. The foundation received support in the form of donations of much-needed goods such as food and educational supplies.
- Staff in the UK raised money for charities that tackle homelessness through a variety of activities including a coast to coast cycle ride, clothing collections and an overnight sleep out.
- As at April 2017 44% of the overall UK and RoI workforce is female which compares favourably to the UK tech sector as a whole. Our senior management, consisting of the Excom plus two is currently 25% female and over the past 12 months 37% of our external senior appointments have been female. Our Board is currently 100% male
- We employ 20 apprentices at any one time in the business.
> Across the company approximately one day was lost due to injury, corresponding to a Lost Time Injury Incidence Rate (LTIIR) of 0.0006