ESG Report

The Group has two offices; London and Chester. The London office in Vintners Place building is managed in accordance with the landlord, CBRE's, sustainability policy which champions recycling and low-emission practices. Vintners Place has an extensive and secure bicycle store and employees are encouraged to commute this way if they can do so safely.

The Chester office, has a number of initiatives aimed at reducing negative environmental impacts. In 2021 energy provider was changed to guarantee that 100% of energy comes from renewable sources- and this also represented a cost-saving for the business. An environmental waste service that separates all our recycling and burns waste to feed energy back into the grid is used. The Group has a Cycle to Work scheme in place to help those employees who which to participate in it.

A number of employees are provided with a Company car. All such vehicles must either by fully electric or hybrid, and, at Chester, there are electric charging points for these vehicles. A paper-free initiative was started in 2020, identifying where the use of paper can be eliminated. The quantity of copier paper ordered continues to be modest.

The ongoing partnership with Wales Recycles has enabled the Group to donate unused or retired devices to be wiped or refurbished and then given to local schools and underprivileged members of the community. A similar scheme has been launched for the London office.

An Employee Carbon Emissions Survey was conducted in 2021 to calculate the average carbon footprint of employees whilst at work. This has allowed the Group to offset the individual carbon footprints for the entire workforce. Whilst pleased with this outcome, the next step is to assess where energy use and carbon emissions across the business can be reduced.

The environmental impact of the Group's supply chain is another important consideration. Since 2021 a new due diligence procedure was introduced to incorporates ESG criteria; questions address suppliers' own sustainability programmes, whether they screen environmental and social impacts, and how they engage with and determine the interests of their key stakeholders.

With the exception of staff, the next most significant area of expenditure remains third party IT and communication supplies, followed by costs incurred by other service industries such as law, accounting, and compliance advisory firms. As part of the Group's upcoming assessment into reduction strategies, the practices of suppliers are reviewed.

In considering societal impact, the Group wishes to give employees the opportunity to get involved and support is provided to employees in their endeavours, making a number of charitable donations and allowing the workforce to select charities that will receive the Company's donations.

Part of the forward-looking strategy is to formalise the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, to enable employees to volunteer within working hours and offer their time and expertise for the benefit of local voluntary and community groups

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