Our Sustainability Statement
Focusing on what matters: our people, our clients, and our impact in our communities
Our purpose
We have a burning desire to challenge the status quo in our industry. We want to lead by example, to demonstrate that the ways of the past do not have to endure. In fact, the only way to become a truly resilient business is to respond and adapt to the world around us.
Our vision
When we launched our business in 2020, our aim was to be the best insurance advisory business in the UK characterised by:
- People who stand shoulder to shoulder with our clients
- Advice that makes a difference
- Outcomes that shape your future
That vision is still very much alive and is the prism through which we will continue to grow in a way that will enable our people and our business to thrive in a sustainable way.
Our sustainability strategy
As we start our sustainability journey, we will be creating a roadmap of short-, medium- and long-term decisions and meaningful actions that will positively impact our people, the way we operate and the impact we have on the environment.
Our approach is based on partnership. We are working in collaboration with our ecosystem to deliver this strategy, and we will share the work that we do with all our partners, in the hope that they will derive inspiration and encouragement to make similar changes in their working practices – this approach will form the basis of our sustainability pledge.
Partners& Sustainability 10-Point Plan
Our strategy is aligned to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and these actions are outlined in our 10-point plan.
- Develop and launch the Partners& Sustainability strategic plan
- Align with relevant organisations to validate and recognise our strategic plan
- Evaluate our carbon footprint and implement key short, medium and long term actions
- Identify 3-5 short term decisions we can make now that will have impact
- Establish a cross-company sustainability action group
- Introduce sustainability education for all our people and establish sustainable thinking as BAU
- Establish a structured apprenticeship scheme in collaboration with Working Options
- Establish a return-to-work programme aimed at over 50s
- Develop a sustainability pledge and use our experience and network to encourage and inspire clients to star their sustainability journey
- Produce a scorecard which highlights our targets, and regularly tracks and communicates our progress
Our values
P – Progressive
We’re here to make a difference for all our partners. That means making brave decisions and doing things that matter. That’s why we’re always looking to make improvements and challenge conventional thinking.
A – Approachable
We strive to simplify things, providing advice that’s clear and easy to understand.
C – Collaborative
We understand that the needs of our clients are changing, and we work together to develop bespoke and appropriate programmes that meet their current and anticipated needs.
E – Enabler
Our insights and expertise provide the reassurance, security and advice that enable our clients to achieve their objectives and ambitions.
P – Progressive
We’re here to make a difference for all our partners. That means making brave decisions and doing things that matter. That’s why we’re always looking to make improvements and challenge conventional thinking.
A – Approachable
We strive to simplify things, providing advice that’s clear and easy to understand.
C – Collaborative
We understand that the needs of our clients are changing, and we work together to develop bespoke and appropriate programmes that meet their current and anticipated needs.
E – Enabler
Our insights and expertise provide the reassurance, security and advice that enable our clients to achieve their objectives and ambitions.
Our measures of success
We have defined clear objectives and performance indicators which we will measure every six months, reporting our progress to the Statutory Board and the business via our sustainability score card.
Our journey to date
We started our sustainability journey by addressing the issues in our industry around belonging, diversity, and inclusion. Through this body of work, we have won several prestigious industry awards.
Our BEAT programme is based on two core beliefs:
- Ensuring our people feel they belong in the organisation will help them to thrive.
- Recognising that the wellbeing of our people (social, financial and health) has a direct impact on their ability to perform at their full potential.
A key pillar of our sustainability strategy is social inclusion which will drive the launch of our apprenticeship programme through our ongoing commitment to work with Working Options and our Return-to-Work programme aimed at encouraging mothers and over 50s to bring their skills and experience back into the workplace.
As we now turn our focus toward broader aspects of how we ensure our business remains resilient and sustainable in the face of the wider pressures in front of us, we are committed to sharing our experience with our wider ecosystem and in the spirit of partnership, delivering better outcomes for us all.
Our Sustainability Action Team
Partnership is the golden thread that runs through our business – we recognise that our sustainability strategy will only succeed when all our colleagues
- Understand our vision
- Embrace our mission
- Make it business as usual
Our working group consists of representatives from all areas of our business and reports to our Statutory Board every six months.
The aims of this working group are to:
- Ensure that we maintain our focus on our strategy
- Deliver on our strategic objectives
- Communicate updates on a regular basis and in a transparent manner
- Support the team in achieving relevant accreditations
- Bring our strategy to life and make it relevant to colleagues
We will meet quarterly to review progress and input to reporting.
The Sustainability Action Team is chaired by Ross Dingwall and includes the following areas of the business:
- Finance – measurement/reporting
- Operations – creating consistency across our business
- HR – EDI, social mobility
- Compliance – legal and industry regulations
- Procurement – suppliers should align with our values
- Property – tracking emissions
- Sales/marketing – communicating to our stakeholders about sustainability as a differentiator
- Tech & change – responsible choices with infrastructure, equipment and data management
- Trading – raising awareness of these emerging risks with our clients
Our Sustainability Action Team
Ellie Smith
Head of Risk
Swati Chopra
Chief Information Officer
Ellie Smith
Head of Risk