• Creating a sustainable business
• Approach
• Governance
• Performance
• Sustainability reporting
• Sustainability in practice

Sustainability management

We run a well-managed, responsible business within a clear governance framework. Our Board leads and controls the company and currently comprises two executive directors, five non-executive directors and a non-executive chairman.

We have a governance structure and a set of commitments and internal procedures to manage the social, environmental, ethical and governance issues in our markets that impact on, or result from, our operations. Our Ethics Code outlines our commitments to our stakeholder groups, sets out our standards of conduct and includes our obligations to responsible business practice, specifically in relation to treating customers fairly, human rights, fraud, corruption and conflicts of interest.

Click here to review our sustainability policies.

People management

• People processes are governed by Group employment policies and by an HR policy manual
• Our employees are managed by HR teams within each business, supported by a central HR team in the UK
• Agents are managed by operational teams with an agent support department or similar in each business
• The Senior Management Group (SMG), which includes the Group HR Director, meets five times a year and considers people issues. Formal resourcing and succession forums are convened by the SMG twice a year to review our senior operations leadership development and general manager development programmes
• All local HR directors have monthly conference calls. They all also sit on their local management boards

Group Safety Committee

• Meets at CMT meetings (at least every six months)
• Chaired by the Group Finance Director, David Broadbent
• Reports to the Board formally once a year and to the Risk and Compliance committee quarterly
• Provides strategic direction for the way we manage health and safety issues

Sustainability Steering Committee

• Meets at least twice a year and establishes guiding principles and priorities
• Chaired by the Chief Executive Officer (the Board representative for sustainability)
• Also ensures that all our businesses conform to the same high standards and that our values and sustainability principles are implemented
• Key areas covered in 2012 included:
  • Internal sustainability reporting and management review processes
  • Responsible supply chain management
  • Business ethics implementation and communication
  • The role of community investment in brand reputation
  • Responsible lending

Sustainability governance also takes place within each of our markets, either through a specific committee or as part of the work carried out in senior management group meetings. This enables priorities to be set and objectives managed at local level

Customer Service Steering Group

• Meets at least once every two months
• Chaired by the Group Marketing Director, with representatives from the Board and UK Leadership Team as regular attendees
• Maintains and assesses the customer centricity of the business

Corporate affairs group

• Meets every quarter, with calls taking place every month
• Chaired by the Group Corporate Affairs Director
• Membership includes local Corporate Affairs Directors, the Group Sustainability Manager and the UK corporate affairs team
• Agrees company-wide corporate affairs goals; ensures new initiatives and improvements are rolled out across the business
• Covers sustainability, communication, public policy and stakeholder engagement
• The group is important for obtaining local perspectives on the issues being considered

Environment working groups

Each business has an environmental working group which drives the environmental programme. They review and coordinate performance indicators, devise and work to annual targets and identify opportunities to promote environmental awareness through training and communications.