We operate ethically and have a number of programmes to ensure our people know how to make the right decisions; when serving our customers, winning new business, recruiting new people or working with colleagues.
Enabling our people to do the right thing:
- Our Code of Conduct helps us to understand our values and the standards we expect; we set ourselves a high bar and this helps and guides us to understand how we are expected to behave, every day, without exception
- Ethics training helps us to really think about typical dilemmas we may encounter and guides us on what is the right thing to do
- Ethics Champions provide us with an additional route to obtain advice and support on any ethical issues we may encounter
- Speak Up provides a number of ways in which we can raise concerns; by talking to our network of Ethics Champions or contacting our ethics line where we will listen to what our people have to say and take any appropriate action to respond. We also offer a confidential reporting service
- Our Ethical Trading Policy demonstrates our commitment to ethical decision making for the sales of our products and services
- We also have a modern slavery action plan
Each year in our Annual Report and Accounts, we publicly share progress against our responsible and sustainable business priorities which include environmental stewardship, community investment, and employee engagement.
Climate Change
We know it is important to our people that we continue to reduce our emissions and adapt to climate change. Our goal is to be a Net-Zero company by 2050 or sooner and we have set near-term emissions reduction targets to help us deliver this ambition.
As part of our commitment to the environment, many of our sites have significant protected conservation areas of national and international importance. We take our stewardship of these conservation areas very seriously, balancing complex trials with careful protection of rare flora and fauna across these 53 important locations.
With a focus on protecting the world around us, our approach to climate change also means helping our customers to achieve their Net-Zero ambitions. We currently have a range of offerings that support the sustainability agenda of our customers; from synthetic training to stealth blades for wind turbines.
Making a difference to the community
We are enabled to participate in and make a positive difference to the communities where we live and work through:
- Employee Volunteering Programmes that enable us to using our skills to make a positive difference in our local communities
- Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths outreach programmes that provide the opportunity to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers and is an area where you can focus your volunteering efforts
- Charitable Giving and fundraising that recognises the importance of giving back to the communities in which we live and work through events and activities to support charities that are important to our company
- Veteran and Reservists programmes that provide reserve-friendly policies, including special leave, and other support which means you can play a part in the defence and security of our nations and contribute to our national Armed Forces
Watch the film below to find out more about how we invest in our local communities through the STEM outreach programme: