Definition
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept whereby an organisation recognises that its business operations and processes may have an impact on social, economic and environmental issues outside of the workplace. It also represents a commitment to ensuring and maintaining socially responsible behaviour in an organisation.
Purpose
We seek to sustain a business that is successful and respected in its ethical standing by our stakeholders. These include customers, clients, investors, regulators, suppliers and the community. We embrace the role our business plays on a day to day basis in contributing to a better society.
Statement from the organisation
Our six core values are clear and tangible evidence of our determination to be both an enlightened employer and a supremely reliable strategic partner for customers. Our aim is to earn customer loyalty and constantly exceed expectations by putting our principles into practice across the group, every day.
- Respect for people – At the core of everything we do is a respect for people. We recognise that everyone is differently positioned in terms of their market rate, the work that they do and their role in the supply chain. But these differences in standing, position and market rate should have no impact on how people are treated. We live by this value and work hard to ensure it is reflected in everything we do.
- Humility – Only through humility can we continue to learn. We may have in depth of experience in tool-making, injection moulding, working with difficult materials, decoration and assembly, but unless we approach all these disciplines with humility, we will never get any better.
New technologies are being developed all the time and we have the modesty to test them with an open mind. - Openness, transparency, honesty – We value openness, transparency and honesty. We implement this by communicating clearly in our quotations, purchase orders, progress and feedback reports, invoices, emails and presentations- using plain English and the plain truth.
- Environment – We value the environment. We attempt to limit the resources we use in every aspect of what we do, be it paper, production materials or energy. We study our manufacturing processes, our delivery patterns and our daily working practices with a level of intensity you would expect from any lean manufacturer trying to reduce waste. We work with Veolia to help manage waste, so that cardboard, plastics and metals are all recycled. By being lean, and working with local suppliers, we also keep our production miles to a minimum. Our environmental management systems and practices are accredited to ISO 14001.
- Teamwork – We seek to build teamwork. This means we expect our employees to actively work together within the management structure we have created, making themselves available to help, whenever necessary, for the good of the company. That doesn’t mean we expect our employees to be here all day and night, seven days a week. But there will be times when longer hours and extra days will be required to meet the needs of our customers.
- Accountability – Finally, we align all these values with accountability. That means taking responsibility for our actions, admitting our mistakes (and showing we learn from them), taking corrective action and living up to our commitments. Policy We are aware that the running of our business will, in many ways, affect our place of work, the community and the wider environment in which we operate. We believe that the way we run our business can and should make a positive difference in these areas and we aim to ensure that continued efforts are made to achieve that.
Our corporate social responsibilities are identifiable in the following areas:
Environment
With regard to the business’ impact upon the environment, we are committed, amongst other initiatives, to:
- use of apps and cloud based technology to protect information and reduce the need for printing
- reducing the amount of waste produced by the business
- ensuring that water/electricity/gas is used responsibly by our staff
- re-using and recycling materials as extensively as possible
- using technology to lessen the need for travel
- sourcing electric/hybrid cars for our fleet
Charitable/community work
Our organisation is keen to support and become involved in community initiatives and charitable work. We do this in the form of sponsorship, donations to national and local charities which may be suggested by our staff. Every suggestion is given due consideration.
Education
We recognise the importance of education in our community, and supporting individuals during this process is key to advancement. We actively encourage our employees to volunteer to help at school events such as careers days. We offer a number of work experience placements and student internships in partnership with local schools, colleges and universities. We have active apprenticeship and graduate programmes.
Our employees
Involvement: We keep our staff informed of policies and procedures through internal communication channels and encourage them to share ideas on internal processes that affect them and how our service is provided to customers and clients. We maintain an open and honest approach to all communications.
Equal Opportunities
We are committed to providing an environment of equal opportunities for all members of our workforce. No account of any of the protected characteristics set out in the Equality Act 2010 shall be taken to a detrimental effect in any decision involving recruitment, promotion, provision of facilities etc. See our Equal Opportunities policy for more detail in this regard.
Business partnerships
We will strive to engage with local suppliers and businesses where possible to meet the business’ operational needs, in order to support businesses within our area and decrease our carbon footprint. In respect of our entire CSR initiative, we expect no lesser standards from our suppliers and business partners.
Ongoing commitment
We are fully committed to the principle of CSR and aim to ensure that no relevant policy decisions are made within the business, without first evaluating the potential CSR impact.
