ETL is committed to improving its environmental and social impact, as well as maintaining the highest standards of governance, in order to have a positive impact on our employees, the wider community, and the environment.As a result, ESG aspects are becoming increasingly integrated into our business strategy. As part of this process, we are setting targets to support our continuous improvement and will be carrying out annual assessments to evaluate our progress. EnvironmentalAs part of our commitment to reducing our environmental impact, we are undergoing a carbon footprint assessment. This will inform our company wide energy and carbon reduction plan. Working with specialist advisors in the field to ensure we adopt the most effective strategy, we aim to increase the energy efficiency of our operations and increase our use of renewable energy. This includes our Solar PV investment of around 80 kWp, generating over 64,000 kWh per annum. Our Green Travel Scheme is also active and regularly promoted to employees, encouraging car sharing and active travel to reduce vehicle emissions for those who commute. We are setting waste reduction targets that will be achieved by measures such as increasing recyclable packaging and the continued move towards paperless office work, which is already well underway. We also have clearly marked recycling receptacles in our offices to encourage employees to adhere to correct waste disposal protocols.SocialETL offers work opportunities for people with a range of different skills and experience, as well as participating in a variety of graduate programmes. We have a strong relationship with the New Model in Technology and Engineering University in Hereford. We have a fair and unbiased recruitment process and treat all staff equally, ensuring compliance to the Equality Act 2010. Health & Safety is managed through our dedicated H&S team including Officers, Fire Marshalls and First Aiders. We carry out risk assessments, provide training for staff to carry out work safely and we have regular H&S review meetings. We monitor H&S performance of the business, with H&S statistics as a standing item on the Board agenda. We undertake employee engagement surveys to assist in understanding our staff, and we monitor and action feedback to enable continuous improvement. Training and development opportunities are available and actively encouraged, and staff are given regular opportunities to steer their own continued professional development by suggestion training they want to undertake. We also support local charities through our staff-led Charitable Donation Committee.GovernanceETL’s Employee Code of Conduct is set out to foster and encourage ethical behaviour at work. The Grievance Process ensures that staff feel comfortable and know who to report incidents to, should they occur. ETL’s Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy is issued to new staff as part of our induction programme, with re-training plans in place for relevant staff. We have a Whistle Blowing Policy in place to further embed the ability for staff to raise concerns in a confidential manner. ETL currently have cyber security accreditation to UK Cyber Essentials. We are aiming to achieve accreditation to UK Cyber Essentials Plus scheme in the short-term, followed by ISO27001 certification as a longer term plan. ETL also has a Supplier Requirements procedure in place which is evaluated in relation to wider ESG related issues, in particular in relation to environmental performance, worker rights and good governance. For more about our Charity initiative, click here.