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, in 2023 we had a carbon footprint assessment carried out. This has informed our energy and carbon reduction roadmap, with incremental changes planned each year. 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 also our reliance on renewable energy. In April 2023, we installed an additional 141.96 kWp of solar PV at our Hereford site, in addition to the existing 72.64 kWp already in place. Our solar PV is expected to generate over 190,000 kWh per annum.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.