Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Policy

We believe business is fundamentally a force for good – it employs people and subsequently enables roofs over people’s heads, food on tables and improved quality of life. Achieving that takes innovation, hard work and a focus on serving others. It also means leading with our values in the solutions we enable, the decisions we make, and in how we treat people and the planet we share. Piernine is committed to leaving the world better than we found it, and to enabling others to do the same.

At Piernine our values are underpinned by a strong set of principles born from our backgrounds. We use these to advance initiatives across Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) topics:

Environment

We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our business activities while continually improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods. We adapt, innovate and invest to combat climate change, to use our planet’s finite resources carefully efficiently and with respect for the planet. We encourage customers and suppliers to do the same. And will review progress at regular intervals.

As our commitment to continuous improvements in environmental performance, our policy is to:

• Comply with all relevant regulatory requirements.
• Continually improve and monitor environmental performance.
• Continually improve and reduce environmental impacts.
• Incorporate environmental factors into business decisions.
• Increase employee awareness and training.

Piernine has identified a number of areas where direct action has been taken to minimise our environmental impact.

• Actively reduce our waste through waste reduction policies, recycle and reuse as much as possible.
• Use a 100% renewable energy provider.
• We host our own and our client’s sites on carbon neutral servers.
• We use electricity responsibly and switch off electrical items when not in use.
• Regularly assess and monitor our energy usage and waste output.
• Purchase products and services from third party suppliers that share similar environmental positioning goals as our own.
• Purchase cleaning products and other consumables for their environmental and Fairtrade merit.
• All paper specification for print work is on recycled pulp or paper from sustainable forests.
• Reduce the impact of our travel by avoiding any unnecessary car journeys and work towards a fully electric vehicle fleet.
• Educate staff, clients and suppliers on new methods and policies to reduce energy and waste generation.
• Use our skills in marketing and communication to actively promote environmental sustainability and raise awareness of climate issues.
• Ensure that all our activities and services comply with all relevant environmental legislations.

Social

We work every day to empower our people and to create an inclusive and diverse work environment, and to respect the fundamental human rights of everyone whose lives we touch. Employees, customers and suppliers.

We strive to be localised and socially responsible, offer support and sponsorship for local organisations, agencies and not for profit projects in relation to environmental and socially responsible issues.

We support our staff engaging at a grass roots level with local communities and charities to enhance our local environment.

Governance

Our corporate governance creates informed and effective decision-making. We use a balanced scorecard to effectively monitor our progress in the areas that will improve our ES goals.

This policy is reviewed on a regular basis and will provide a framework for assessing and improving all environmental objectives and targets.