Environment

As a business which conducts over 90% of its client trades online, we do not see ourselves as a significant emitter of environmentally harmful substances.

However, we do understand that our operations have an impact on the environment and we are committed to taking greater consideration of our environmental footprint.

We have taken steps to minimise the impact of our offices on the environment. These include the installation of automated sensor lighting and air conditioning, both of which minimise energy usage when offices are not in use.

Another key business change has been our move from daily printed statements to email statements. This has reduced paper statements by 75%, which represents a saving of more than half a million sheets of quality paper, in addition to envelopes and printer cartridges.

With the encouragement of employees we have also improved our recycling facilities, including IT equipment, and shifted from providing bottled to filtered water.

Office relocation

As part of the fit-out works for the relocation of the Group’s new head office to Cannon Bridge House, contractors were required to explain what measures they would take to promote sustainability by recycling old materials in order to minimise waste sent to landfill. Accordingly, ISG, who successfully tendered for the fit-out works contract, produced a project sustainability charter identifying specific objectives and targets in order to monitor and report performance, and implemented these with its sub-contractors. Along these lines the Cannon Bridge House fit-out works project has sought to produce as little waste as possible by recycling whatever waste is produced and reusing as many strip-out items as possible. Materials have been donated to two charities: Mission Without Borders and St. Mungos.

Mission Without Borders is an international charity organisation, dedicated to serving the physical and emotional needs of those suffering the effects of poverty or persecution. Current projects provide aid in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and China. Mission Without Borders were the recipients of carpet tiles and kitchens from the strip out of Cannon Bridge House.

St Mungo's charity provides services including hostels, drug and alcohol support and job training. The WoodWorks workshop helps homeless people develop skills in numeracy, literacy and communication, as well as building confidence. The charity helps them work towards getting a job and rebuilding their lives. The project team was able to donate a large volume of timber from the strip out of Cannon Bridge House to the Woodworks Programme. Doors from the building are now being converted into desks and table tops for the workshop office as well as the classroom and communal areas.

After finding opportunities to reuse as many items as possible, ISG then segregates and recycles remaining materials from the construction process. They are currently segregating plasterboard, metal, glass, wood and mixed waste on site and to date have achieved a recycling rate of 94%.

Carbon emissions

During the year, the Group recorded the number of kilowatt hours (KWH) of energy used and business travel by air and road. Carbon footprint calculations from Carbon Trust are: