Economic
Our suppliers help provide employment opportunities, here are some examples:
Our printing supplier seeks to create local jobs for local people, support local schools in providing work experience, support local colleges by offering apprenticeship schemes where possible.
One of the companies that assists us with our recruitment is working towards the Inclusion Standard by Clear Assured.
The website development company that works alongside our marketing team runs an Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) Day scheme for their staff.
Social (building cohesive communities)
Nearly all of our suppliers have a commitment to sourcing products locally and supporting local communities. Many have nominated charities to help support communities and charitable causes.
Some examples include:
Our website developers, Conscious undertook the Three Peaks Challenge in 2022. As a result, they raised £6,495 for Gympanzees who are their charity of the year for 2022 and 2023.
G2 Legal, assist us with recruiting and they have a history of fundraising for good causes. Every year, staff have the opportunity to nominate their charity partner for the year. The charity with the most votes is then selected as their partner for the year. Throughout that year, they raise money by taking part in various activities such as a monthly dress down day and The Great Christmas Bake Off. They also offer their support to the nominated charity in a more practical way by manning events such as The Brighton Marathon. G2 Legal also encourage their staff to come up with their own fundraising ideas. At the end of the year, whatever money has been raised is then matched by the company.
Realm Recruiters have set up a legal careers advice brand, LegalJobCoach.com to provide law students and junior lawyers with insights into non-traditional routes to qualification and help them kickstart their careers. Within the Realm team, three employees were hired via the Kickstart apprenticeship scheme, which aimed to support young people at risk of long-term unemployment and they have since been offered permanent full-time positions. The company also fundraised for Blueprint for All (formerly known as the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust) to support their important work with young people, communities and organisations to create an inclusive society.
Environment
Many of our suppliers seek to use technology to minimise travel and several say this has increased since the pandemic. They also seek to recycle materials, have motion censored operated lights and 'turn it off' policies for electrical items like we do at Stephensons. For example, our printing suppliers take specific steps such as, as far as possible, they purchase products and services that do the least damage to the environment and encourage others to do the same. They assess the environmental impact of any new processes or products they intend to introduce in advance. Additionally, they operate a toner recycling scheme with regards to re-manufacturing and make deliveries in recycled boxes.
Our website developer has started to work towards BCorp Status the which is a social and environment standard. They also have a Green Team made up of employees within the company who carry out many initiatives in the community.
Many of our suppliers have clearly defined environmental policies showing their clear commitment and strategies in relation to the environment.
