We’ve fully embraced CSR at every level of our business and have developed (and continue to develop) a number of policies and approaches to ensure that we fully recognise our role in society and behave as responsible corporate citizens in everything we do. As such, we comply with all the relevant legal requirements and ensure best practice is followed by each of the services we deliver. The following policies form part of our CSR programme:
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Diversity
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Health & Safety
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Environmental
Other elements of our Corporate Social Responsibility Programme include:
Charitable Giving
Company Donations: Each year we run an email campaign asking our clients to choose one of three small charities they would like Prospectus to support via a click through donation process. Last year this resulted in £771 being donated directly to small charities by Prospectus
Payroll Giving: All Prospectus employees are encouraged to make tax efficient charitable donations via our payroll, ensuring maximum benefit to the charities they support. Currently 30% of staff are signed up to payroll giving and we have achieved the Gold Standard status awarded by the Institute of Fundraising & HM Government.
Other Fundraising: Prospectus periodically organises events to raise further funds for specific charities. For example 13 employees took part in the British 10K London raising £2700 for Combat Stress. More recently, we held a charity lunch for the British Heart Foundation.
Donations of Furniture and Equipment: We have recently undergone an office refurbishment and as a result donated unwanted furniture to the charity Changing Faces, among others. Similarly, we donate all unwanted IT equipment to individual charities.
Environmental
Recycling: Prospectus recycles all paper, glass, plastic, aluminium cans, print cartridges, computers and furniture no longer required. Duplex printing is also encouraged. We have been recycling all toners for the past 10 years, raising money for charity in the process.
Cleaning: Environmentally friendly cleaning products are also used wherever possible.
Larger items: Larger capital items no longer required within the office are periodically recycled via London Recycling or given to charity.
Supply Chain
We work hard to build excellent long-term relationships with suppliers by being a responsible purchaser of goods and services, sourcing environmentally friendly & Fairtrade products whenever possible. We also promise suppliers that we will pay them according to agreed terms of trade, without exception.
Prospectus sources goods and services from:
AquAid – Every AquAid water cooler brings at least four children water for life every year, made possible by them donating 40p for every bottle sold and £20 per annum for every mains fed machine installed.
Peros – The UK’s leading independent Fairtrade coffee supply company.
Tarem Services – Our socially responsible and environmentally aware cleaning company. Tarem has social enterprise status and is wholly owned by its workers.
Employee Health & Well Being
Volunteering: Once a Prospectus employee has passed their probationary period we give them 6 fully paid volunteering days a year to help the charity of their choice during normal office hours. This time is donated by Prospectus and is provided over and above our employees paid holiday allowance.
Worklife Employee Assistance Programme: Prospectus offers all employees and their immediate family access to a free 24hr confidential information, support and counselling service.
Sabbatical: During the fifth year of service, Prospectus employees are entitled to request a sabbatical of eight weeks duration. This can be taken in conjunction with annual leave entitlement.
Health & Safety: We take the health and safety of our employees very seriously and provide a full H&S induction programme on appointment. We also communicate our Health & Safety Guidelines and policy in our Staff Handbook; provide a copy of the Handbook to all new employees and promote Health & Safety on our company Intranet.
Local Community
Dual-facing Work Advisors: As part of our volunteering programme, skilled Prospectus Consultants provide support to this pioneering partnership that assists unemployed homeless individuals to get back to work with the help of commercial recruitment agencies. Less than 5% of London’s homeless are in employment according to a recent survey conducted by St Mungos, one of London’s largest providers of housing.
Shoe Shining: Prospectus act as a training site for Streetshine, a social enterprise that gives people who have experienced homelessness, suffered disadvantage in the job market and are in the process of rebuilding their lives the chance to earn a regular income by operating a shoeshine service within offices in the City of London.
Volunteering: Through our volunteering initiative, Prospectus supports the local community in a number of ways:
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Prospectus staff hold positions at board level with a number of charitable organisations;
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Several employees support a local school by regularly assisting children developing their reading;
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Staff have volunteered at a local community centre attending tea dances for the elderly;
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Employees have been involved in a number of initiatives to clear outside areas referred via Community Service Volunteers.
