Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)

Pro’s continued its commitment to sustainability in 2023, in particular, reviewing its office spaces and continuing to seek environmentally sustainable initiatives that deliver efficiency, value, and health for its business, its people, and for the wider community both now and into the future.

• Continuing the successful move to hybrid the company looked to right-size its largest office from 24,104sqft to c. 11,000sqft. As an integral part of the lease renewal negotiations the landlord agreed to install LED lighting and a Daikin VRV 5 heat recovery comfort cooling system. This will give us direct control of our thermal comfort and removes any reliance on gas costs through the service charge.

• Pro continues to review its office space in all other locations against business needs and commits to working with landlords to improve our environmental footprint. The preference will always be for landlords to reduce reliance on gas and provide energy efficient space.

• As Pro leases its property portfolio, it does not directly purchase its energy, however Pro actively encourages its landlords to move to green energy consumption. Our primary site has moved to Drax renewable source electricity.

• Pro continues to improve Audio Visual technology to reduce office to office travel. Pro fully utilises the MS Office suite (including Teams and SharePoint) and is constantly improving laptop specifications.

• Pro continues to improve access to electric vehicles as part of its UK benefits platform.

• Pro has continued to reduce on-site paper and continues to segregate all waste. Its largest office will now have no paper storage. Electronic methods of document storage are always the preference with all current client data being stored electronically.

• In the UK Pro now uses Born Good, who believe in second chances for gadgets and the planet to recycle redundant IT kit.

• Pro continues to seek ways to improve the ethical profile of beverage consumables.  Our largest site’s coffee is obtained from a local supplier who sources directly from farm producers.

• Pro supports its clients’ environmental ambitions and values and incorporates ESG into supplier due diligence to ensure that Pro’s supplier actions and values are additionally considered as part of its operations.

• Pro continues to comply with current environmental legislation working to minimise the impact of its activities on the environment.

Pro is focused on deepening relationships with key stakeholders by investing in its employees and partnering with customers, communities, investors and suppliers. Through our Belonging Strategy we have:

• Developed our career framework in Insurance Services to enable a pathway for
  individuals to manage their careers through building blocks of competence, supported
  by study and apprenticeship programmes.

• Introduced our hybrid working arrangements to facilitate flexible work patterns and reduce commutes which are both time consuming and stressful.

• Reviewed our organisational arrangements to ensure leaders are given time to carry out their managerial responsibilities including employee wellbeing and support.

• Hosting and running wellbeing webinars through our Health partner Vitality.

• Relaunched our Charity Committee to include Community projects facilitating
  donations and matching fund-raising events at individual and team level for both local and national causes. In 2023 we commenced a partnership with Gloucester Hartpury Womens Rugby with the aim to support the team in their ambition to harness the full diversity of the local community.

• Embedded our recently developed Values into a number of our people processes including our performance management process. We also reinforced this with the launch of Pro Stars which rewards those in the moment occurrences where are our values are demonstrated.

• Increased cultural awareness through regular updates and celebrations. We have
  also expanded our interactions in local communities to widen our brand to more
  diverse sections of our community through events (Gloucester Pride) websites and schools.

• Introduced Inclusion Allies and Mental Health First Aiders

• Provided comprehensive neurodiversity awareness training for our managers and inclusion Allies

• Refreshed our communication channels using diverse media (video Q&As, Slido, etc) recognising people receive information in different ways. 2023 also laid the groundwork for a 2024 launch of a new communication and social networking platform to improve our connectivity across the business.

The Company’s focus is to promote strong oversight, transparency, and risk management at all levels of our organisation, ensuring the resilience and long-term preservation of value for our business.

• Through Pro’s Governance Risk and Compliance function, an appropriate three lines of defence model is maintained (1st line - Business/Managers; 2nd Line - Compliance & Risk; 3rd Line – Audit/Assurance).

• Continued maintenance and appropriate strengthening of Data Protection controls, IT Infrastructure and IT Security ensures Pro’s operational resilience, which is a critical component for the success of our business.

• Potential legal, regulatory, and reputational impacts to Pro’s business are continually monitored, along with market trends, to ensure that the Company responds appropriately with refining operational controls

• Pro maintains strong corporate governance practices through exemplary board management, senior leadership accountability, and proactive risk management.

• Pro operates a strong governance focus from top down on employee well-being, diversity and inclusion, health and safety, operational resilience, data security and regulatory compliance.

• Pro establishes clear and effective governance for ESG through its Risk and Control Senior leadership forum, reporting into the Group board.

• Pro maintains a suite of policies for Information Security, Privacy, Data Protection and Financial controls.

• Pro is committed to high ethical standards through a strong Code of Conduct, ongoing diversity and ethics training, and executive leadership who promote a culture of integrity. 

• Pro maintains a Whistleblowing Policy that ensures no member of staff will be disadvantaged in the workplace because of speaking out about their concerns.

• Pro cultivates strong stakeholder relationships through transparency, open communications, and responding to stakeholder input.