Environmental, Social and Governance Impact Report 1st April 2022 – 31st March 2023
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Contents About us
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A message from our CEO, John Howard
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Our values: Growing with impact
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Social Value
7
Highlights of FY2023
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Our alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
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Environment
10
Social
16
Governance
22
A Statement on our future ESG goals and ambitions
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2023/2024 ESG goals
26
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About us Channel 3 was founded in 2009 with a simple
As technology has evolved at pace over the last
vision: to empower forward-thinking health and care
decade, so have our services. But one thing has
organisations to harness the power of technology
stayed the same: our passion for rolling up our
to improve care and help transform services for
sleeves and helping our clients make digital health
patients, service users and communities.
and care happen. We relish the challenge. Channel 3 is committed to building a diverse team
Our purpose is the reason we do what we do for our clients. It is the thing that brings us all together as a team. We sum it up in a simple phrase:
that demonstrates passion, loyalty and enthusiasm
Better lives. Better care. Better digital.
and care sector.
in everything we do. We care deeply about making a difference and building a team ready to drive change in the health
Our purpose From the outset, our aim was to help everyone
We exist to help the health and care sector improve
working across health and care feel the benefits
lives by using digital and data. We help clients
of digital – and that remains our focus to this
deliver better outcomes for the people they serve
day. Our approach was disruptive. We were
and enable positive change for their workforce and
ahead of the curve in recognising the benefits the
operations.
sector could realise through technology. Working alongside our clients, over the years we have helped give clinicians, care providers, patients and citizens better access to lifesaving information and use technology to enable transformational improvements to services and outcomes. We believe success comes from working with our clients in teams that blend their skills and ours, and that is how we have approached every project since day one.
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A message from our CEO, John Howard Welcome to Channel 3 Consulting’s second environmental, social and governance (ESG) Impact Report. As a business that is passionate about making a positive impact on the health and care sector in which we work and the communities we serve, we take pride in ensuring that our operations are efficient and sustainable and that we safeguard our employees’ wellbeing. In this Report, we share the progress we have made on our sustainability journey and detail the plans we have to reach our ESG goals.
Environment This year we undertook a Net Zero assessment to understand our carbon footprint. We have determined that we are currently carbon neutral and have set a clear pathway to become Net Zero well ahead of the target in the UK Government’s plan “Build Back Greener”. This demonstrates our commitment to proactively reducing our impact on the planet and helping the lives of those living on it. We are confident that we will meet this goal as we have already made great strides in reducing our carbon emissions through the choice of The Office Group (Fora) as our sustainable office provider for our headquarters in London .
Social As we continue to grow as a business, we remain committed to the wellbeing of our employees. I am proud to share that Channel 3 Consulting has been named one of the UK’s Best Workplaces for Wellbeing in 2023 by Great Place to Work. The recognition from the UK’s Best Workplaces programme is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Channel 3 team in promoting the wellbeing of our employees and creating a workplace culture that prioritises the health of our people.
Governance At Channel 3, we have a strong commitment to data protection, as the nature of our services revolves around information technology in healthcare. In addition to our Cyber Security Essential Plus certification, this year we chose to undergo the process to acquire an ISO 27001 accreditation for Information Security Management to further bolster our IT and data security processes. As we look to the year ahead, we intend to begin to measure the positive impacts our services are making on the communities and planet and strive to continue integrating our ESG commitments into our day-to-day operations. John Howard, CEO 4
Our Values: Growing with impact At Channel 3, we are united by a clear set of values. Our Values explain what is important to us in the way we conduct business and the way we interact with each other, our clients and our many other stakeholders. OUR VALUES ARE:
Passion
Collaboration
Integrity
Diversity
We are passionate about what we do and the impact we can have
We actively collaborate to achieve great results for our clients and our business
We work with integrity, doing the right thing by each other, our clients and our communities
We celebrate our differences and embrace inclusion and authenticity
Growing with impact The next few years will be a hugely exciting time in the digital health and care market - and a hugely exciting time for Channel 3’s business. With significant investment going into the sector and a growing realisation that technology can and must be a key enabler of health and care service transformation, Channel 3 has the opportunity to play a leading role in making that transformation happen. Playing that leadership role is exactly what we intend to do. To that end, we’ve set ourselves a clear ambition for 2025: to become the most impactful and sought-after digital health and care consultancy in the UK and our other chosen markets. For us, being ‘the most impactful’ means things like: •
helping our clients make clear and measurable improvements in health and care services.
•
making positive contributions to our communities through our work with clients and our own corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
•
creating a great work environment where our teams – and our clients’ teams – learn, develop and have fun.
We call this ‘Growing with impact’1.
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Defining our social and environmental impact 1. We aim to have a positive impact on our clients and the people
4. If we do not fully achieve our impact goals, we will reflect on
they serve, on our team members and on the communities in
the reasons why not so we can learn lessons and improve our
which we live and work. The ways we do that will change over
impact in future.
time, but our commitment to making a difference will be central to everything we do. 2. We believe in the importance of creating social value for our
5. We will have a clear programme of CSR activities that we sponsor as a business. Our sponsorship will include both financial contributions and contributions of our team members’
clients and our communities. We will demonstrate our values of
time and talents. Again, we will measure our impact and report
passion and collaboration by actively seeking opportunities to
our achievements in this, our annual ESG Impact Report.
give something back and measuring our progress.
6. Beyond our company initiatives, we will enable our employees
3. Working jointly with our clients, we will seek to understand the
and teams to invest their time and talents in support of wider
potential impact our projects can have and plan for how we
CSR activities that are aligned to our purpose and our values.
make that impact a reality. We will create a standard way of measuring each project’s impact and sharing our successes. We will aggregate those successes into an annual ESG Impact Report.
7. We are committed to environment and social wellbeing and sustainability and will explore further opportunities to continually improve our impact.
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Social Value In September 2020, the Cabinet Office published Public Procurement Note 06/20 to account for the Social Value added to public sector contracts. This was followed closely by the publication of the government’s Social Value Model, which provides companies with a means to ‘account for’ rather than just ‘consider’ Social Value when they are bidding for work. In 2022 the NHS applied this model to all new contracting processes. Channel 3 is passionate about bringing Social Value to our clients and the communities in which we work, and in our first Environmental and Social Impact Report we detailed the beginning of our environmental and social impact journey. This year’s Report builds on that progress and focuses on the meaningful positive impact on our communities that Channel 3 is achieving above and beyond our day-to-day client delivery, becoming strong guardians of the environment for present and future generations.
Our Social Value methodology Economic activity – we bring together suppliers, local partners, customers and communities to support local employment. Environmental efforts – we recognise the social benefits of Channel 3’s commitment to extensive recycling, reduced reliance on single-use plastics, diverting waste from landfill, our biodiversity efforts, and our actions to reduce water and energy consumption. Employment – we deliver work opportunities and careers to under-represented and disadvantaged groups, via numerous programmes with our community partner, Drive Forward Foundation. Wellbeing – we reach a broad audience, both within the company and in the communities, we operate in, to deliver programmes which support physical and mental health, wellbeing, and inclusion. Managing the impact of COVID-19 – we are helping our employees, our customers, and our communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
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Highlights of FY2023 Calculated our Scope 1, Scope 2 and partial Scope 3 (Categories 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7) emissions and produced a path to achieve
Net Zero by 2040
Offset our carbon emissions
(Scope 3, Category 5, 6 and 7) with the Yumrutepe Regulator Project under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)
Delivered
2,636.25 hours of employee training (internal and external)
Named as one of the UK’s Delivered
75+
training experiences through the new Channel 3 Academy
Obtained
ISO 27001
Supported local community partners:
Age UK Cornwall & The Isles of Scilly
(Information Security Management)
Best Workplaces™ for Wellbeing 2023 by Great Place to Work®
Continued our long-term
community partnership
with Drive Forward Foundation
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Our alignment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 targets designed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. With a target date of 2030, these goals provide a “blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.” Last year we selected four SDGs where we are positioned to have the most significant impact. In continuing our commitment to the SDGs, we will incorporate measurable targets into how our actions contribute towards fulfilling these Goals. We take our role in society and tackling climate change seriously and have chosen to align our practices to the following SDGs:
Social Development Goal 3 – Good health and wellbeing
Social Development Goal 8 – Decent work and economic growth
Social Development Goal 10 – Reduced inequalities
Social Development Goal 13 – Climate action
Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
Reduce inequality within and
Take urgent action to combat climate
for all at all ages
economic growth, employment and work for all
among countries
change and its impacts
Inherent in the services we offer, we ensure healthy
We provide sustained and productive work and offer
Our evolving DEI strategy aims to review key
Our services and technological solutions promote
lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.
our employees’ multiple development opportunities
demographics and build a robust approach to
a greener society by reducing paper waste and
to spark innovative in the sector.
equitable and fair opportunities for our people and
improving efficiencies.
Within our company, we provide health and
key stakeholders.
wellbeing support to our employees and recognise
We also provide development opportunities outside
the importance of specific areas such as positive
our company by supporting candidates in the NHS
We support young, disadvantaged people through
achieve a carbon neutral status for operations. This year,
We are committed to climate action and strive to
mental wellbeing.
Graduate Management Training Scheme.
our partnership with the Drive Forward Foundation,
we undertook a Net Zero carbon emissions report, in an
providing monetary donations, interview support,
effort to measure and manage our carbon emissions
and an informal mentorship/training programme.
and map out a pathway to a carbon-neutral business. We have been using the Yumrutepe Regulator HydroElectric Power Plant Project in Turkey under the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), a long-standing accredited offsetting project, to counter residual
See pages: 10-15
See pages: 16-21
See pages: 10-15
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See pages: 16-21
emissions.
Environment
Environmental highlights Chose environmentally conscious landlord, The Office Group (Fora), for our fully serviced office space for the London team
Calculated our Scope 1, Scope 2 and partial Scope 3 emissions
Commenced tracking the disposal routes of all regular waste streams of recycling, including general waste, compost and recycling via our landlord 10
Set a path to achieving
Net Zero by 2040
Offset our carbon emissions (Scope
3, Category 5, 6 and 7) with the Yumrutepe HydroElectric Power Plant Project in Turkey
Environmental impact We take our commitment to the environment very seriously and recognise that our business activities have an environmental impact. Our Environmental Policy outlines our commitment to managing environmental issues and ensuring that we take the appropriate actions to manage our overall impact. Wherever possible, we work to: • Eliminate waste through recycling • Dispose of all waste through safe and responsible methods • Manage travel requirements effectively • Use public transport • Group meetings geographically to limit travel • Use energy-saving equipment
EMISSIONS
2023
Scope 1: Transport
-
Scope 1: Gas
-
Scope 1: Refrigerants
-
Scope 2: Electricity (Location Based)
1.08
Scope 2: Electricity (Market Based)
-
Scope 3 Cat 1: Purchased goods and services
671.84
Scope 3 Cat 2: Capital Goods
16.49
Carbon emissions
Scope 3 Cat 3: Fuel and energy related activities
-
In our continued commitment to reducing our carbon emissions and fight climate change,
Scope 3 Cat 5: Waste
0.04
corporate accounting and reporting emissions, we have calculated our Scope 1, Scope 2
Scope 3 Cat 6: Business Travel
40.33
and partial Scope 3 (Categories 1,2,3,5,6 and 7) emissions. We have taken multiple actions
Scope 3 Cat 7: Employee Commuting
12.71
Scope 3 Cat 7: Employee Commuting (WFH)
33.56
Total Gross Emissions (Location based)
776.04
significantly higher than reported last year, at 684.96 tCO2e emissions.
Total Gross Emissions (Market based)
774.96
As a result of our carbon calculations, we now have a Net Zero pathway and are proud to
Less carbon offsets
(90.00)
Total Net Emissions
684.96
this year, in line with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, the international standard for
to improve our carbon emissions data including significant changes to the data calculations conducted, including adding additional Scope 3 categories (1,2,3, and 7). We also created a travel survey to better understand our employees’ commuting trends. As a result of these activities to better understand our impact, our total net emissions in FY22/23 are
share that we have moved our Net Zero target from 2050 to 2040, which is 10 years before the UK government’s target date.
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Environmental impact Our path to Net Zero
To reach our target by 2040 we plan to meet the following milestones:
Our approach is to always focus our efforts on reducing our own emissions, with significant planning and finances set aside to do this. However, a large proportion of our carbon emissions lie within Scope 3, it is difficult to reduce these emissions within the short term as these are within our supply chain where we have influence but not control. To try and reduce these emissions, we will use our purchasing power and choice of suppliers to encourage the correct carbon reducing behaviour within our supply chain.
2030
34%
2035
2040
58%
84%
A 34% reduction in
A 58% reduction in
An 84% reduction in
Scopes 1, 2 and 3
Scopes 1, 2 and 3
Scopes 1, 2 and 3
emissions by 2030
emissions by 2035
emissions by 2040 (residual to be offset)
Carbon emissions glidepath tCO2e 800
Carbon Emission Glidepath tCO2e
Carbon Emission Glidepath tCO2e
800 700
Scope 1: Transport
500
600
Scope 2: Electricity
Scope 1: Transport
400
Scope 3 Cat 1: Purchased goods and services
500 300
Scope 3 Cat 3: Fuel & energy related activities
Scope 1: Refrigerants
tCO2e
tCO2e tCO2e
Scope 1: Gas
600 700
Scope 1: Refrigerants
Scope 3 Cat 2: Capital Goods
200
400
Scope 3 Cat 5: Waste
300 -
Scope 3 Cat 7: Employee Commuting
Scope 3 Cat 6: Business Travel
100
200
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040
Scope 2: Electricity Scope 3 Cat 1: Purchased goods and services Scope 3 Cat 3: Fuel & energy related activities Scope 3 Cat 2: Capital Goods Scope 3 Cat 5: Waste Scope 3 Cat 6: Business Travel
100 -
Scope 1: Gas
Scope 3 Cat 7: Employee Commuting 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040
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Environmental impact Waste
Employee travel and commuting
Waste stream
Amount
tCO2e
Waste to energy
326 kg
0.007
Recycled
524 kg
0.011
Food waste
205 kg
0.002
Waste water
106 m3
0.021
Total
0.041
*Data provided by landlord for period April 2022-March 2023
As a business we prefer to use public transport for business travel within the UK and drive only when absolutely necessary. All modes of transport and mileage are tracked. Since the COVID-19 pandemic business travel has slowed but is beginning to pick up again. Regardless, business travel is currently only 5% of our total (net)
Environment goals for FY2024 • Increase the frequency of energy and waste data reporting to monitor our consumption.
carbon emissions. This year we undertook an employee commuting survey. As the majority of our staff (70%) are contracted to work from home, we
Our services are digitised and do not require material use of paper
have found that employee commuting is only 2% of our total (net)
printing or the use of toners or other supplies, so we can limit the
carbon emissions. To further reduce these emissions, we aim to put
resources we use and dispose of. Our fully serviced office in London
in place initiatives encouraging green commuting such as a cycle-to-
has in place a certified zero waste to landfill waste management
work scheme, an EV salary sacrifice scheme and also to provide our
contract and we receive the specific weight measures of waste that
employees with information on public transport alternatives.
our office produces, so we can track and be accountable for our waste consumption and make attempts to reduce it. This year, only 0.005% of our total (net) carbon emissions were due to waste. Our total emissions
• Appoint an Environment Champion to monitor energy data, encourage behavioural change and represent Channel 3 Consulting at the Fora Sustainability Working Group in the Borough, London Office. • Continue to adhere to our carbon reduction plan and reduce Scopes 1,2 and 3 emissions 34% by 2030. • Strategically consider potential climate-related risks and opportunities to our business.
from waste last year equalled 0.01 tCO2e, and we are proud to report a reduction in total waste emissions this year at 0.041 tCO2 emissions.
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We are a carbon neutral business CASE STUDY: The Office Group (Fora) As part of our commitment to becoming a carbon neutral business we made a conscious decision in choosing our landlord for our office space in London, and The Office Group (Fora) was selected because of its environmental consciousness, its commitments, and its energy efficient buildings. Our fully serviced office is located in Borough, London and is powered by 100% REGO backed contracts with onsite solar panels and LED lighting and Passive Infra-Red (PIR) sensors throughout. Fora uses the BPR Group (trading as Paper Round) to manage all waste and so we can trace the disposal routes of all regular waste streams of recycling, including general waste, compost and recycling (see picture). We value how easy it is to access both our energy and waste data monthly due to the energy management systems in place, which also monitor and improve efficiencies within the building. We request quarterly reports allowing us to monitor usage and as a result we have considerably lowered our carbon emissions. Looking ahead, we have encouraged our London office employees to participate in the office’s sustainability community group, which provides innovative ideas and runs various initiatives to further improve both the sustainability of the building and the behaviours of its tenants.
Waste visual from BPR Group 14
Hydroelectric Plants supply clean electricity
Making a positive contribution Our path to Net Zero provides a clear road to reducing our emissions, and while we work to implement initiatives to meet our 2040 Net Zero goal, we can also make an immediate positive contribution by offsetting the emissions we have produced.
Yumrutepe Regulator HydroElectric Power Plant Project, Turkey This year we chose to continue our investment of carbon credits with the Yumrutepe Regulator HydroElectric Power Plant Project in Turkey. Offsetting 90 tonnes of CO2 from our emissions This Project is a run-of-the-river hydropower plant located on Aksu Stream in the Giresun province in the Black Sea region of Turkey and is projected to add an average of 45.05 GWh of power to the national grid every year. The project supplies clean electricity to the Turkish National Grid, displacing the electricity generated from grid-connected fossil fuel power plants and thereby avoiding the equivalent carbon dioxide. The power produced increases
Yumrutepe HydroElectric Power Plant
the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. Besides the emission reduction benefits, the project also benefits local females by supporting a female university scholarship programme and increasing the number of female energy systems engineers at the plant.
This Project contributes to the following UN SDGs:
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Social
Social highlights Introduced an initial skills matrix to aid training and career development
Cost of living crisis: an Equal Opportunities Policy implemented and
amount was distributed across the entire business in response to the cost-of-living crisis
refreshed Created our ‘Development Lead’ Advisory Guide, to aid managers
Best Workplaces for WellbeingTM (Medium Organisations), in the Great Place to Work survey
Policies and handbooks screened for gender neutral language
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Our people As a company that places people at the heart of everything we do, we are
We are keen to spotlight our colleagues’ great work and support across the
committed to prioritising the wellbeing and development of our employees,
business through our ‘Give Kudos’ Programme. Each month, employees
clients, and the communities we serve. Over the past year our business
are able to nominate team members who have demonstrated company
had grown exponentially, and our people have remained at the heart of our
values. Successful candidates are awarded vouchers at company events
business. Supporting our employees’ wellbeing is a top priority. To that end,
each month. Looking to the year ahead, we plan to use our new Perkbox
we prioritise regular check-ins to help proactively identify and address any
platform to enhance the ‘Give Kudos’ process and begin rolling out quarterly
potential wellbeing issues within our team.
spotlight awards for expectational demonstration of company values.
We provide our employees with an employee assistance programme (Health Assured) and health cash plans and wellbeing apps through external provider Medicash. Additionally, we offer opt-in private healthcare through Aviva to our employees. We have also prioritised our employees’ mental health by training six mental health first aiders provided by St. John’s Ambulance. These employees are spread out across business locations, within different grades and were trained to promote services and offer support to colleagues. Wellbeing is a priority within our team’s culture through our Development Leads integrating wellbeing checks during regular meetings. To promote and meet our goal of improving the social and community relationships in the team, last year we launched a trial with Perkbox focused on enhancing engagement and wellbeing within Channel 3. The aim was to create a positive team environment, build relationships with peers, promote wellbeing initiatives and signpost to support channels, and create a source of light relief to our busy team. We plan to complete a full implementation
February 2023 Give Kudos nomination: ‘Passion’ Victoria M. (Recognised by Sarah F.)
I wanted to highlight Vicki and her approach to her Development Lead responsibilities. Vicki is passionate about supporting her team members and thinking about their development opportunities, potential exposure to new learning environments and with an eye on their role progression at all times to support them in achieving their ambitions. People Manager duties come with great responsibilities and Vicki has thrown herself in to this role. It is her demonstrated behaviours which create a motivated team, helps to retain our great talent and creates a positive working environment for those involved.
of the platform for this coming year and report on the results.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) At Channel 3 Consulting we value the diversity in our team and aim to attract, retain, and develop people from all backgrounds and with varied experiences. We are committed to being an inclusive employer – one that our employees are proud of. We set out a goal in 2022 to create an Equal Opportunities Policy, and this was achieved this year. We acknowledge that we are at the beginning of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) journey, and continue to work to formalise a DE&I strategy. We have made big plans to gain a deeper understanding of our people, the diversity of our workforce and the nature of the inequalities that may exist in our workplace. By performing a meaningful analysis, we will be able to design a comprehensive DE&I strategy and implement targeted initiatives to ensure an inclusive workplace culture.
Training and development We succeed through the talent and passion of our people. Last year, we invested over £90,000 in the personal and professional development of both employees and their teams. As we continue to evolve and grow, we will place the development of our employees at the forefront of our evolution. We have invested in our employees through multiple means, and we recognised the need to build internal training/resources..
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CASE STUDY: Channel 3 Academy The Channel 3 Academy has been pivotal in the evolution of our employee training and has allowed us to move from an informal to a more proactive and consistent approach to our employees’ needs. Through continued investment in the Channel 3 Academy, we have created opportunities for on-the-job training, formal internal and external courses, coaching and mentoring that will support our people to grow and thrive throughout their time at Channel 3 Consulting. This year we have built upon the development of the Channel 3 Academy, adding 30 new courses and giving employees a transparent view of the training available to them. Training opportunities, such as project management focused courses, sit on the Knowledge Academy platform, while other opportunities such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) training and writing retreats are offered in partnership with external bodies. Our employees have embraced the platform and the plethora of opportunities both on and off the platform, within the last year:
32
15
35
people attended a one-day RADA training
people attended a 2-day writing retreat
people completed a Knowledge Academy (ranging from 3-5 days commitment)
As we continue in the development of the Knowledge Academy platform, we will aim to introduce internal training opportunities such as mentoring, job shadowing and workshops.
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Generating Social Value in our communities At Channel 3 Consulting our purpose is to help our clients deliver better outcomes for the people they serve and drive positive change for their workforce and operations. We firmly believe that success in business goes hand in hand with making a positive impact on society. As such, our social investment is an integral part of our mission to positively impact the lives of patients and communities. We engage regularly with the NHS and are acutely aware of the importance of PPN 06/20 and 06/21 in public procurement. Our Social Value methodology is on page 7.
Partnership with the Drive Forward Foundation Channel 3 Consulting is proud to have partnered with the Drive Forward Foundation, which provides young adults leaving foster or residential care with work placements to broaden their skills, knowledge, and experience. Our partnership is the cornerstone of our social investment, and we take pride in the support we offer the Drive Forward Foundation, including employment data, interview training/courses, and an informal mentorship/training programme for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This year we also contributed £5,000 to fund the Women’s Wellness retreat at the Drive Forward Foundation. As well as funding, Channel 3 attended and presented at the event which provided respite to care leavers from their day-to-day lives. Channel 3 supported the wellness activities and presented on ‘Women in the Workplace’ to inspire and motivate women to take the next step in their career with confidence. Ongoing mentoring opportunities for the women who attended are being discussed as the next step in our partnership. 20
NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme Channel 3 is proud to participate in the NHS Graduate Management Training
Social goals for FY2024
Scheme, which exists to recruit and develop talented individuals who have the potential to become future leaders within the NHS. After completing a rigorous application process, chosen candidates undergo a long term (two-year) work placement with about eight weeks of this time spent with an external organisation. Channel 3 Consulting was proud to host our first
• Build out the DE&I offering: begin to collect DE&I demographic data, develop a DE&I committee and strategy
candidate this year, who shadowed and supported our consulting team to build transferable skills that she could take back into her NHS working environment. Going forward, we have committed to continuing to support the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme for 2023/24.
• Prioritise the strategic importance of the people side of the business by recruiting a Chief People Officer
Our commitment to a sustainable and diverse supply chain
• Prioritise women’s events (for example, ‘Women in digital health’) • Undertake and participate in more network events to share best practice with peers and the communities in which we operate
Our largest suppliers provide legal and professional services, IT support, provision of resources and provision of office accommodation. In addition,
• Draft and implement a Code of Conduct for our existing suppliers as well as a Responsible Procurement Policy
we have a UK-wide network of associate service providers that support the delivery of our services. We will continue to evaluate our suppliers on the extent to which their values match our own and how they conduct their business and plan to introduce additional checks on their sustainability practices. Supplier diversity is integral to our Social Value agenda, and we are committed to working with a wide range of small and medium enterprises. 21
Governance
Governance highlights
ISO 27001 Accreditation
Employee Code of Conduct Policy (Handbook) in development
Cyber Essential Plus Certification
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Business Continuity Plan (Disaster Response Policy) was formalised and implemented
Governance structure and compliance We at Channel 3 understand the importance of policies and the role they play in governing our activities. A suite of policies has been reviewed in the last year and now includes standard policies such as an Ethical Policy, Health and Safety Policy and Whistleblowing Policy. As the nature of our services revolves around information technology in healthcare, we have a wide variety of internal policies around data protection including an Internet and Electronic Communications Policy and Social Media Policy. Our commitment to data protection also extends to our Cyber Security essentials certification. Within the last year, we have achieved the ISO 27001 (information security management) accreditation to further bolster our IT and data security processes.
Emergency preparedness and Disaster Response Policy As an element of our ISO accreditation process, we consulted with an external quality advisor to draft and implement an Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response Policy, which outlines our protocols around physical/ infrastructure, Medical, Cyber Emergencies and any criminal activity. It is our responsibility to document and abide by the protocols set by this Policy and its implementation reaffirms our commitment to operating with our employees’ and customers’ safety and security in mind. 23
Employee Committees
CASE STUDY: Channel 3 Consulting’s Company Values Champions
We are fully committed to our company values and the behaviours that underpin them, which is why we have appointed Company Values Champions. Each quarter, one employee assumes the role of Company Values Champion
• Put in place a Corporate Criminal Offence Policy
and promotes and spearheads initiatives that highlight company values, ensuring that our company’s evolution stays in line with our values. This
• Improve measures to inform employees of whistleblowing policy through the appointment of a Speak Up Champion
rotational role aims to integrate our values into our community engagement objectives, and into our internal practices. For instance, in the last year we created a company values video which showcased our values and evidenced how they are woven into our work. This video is now embedded into our
• Incorporate comprehensive ESG risks within our risk register
onboarding process and our website and is a feature of our employee brand in the market. Additionally, it has been influential with our supplier and client base as we continue to receive more requests about our values in the bids/
• Form an ESG committee to oversee the development of a company ESG Policy and corresponding KPIs
tendering process for our business. After receiving such wonderful feedback on the Company Values Champion role, we have decided to expand its responsibilities and implement a values working group.
Passion
Collaboration
This employee-led group will meet quarterly to discuss ways to incorporate our values into all areas of the business including our recruitment process and community investment proposition and to help strengthen the content of bids and tenders. We hope that the values working group will be able to provide an opportunity for more employees to shape the processes
Governance goals for FY2024
Integrity
Diversity
and practices within the company and ensure that the company’s values are not only found in the services we provide as consultants but are also demonstrated in our workplace.
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• Draft/publish a Modern Slavery Statement on the Channel 3 Consulting website • Improve the policy review process by introducing an employee policy approval tracking function into the HR platform
A Statement on our future ESG goals and ambitions The nature of our business encourages sustainability by using healthcare technology. All of our services and products aim to increase efficiencies, reduce energy consumption and eliminate / reduce paper usage. Additionally, they reduce the need for travel in many aspects of care – as technology avoids transportation costs and delays in traditional prescription fulfilment through digitisation or virtual wards allowing a patient to be viewed, treated and managed online without having to become an in-patient. In addition to these products and services we will take the necessary steps to reach Net Zero by 2040, continue to evolve the way we care for and develop our employees and ensure that services continue to encourage sustainable practices amongst our customers. In addition to the goals outlined under each of the environment, social and governance topics, we have an ambition to measure the positive impact of our services and have outlined this as a priority in our strategy document for FY2024.
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FY2024 ESG goals Increase the frequency of
energy and waste data reporting to monitor our consumption
Appoint an Environment Champion to monitor energy data, encourage behavioural change and represent Channel 3 Consulting at the Fora Sustainability Working Group in the Borough, London Office
Continue to adhere to our carbon
Build out the DE&I
Draft and implement a
DE&I demographic data, develop a DE&I committee and strategy
for our existing suppliers as well as a Responsible Procurement Policy
offering: begin to collect
Code of Conduct
Put in place a
Corporate Criminal Offence Policy
Prioritise the strategic importance of the people side of the business by recruiting a
Chief People Officer
climate-related risks and opportunities
to our business
Draft/publish a
Modern Slavery Statement
on the Channel 3 Consulting website Improve measures to inform employees of our Whistleblowing Policy through the appointment of a Speak Up Champion
Prioritise women’s events (for example, ‘Women in digital health’)
reduction plan and reduce Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions 34% by 2030 Strategically consider potential
Form an ESG committee to oversee the development of a company ESG Policy and corresponding KPIs
Undertake and participate in more network events to share best practice with peers and the communities in which we operate
Incorporate comprehensive
ESG risks within our
risk register
Improve the policy review process by introducing an employee policy approval tracking function into the HR platform
Continue to present a competitive advantage in bids and tenders by requesting feedback from
bids and tenders and
analysing success. 26
As part of our desire to ensure we adopt best practice, Channel 3 Consulting engaged Sustainable Advantage to conduct an annual review of our ESG strategy, goals and performance and to help deliver this Report.
Transport Energy,waste and water
E
IR NV
S
ONMENT
ASSESS
G
AL
Climate change, adaptation and resilience Materials, product design and lifecycle management
E
D
E
Biodiversity
Green House Gas emissions reduction
Environmental protection
Animal welfare
GO
2023
Business conduct
A
Human capital
L
R
N
N
I
A
VE
ESG integration
CE
SO
C
Customers Policy management
Communities Supply chain
Sustainable Advantage Hersham Place Technology Park Molesey Road, Hersham Walton-on-Thames Surrey KT12 4RS 0203 544 2020 info@sustainable-advantage.com sustainable-advantage.com 27