Corporate Social Responsibility Policy

EC Energy Brokers Ltd t/a Energycentric, Corporate Power Ltd t/a Energycentric Corporate and Energycentric North West Ltd t/a Energycentric North West (known as the Energycentric Group) Social Responsibility Policy

Energycentric Group Policy Statement

Energycentric Group (EC) is committed to operating its business in a manner that is both sensitive and responsible with proper regard to its legal obligations and according to relevant directives, regulations and codes of practice. It is also committed to supporting the Government’s vision for Corporate Social Responsibility, specifically.

  • Promoting business activity that brings simultaneous economic, social and environmental benefits.
  • Encouraging innovative approaches and continuing development and application of best practices.
  • Ensuring the best minimum levels of performance in areas such as health and safety, the environmental and equal opportunities.
  • Creating a framework that facilitates business practices that balance profit and success with achievement of social and sustainability goals.
  • Taking an active part in supporting the local community and social causes.

Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility

EC recognises that its operations have an effect on the communities and environment in which it operates. In light of this, EC is committed to operating in a socially responsible manner, supporting a number of local communities and social/charitable causes, as well as running its operation in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Local Community & Social Responsibilities

EC is proud to support local community projects as well as a range of deserving and charitable causes. These include:

  • EC is proud to be associated with Richard House hospice and has been the choice of EC over the past three years for a variety of fundraising activities. Examples include six employees taking part in the “Santa Run”, one employee dancing in “Take to the Floor” and one running the marathon in aid of Richard House in 2013.
  • Supporting St Francis Hospice, a local Havering charity by donating funds.
  • Supporting “Crossroads Havering” by sponsoring an annual ball and organising and contributing to a quiz night.
  • Every Christmas, EC support the “Rainham Food bank” which is a project seeded by the Trussell Trust. Each year we fill 3-4 hampers of food kindly donated by staff and associates and help distribute the goods to the needy.
  • Providing services to the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO), a national organisation that supports third sector organisations.
  • Supporting the BBC Children in Need campaign each year.

In terms of local community, EC provides free support to the local chambers of commerce by offering places to apprentices from the surrounding areas of Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster and Harold Wood. This includes providing individual help with

  • Work experience
  • CV writing
  • Interview techniques

Our Work Colleagues

We are committed to ensuring that we provide a motivational, fulfilling and fun environment in which to work. We focus hard on recruiting and retaining the best people, recognising their achievements and rewarding their efforts.
We believe that much of our success can be attributed to the values that we hold and that are embedded throughout the organisation. EC’s core values are as follows:

  • To provide a first class, professional service to our clients and our prospects
  • To be courteous, honest and behave with integrity at all times
  • Always act wholeheartedly in the best interests of EC
  • Have pace, ambition and teamwork as core principles
  • Treat each other equally and with respect and dignity

Actions that we take to ensure that our colleagues remain motivated, fulfilled, rewarded and happy at EC include the following

  • We formally appraise all colleagues annually, with six month informal reviews
  • We hold regular Sales and Administration team meetings at which we advise all colleagues of company news, developments, results and plans
  • We share and celebrate success with financial rewards for both sales and non-sales team colleagues who generate business opportunities
  • We provide regular training to enhance the abilities of our staff
  • We provide colleagues with access to a stakeholder pension scheme
  • We provide car parking spaces to each member free of charge whilst encouraging a car share scheme.
  • We arrange and pay for a company party each year – our annual Christmas party
  • All of our “people policies” are published in the EC Company Handbook

Environmental Management Programme & Objectives

Whilst EC does not produce any emissions or pollutants that come under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations issued by DEFRA, EC has identified that it’s most significant impacts on the environment include.

  • Disposal & recycling of waste (including paper, consumables and electronic equipment)
  • Energy & water usage
  • Transport and company car usage
  • Purchase of consumables

Methods for meeting the objectives within the Environmental Management Programme include:

  • Maximising the reuse, recycling and sustainable disposal of waste. All waste paper, cardboard and plastics are recycled
  • Minimising unnecessary energy usage and waste
  • Minimising the impact of company car usage. We offer financial incentives for car sharing and participate in the Government’s Cycle to Work Scheme
  • Purchasing consumables in an environmentally sustainable and fair manner
  • Minimising unnecessary water usage and waste

Equal Opportunities

It is EC’s aim to create an environment that encourages and values diversity within its workforce and builds on the differences individuals bring, enabling EC’s continued success.
We aim to draw upon the widest possible range of views and experiences in order to meet the changing needs of our colleagues, clients and partners.
We seek to promote diversity and to respond to the needs of all individuals in a fair and equitable manner, whilst observing our commitment and responsibility to current legislation.
To achieve this, EC will:

  • Fulfil its social responsibility towards its colleagues, temporary workers and the communities in which it operates
  • Recognise all of its legal obligations
  • Make all opportunities (including advertising, interview and selection processes, promotion and training) as accessible as possible to under-represented and protected characteristic groups
  • Endeavour to attain a workforce that is representative of the communities from which it is drawn to secure the widest pool of talent possible
  • Recruit, train and promote the best person for the job, to make full use of the talents and resources of all our colleagues
  • Create a working environment free from unlawful discrimination, victimisation and harassment in which all colleagues are treated with dignity and respect
  • Periodically review its selection criteria and procedures to ensure that they remain compliant and maintain a system that ensures fairness
  • Provide the facilities and opportunity for any colleague who believes that they have been treated inequitably within the scope of this policy to raise the matter through the appropriate grievance or complaints procedure
  • Log all reported instances of harassment and take action to mitigate and minimise harassment and victimisation wherever possible
  • Ensure that colleagues understand that breaches of this policy will not be tolerated and could lead to disciplinary proceedings

Our approach to equal opportunities applies equally to both our own employees and the way in which our recruitment services are offered to clients and candidates.

Health & Safety

It is EC’s duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all colleagues. This requires that regard is paid in particular to

  • Maintaining healthy and safe premises, as well as a healthy and safe working environment
  • Providing and maintaining safe systems at work
  • Providing health and safety information and training
  • Publishing and regularly updating a Company Safety Policy
  • Ensuring safety in the use of articles and substances
  • Conducting special risk assessments for expectant, new mothers and young persons
  • Providing such information, training, instruction and supervision as is necessary to ensure the health and safety at work of all employees
  • Ensuring that home based colleagues health and safety is of equal importance as office based colleagues
  • Publishing our H&S manual with contents covering at lest the following areas:

Health & Safety Policy Statement
Health & Safety Rules
Accident Recording and Reporting
Communication and Consultation
Contractors
Disabled Workers
Display Screen Equipment (DSE) or Visual Display Units (VDUs)
Electricity
Fire
Fire and Emergency Evacuation
Home Working
Manual Handling
New and Expectant Mothers
Personal Protective Equipment
Risk Assessment
Smoking
Stress at Work
Training for Health & Safety
All of the above is undertaken By Ellis Whittam, a company that specialises in HR and Health band Safety.

Human Rights

EC is vehemently opposed to the use of slavery in all forms; cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments; and any attempt to control or reduce freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
EC will ensure that all of its colleagues, agents and contractors are entitled to their human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
EC will not enter into any business arrangement with any person, company or organisation which fails to uphold the human rights of its workers or who breach the human rights of those affected by the organisation’s activities.

Ethical Purchasing & Procurement

EC is committed to procuring its works, goods and services in an ethically and environmentally sensitive way, yet with proper regard to its commercial obligations, ensuring that suppliers deliver to agreed timescales, quality and cost.
Purchasing is undertaken in a manner that encourages competition, and offers fair and objective evaluation of offers from all potential suppliers.
Purchase of goods and services with an annual value in excess of £20,000 excluding VAT will be conducted according to the following principles.

  • A business case to evidence the need to purchase will be completed
  • Research will be conducted to ensure a clear understanding of the risks associated with the purchase of goods and services, and purchasing decisions will include contingency and risk mitigation strategies
  • Tendering is based on both quality and cost and is evaluated in a fair, objective, and structured manner that actively encourages competition
  • Small local organisations will be encouraged to participate in the procurement process
  • We also consider the logistics of delivering goods, to reduce both costs and emissions
  • Company colleagues responsible for purchasing will not accept corporate gifts, or any type of solicitation that could be construed as enticement
  • Procurement practices will be transparent, auditable and fair
  • The procurement process demonstrates that the approach taken to competition is rigorous, balanced and driven by service needs and market intelligence
  • As far as possible, we ensure our suppliers are ethical, sensitive to the environment and operate within EU and UK legislation
  • Suppliers are able to demonstrate their ability to deliver continuous improvement and cost savings throughout the life of the contract
  • We work with our suppliers to procure environmentally responsible products, such as those containing recycled materials or components
  • Business transactions will, where possible be conducted electronically
  • Whilst there is a limited choice of utility providers available to us, in choosing a supplier we consider environmental sustainability and energy generated via renewable sources
  • We subcontract the provision of certain services to Associates. They agree to provide those services to our clients on behalf of and in our name. Whilst many of the above policies apply, supplier choice will be limited to those;

possessing the skills and competence to perform the Services to a sufficiently high standard and
based within reasonable proximity of the client

Review

This policy will be reviewed regularly and may be altered from time to time in light of legislative changes or other prevailing circumstances.