We cherish the world we live in

Tiara & ESG

That is why Tiara takes it's environmental, social and governance responsibilities very seriously.

What are Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Issues?

Growing concerns about social and environmental issues in society as well as more attention being given to corporate governance issues and increasing legal obligations on companies, has led to greater interest in how companies are governed, overseen and should operate to ensure that they carry on their business and behave in a responsible way. Specifically, companies are increasingly expected to consider purpose as well as profit, and the future of our planet and its peoples. All these various issues are collectively referred to as ESG.

Each ESG issue is usually placed under one of the following headings: environmental, social and governance issues. Each issue is a discrete area but increasingly they are collectively grouped together and considered under the title, ESG.

ESG issues include, amongst other things, climate change and greenhouse gas emissions; energy efficiency and resource depletion; emissions to air, water and land pollution and waste; health and safety considerations; diversity, inclusion and equal pay; stakeholder and community engagement; bribery and corruption; conflicts of interest and anti-money laundering.

ESG will however mean different things to different companies depending on their size and the sector they operate in.

Why have an ESG strategy?

ESG issues have recently assumed greater prominence and importance by regulators, employees, customers and other stakeholders. Currently SMEs are outside the scope of any specific ESG related disclosures in the UK, however failure to tackle ESG issues that are relevant to SME companies may lead to, amongst other things, regulatory enforcement as well as posing a litigation, physical, commercial, financial and reputational risk to a company, that might adversely affect its sustainability. In addition, there is a growing trend for ESG requirements and compliance by a company to be a pre-requisite for it to contract with other parties.

Considering this, and to minimise any potential risks, SMEs may wish to put in place an ESG strategy, commensurate with its size and sector focus, setting out the type of organisation that it aspires to be.

What should an ESG strategy cover?

For most SMEs, an ESG strategy will involve putting in place a framework of various policies and practices to cover amongst other things:

• Staff/people;
• customers;
• suppliers;
• health & safety;
• environment; and
• the community.

How ESG affects each of these different areas and how each is dealt with by a business will depend on the importance that the business attributes to each one.

This ESG strategy is, by its very nature, generic, but highlights the key areas that businesses should focus on when determining their ESG strategy.

ESG Strategy

Introduction

Tiara aims to implement the highest environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards appropriate to its size and sector. The prosperity of the Company and of the communities within which it operates requires a commitment by it to the sustainable management of its activities.

Rapidly developing legal and voluntary frameworks, stakeholder demands and increasing environmental concerns, all mean that ESG is fast becoming a top priority for businesses. To keep pace with this change, the Company wishes to:

• keep abreast of the most up to date information available to it;
• understand the risks and opportunities ESG presents; and
• take action to ensure that the Company continues to satisfy stakeholders and places itself in the best position for long term, sustainable development.

It is recognised that a failure to tackle ESG issues that are relevant to the Company may lead to, amongst other things, regulatory enforcement as well as to pose a litigation, physical, commercial, financial and reputational risk to the Company that may adversely affect its sustainability and resilience.

The directors of the Company already have a duty under Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006, to promote its success. This means that each of its directors must act in the way they consider, in good faith, would promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole.

However, in addition, the directors have decided to develop a robust and transparent ESG strategy that goes further than this Companies Act duty and affects and enhances all areas of the Company’s business in line with ESG issues.

The Company wishes to adopt this strategy as a framework for how the directors will manage ESG issues relevant to the Company’s business.

ESG Audit

In the first instance, it will carry out a comprehensive ESG audit and material risk assessment across its business to establish:

• what ESG means for the Company
• which stakeholders should be consulted
• an ESG baseline.

Stakeholders

The Company will consult with key stakeholders, employees, customers, suppliers.

Baseline

It is important to identify an ESG baseline. The Company shall identify existing policies, processes and practices it already has in place that consider matters closely aligned with ESG.

These policies will be assessed for their usefulness in relation to ongoing ESG related activity and may also be useful to establish which ESG areas the Company should prioritise and which stakeholders it should consult.

1) ESG objectives and framework

Having caried out a thorough ESG audit as set out above, the Company will identify its priority areas and set out its ESG objectives. It will implement an ESG framework based on these priorities through new policies, processes and practices relevant to the Company’s size and sector.

2) New ESG Policies

The new policies, processes and practices the Company will implement will include:
An ESG policy which incorporates the Company’s priority ESG areas and ESG objectives.

3) Board Terms of Reference & ESG Committee

The Company aims for its board of directors to achieve the highest board standards. It already has robust and transparent legal and professional standards in place but also aims to incorporate relevant ESG considerations into the board’s terms of reference. This will include ESG matters becoming a routine consideration in the board’s decision-making process going forward and the Company putting in place a committee to specifically consider ESG matters and advise the board accordingly.

4) Updating Existing Policies
The Company has implemented several policies appropriate to its business that consider staff/people, customers, suppliers, health & safety, the environment and the community.

5) Measuring and Reporting
The ESG committee and the directors will regularly review, measure and report to stakeholders at suitable intervals on the Company’s progress in implementing its ESG strategy and new ESG policy.