Communication on Progress

Communication on Progress

Participant
Published
  • 2012/10/24
Time period
  • October 2011  –  October 2012
Format
  • Stand alone document – Basic COP Template
Differentiation Level
  • This COP qualifies for the Global Compact Active level
Self-assessment
  • Includes a CEO statement of continued support for the UN Global Compact and its ten principles
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Human Rights
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Labour
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Environment
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Anti-Corruption
  • Includes a measurement of outcomes
 
  • Statement of continued support by the Chief Executive Officer

  • Statement of the company's chief executive (CEO or equivalent) expressing continued support for the Global Compact and renewing the company's ongoing commitment to the initiative and its principles.

  • 24 October 2012

    To our stakeholders:

    I am pleased to confirm that Synergistiq reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

    In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

    Sincerely yours,

    Cam Stirling
    Chief Executive Officer, Synergistiq

Human Rights
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of human rights for the company (i.e. human rights risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on Human Rights.

  • Human Rights are part of Synergistiq's core mission - "To nurture systemic improvement in social justice and human rights".

    During the past year we have completed many projects with government and community organisations in the areas of education, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities, community inclusion (including disability, gender, sexuality), health, prevention of family violence & sexual assault and building community leadership capacity.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement Human Rights policies, address Human Rights risks and respond to Human Rights violations.

  • Synergistiq is proud to have worked on many significant Human Rights projects during 2012. Examples include:-
    - Evaluation of 22 health programs for the South Australian government to help close the gap on Aboriginal life expectancy
    - Working with 4 community organisations to assist in prevention of violence against women
    - Facilitation of stakeholder engagement for major reforms in National Disability Standards
    - Creating and delivering mentoring programs for health service providers
    - Evaluation of leadership programs for school principals and senior teachers, to increase education quality

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • We grew our projects in social justice and human rights in Australia by about 20% during the year and have now started laying foundations to establish a practice in the Asia Pacific region to work on similar types of project.

Labour
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of labour rights for the company (i.e. labour rights-related risks and opportunities). Description of written policies, public commitments and company goals on labour rights.

  • Operating in Australia to-date, we are fortunate in that most (if not all) of the labour-related risks referred to in Principles 3,4 and 5 are virtually non-existent in our market place. We are confident that our practices, policies and goals fully support these principles. Specifically with regards to Principle 6, regarding elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation, we have introduced a new Equal Employment Opportunity Policy during the past year.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions taken by the company to implement labour policies, address labour risks and respond to labour violations.

  • In the past year, we have significantly improved our OH&S policy, including a full audit and investment in new equipment to improve our OH&S. As mentioned above, we have also introduced a new Equal Opportunity Policy.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • Our Advisory Board is composed of 4 non-Executive members - 2 women and 2 men. Our Leadership Team is composed of 4 women and 3 men. About one-third of our staff are gay or lesbian. OH&S incidents are shared with the Leadership Team regularly, without violating privacy requirements.

Environment
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of environmental protection for the company (i.e. environmental risks and opportunities). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on environmental protection.

  • We are currently working on an environmental policy which is expected to be complete and implemented in the next COP reporting period.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement environmental policies, address environmental risks and respond to environmental incidents.

  • Outside of the formal environment policy, we have initiatives that benefit the environment. Examples include:-
    - collection of food-scraps to feed the chickens of one of our staff
    - negotiating with local cafes and restaurants to use our own crockery for take-away meals rather than plastic containers (77 plastic containers avoided from March - October 2012)
    - paper recycling and minimisation
    - staff-initiated social events to celebrate Ride To Work Day (approximately one-quarter of our staff regularly cycle to work)
    - use of bio-degradable (bamboo) cutlery at our end of year function to avoid plastic consumption

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates environmental performance.

  • Measurement of the initiatives described above will be formalised when the policy is complete and implemented (scheduled during the coming COP period)

Anti-Corruption
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of anti-corruption for the company (i.e. anti-corruption risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on anti-corruption.

  • The risk of corruption and bribery is relatively low in our current market place (Australia). During the reporting period, 75% of our work was with government clients and the remaining 25% of our work was with Community Organisations (NGO's), further reducing the risk in this area.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement anti-corruption policies, address anti-corruption risks and respond to incidents.

  • We are confident that there has not be any corruption, extortion or bribery experienced by or associated with our activities.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates anti-corruption performance.

  • We will need to be mindful of anti-corruption if we succeed in expanding our operations from the current Australian market place to the Asia Pacific market place, which we understand to be associated with increased risk of corruption.