8 November 2022

To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that Rider Levett Bucknall UK Ltd (RLB) 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,

Andrew Reynolds
Global Chairman and UK/Europe Chief Executive

• As part of our 2030 Strategy all leaders have OKR’s which include targets on Diversity & Inclusion with the aim of each office workforce representing the local demographics of the area in which they are based as well as improving our gender representation.

• The RLB Skills & Behaviours Matrix outlines the key skills and behaviours expected at level within our structure which outlines all employees at all levels are expected to demonstrate an understanding of D&I and is aware of unconscious bias, demonstrates the behaviours contributing towards RLB’s D&I objectives and inspires others to bring their whole selves to work.

• All Partners sign a D&I Charter that outlines the expectations of them as a Partner of the business and their responsibilities in creating an inclusive environment.

• We reviewed all our policies in 2020 including our Anti-Trafficking & Human Rights policy and continue to review them regularly. On an annual basis we update our Equality Statement and Policy.

• Annually, we engage with an external provider to support us with our Equal Pay report. We publish and share the outcomes with our workforce. We have seen our Gender Pay Gap decrease year on year.

• We are a Living Wage employer, ensuring we pay a minimum level of pay as set out by The Real Living Wage.

• We are recognised as a Disability Confident Level 1 employer.

• In October we signed up to the Armed Forces Charter

• We have also recently signed up to NeuroDiversity in Business (NIB).

• We have a variety of tools that enable our employees to provide feedback or raise concerns including our Suggestion box feature within our Clear Review performance management system that enables feedback to be provided anonymously, we have an external Whistleblowing provider open to employees to raise concerns regarding internal practice/procedures, clients or suppliers and an internal email address, Speak Up to raise concerns directly to the HR Director. We run an annual Employee Engagement Net Promoter Survey to seek feedback from our employees and follow this up with Listening groups providing employees the opportunity to expand on their feedback.

• We have a variety of employee policies and Line Management guides that are there to support embedding the RLB culture and providing all employees with a safe place to work which are reviewed annually; this includes an Harassment, Discrimination and Bullying policy, Domestic Violence policy, Transgender Equality Policy, Pregnancy Loss Policy, Menopause Policy, Alcohol & Drugs policy all aimed at providing support to the employee. Our Line Manager guides are designed to advise them on their role and how they can offer support to their team members.

• Our Family Friendly Policies recognise families come in all shapes and sizes to ensure inclusivity.

• Our D&I Community have run a Hidden Disabilities campaign for the last 12 months to raise awareness of a variety of disability through a variety of forums including Learning Lunches, Guest Speakers, Employee Blogs, Education Articles and signing up to the Hidden Sunflower. We have also introduce guidance for our interviewing managers on adjustments they can make and are working with I.T. to identify the types of I.T. support available that we can offer.

• We are setting up an LGBTQI group as an addition to our D&I Community in December 2022.

• We have Mental Health Champions currently but are looking to expand this training further in 2023.

• To raise awareness we have introduced our Menopause Policy and Managers Guide and have a Menopause Support Group.

• For the second year running, we have achieved the Silver award from EcoVadis, which places us in the top 12% of global companies in terms of ethical and sustainable performance.

• For the second year running we have been awarded as ENEI (employers network for equality & inclusion) Tide Benchmarking award in recognition for the work and progress we have made in regard to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. This year we have increased our award from Bronze to Silver status.

• We have been accredited as a Top Employers for 16 consecutive years.

• All employees complete a mandatory Diversity & Inclusion e-Learning training upon joining and all Line Managers from the Board to Associate level have attended further D&I training via a virtual workshop with an external provider.

• This year we have been nominated for Every Person Counts - people strategy award by the Building Awards, having been shortlisted to the last four.

• We have received a quality mark from RICS as an inclusive employer.

• 24% of our Fee Earning employees are Female. This is higher than the Industry average of 15%.

• We have a Child Protection policy and Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking policy.

• Our Modern Slavery statement was reviewed in June 2022.

• We have an Ethical policy and risk assessment as well as a guide on Managing The Risk Of Fraud.

• We have an Equality policy & statement which is reviewed annually.

• We have a variety of Risk assessments to support employees at work from Pregnancy Related risk assessments, Travel risk assessments, Young Workers assessment and DSE assessments.

• To support the delivery of our 2030 People Strategy, of which inclusion is People Pillar, we have our D&I Charter and D&I Road Map which we review each year to scope what we have achieved, what we are doing and where we want to be by year end. This is shared on our company wide Intranet page on Connect.

• We are a Living Wage accredited employer and ensure through our annual salary review process that no-one is paid below the Living Wage. We also offer paid work experience through our Work Experience Programme.

• All employees receive a Reward Statement annually providing a clear breakdown of their salary and benefits package, so they are clear on their reward package.

• We undertake an annual salary review for all employees benchmarking against external data to ensure we pay a fair wage for each role.

• We have salary bandings for family job types that are based on external benchmarking data.

• We ask all suppliers to complete a supplier pre-qualification questionnaire which covers aspects such as Modern Slavery, health & safety, safe working practices, COSHH, manual handling assessments, ISO 45001, HSE policies, safe handling of chemicals, etc.

• We conduct a risk assessment of potential jobs.

• For a more formal route we have a Grievance process, providing an informal and formal route. Our policy is available to all employees on our internal website. Where a formal grievance is raised a full investigation is conducted by an appropriate Line Manager and a member of the HR Team.

• Employees have access to a variety of support mechanisms including an Employee Assistance Programme providing in-the moment counselling support 24hrs, 7 days a week. We also offer Private Medical Insurance which offers an on-line GP Service, Virtual or Face to Face counselling, Gym Membership reductions and other benefits. We also have Mental Health Champions who are trained to support employees and signpost where they can get help.

• We have several statutory mandatory e-learning sessions that all employees complete as part of their Induction and again every 3 years including but not exhaustive; Health & Safety, Fire, Diversity & Inclusion.

• All employees have access to an on-line DSE Assessment and if an issue is identified a further one to one Risk Assessment is completed. If support/equipment is identified as being required, we may also make an Occupational Health Referral for medical advice and/or source equipment required.

• We have a number of Risk Assessments that are used to ensure our employees remain safe during their working hours including the Young person risk assessment for young people on work experience, Pregnant workers assessment that is completed with our Corporate H&S Manager as soon as the company is notified of the pregnancy and again in their third trimester as part of our newly created My Family & Me Programme, which is in place but formally launching at the end of the year.

• All new joiners are allocated a buddy whose role is to be available to support the new joiner in their first four weeks of joining RLB. We provide our buddies with guidance on their role. We also have a mentoring and reverse mentoring scheme open to all employees to participate regardless of role or length of services.

• We offer a variety of benefits to support our employee’s wellbeing including Private Medical Insurance which offers a 24/7 On Line GP Service, BUPA Dental insurance which is a salary sacrifice scheme offering varying levels of cover, Cycle to Work Scheme to encourage our employees to be activity, Flu Jab Vouchers annual, Eye test vouchers, an Employee Assistance Programme, access to Occupational Health to support employees return to work after ill-health, salary sacrifice flexible holiday scheme, rental deposit loans and season travel card loans.

• We have a number of Employee Communities designed for our employees to representative different communities and support the business with the People Strategy. These Communities help raise awareness and educate our workforce on topics such as Discrimination, Mental Health, Hidden Disabilities, Sexism etc. Our Communities include the Diversity & Inclusion Community, Women’s Community, Wellbeing Community, Menopause Support Group and newly formed LGBTQI+ Group.

• Our Family Friendly benefits were updated in 2021 which included an increase in our Maternity Leave pay with employees now being eligible for an enhanced maternity package of 26 weeks paid leave. We also increased our Paternity Pay to two weeks paid leave, however, we are currently reviewing this again with an intention to increase the number of weeks paid leave.

• We have introduced a Pregnancy loss leave policy over that provides employees with 10 days leave if they lose a baby between 1 and 20 weeks and 6 weeks leave between 20 – 24 weeks, we provide leave to all mothers who loose a baby regardless of circumstance and goes further than current legislation.

Allocation of responsibilities:
- HR Director is responsible for the People Strategy
- HR Team are responsible for the delivery of the People Strategy and ensuring all policies and process are up to date and compliant with employment legislation an ensuring consistent application.
- All employees have a part to play in our One RLB ethos which means we should already treat each other fairly, respectfully and not walk past poor behaviours.
- The Compliance team ensure the company remain compliant with its legislative requirements.
- H&S team
- Board
- All Partners have OKR’s which include D&I targets and these targets form part of how the Partner Reward is distributed.

• We can confirm we do not have any fines or legal cases against us.

• We are certified Gold with 'Investors in People'.

• We are currently building a Power BI Dashboard which will include D&I Measures which will be published for the whole workforce to view.

• We produce quarterly D&I reports for the Board to monitor our statistics.

• We produce a monthly Operations Report and Senior Leadership Group report which details our joiner, leaver, D&I data and planned activity.

• Our current workforce is represented as follows:

Gender: Male 71% Female 29%

Ethnicity: 75% White
16% Non White British
9% Not Recorded
1% Prefer not to say

• In our recent round of promotions, 24% of those promoted were female, this is an increase of 7% year on year.

• Our Employee Net Promoter Score this year was 64.9% which is considered a high NPS score.

• We are audited against ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

• We calculate our UK carbon footprint annually. Against our current baseline of 2010/11, our absolute carbon emissions have reduced by 32%. This in spite of significant business growth. We also report in line with SECR in our annual report, which is audited by KPMG.

• We calculate the carbon footprint of our biennial global partners' conference, and offset emissions from all travel, hotel stays and entertainment to render it carbon neutral.

• In the UK, we have a Sustainability Policy, Environmental Policy, CSR Policy and Carbon Reduction Policy.

• We maintain an aspects and impacts register which forms the basis of our environmental objectives and targets. We regularly review this and monitor our progress against it.

• We launched our new Global Carbon Policy in July 2022. A new Office Moves Policy is being drafted which prioritises sustainability and net zero goals.

• We are on 100% green or renewable energy tariffs throughout offices where RLB has responsibility for the tariff.

• We are zero waste to landfill where we have responsibility for the waste contract.

• When we move offices or are getting rid of equipment, we donate these to charities and schools, etc.

• We have announced our global net zero goal of 2030 across all three Scopes.

• We have a UK net zero goal of 2025 across Scopes 1 and 2.

• We are growing our 'RLB Forest' by planting a tree for every staff member each year. So far we have planted over 1,000 trees, with more planned for this Autumn.

• We offset unavoidable carbon emissions, which for RLB UK includes air travel, rail travel, taxis, hotel stays and homeworking.

• For the coming year, we are focusing mapping out our pathway to net zero, setting a new baseline to 2019/20 as the last 'normal' year pre-covid, will recertify to ISO14001, and start supporting the global offices in calculating their carbon footprints.

• We comply to the ESOS Scheme and are working towards Phase 3.

• We will also encourage more staff to join the EV salary sacrifice scheme to reduce our road travel footprint.

• All new suppliers must be aware of our sustainability goals and confirm if they have an environmental policy or sustainability strategy, if they have energy, water and waste reduction targets, and whether they have someone in charge of sustainability at their company.

• From next year, we will develop a supplier engagement programme to support our net zero targets.

• We regularly post articles on our staff intranet pages ("Connect") on a range of sustainability issues, including COP26 and COP27.

• During COP27, staff will be invited to sign up to a 'Couch to Carbon Zero' sprint over 10 days.

• Our CEO holds a monthly business update for all staff, and regularly talks about our net zero targets and how the recent Global Partners' conference was carbon neutral.

• Each office has a notice board with environmental updates that are sent through to the Environmental Reps and the Office Managers to post up.

• There are posters and communications for staff to not change the thermostat in the offices, and to follow the travel hierarchy.

• We also share updates via our Office Teams channels.

• Staff receive a quarterly update with information on our carbon performance and the best and worst performing offices for printing.

• Our UK and Global business updates have a clear focus on sustainability - both from an operational and client delivery perspective.

• We are investigating rolling out environmental training, such as carbon literacy, to all staff via our training pages, and aim to do this in 2023.

• In the coming year we plan to work more closely with our supply chain to go deeper into our Scope 3 emissions, and to develop a closer relationship on our respective net zero journeys.

• Our Birmingham and Manchester offices are SKA rated Gold for the office fit-outs, and the goal is for all offices to have a SKA rating. All new offices must aim for SKA Gold.

• All office copier paper continues to be 100% recycled.

• We have a Green Travel hierarchy that staff must adhere to, and introduced a staff EV policy in October 2021. We also offer rail ticket loans to encourage travel on public transport, and offer a cycle-to-work scheme through the Green Commute Initiative, which has a higher limit and opens up e-bikes as an option for staff.

• We have adopted a hybrid working approach to eliminate unnecessary travel, and also calculate 'homeworking' in our Scope 3 emissions.

• We have a central Environmental Management System to manage and monitor our environmental performance, and EMS reps in each office to support the system being up to date.

• Allocation of responsibilities: The core sustainability team consists of the Business Improvement and Compliance Partner, the ESG Manager and the Environmental Assistant. The core team is supported by EMS Reps and Environmental Reps in each office, and the Office Managers around the UK. We have a Sustainability Steering Committee, consisting of the CEO, a Director, two Partners and the ESG Manager. In 2023, we will launch Sustainability Working Committees with more staff around the firm working on sustainability issues, rolling out plans and progressing our net zero goals.

• We can confirm we do not have any fines or legal cases against us.

• Our annual carbon footprint and SECR figures are audited by KPMG.

• We have a Sustainability Steering Committee which is made up of the CEO, a Director, two Partners and the ESG Manager. The group discusses different aspects of operational and client services sustainability. The group reviews environmental policy amendments and discusses areas such as staff environmental training, carbon offsetting, and the environmental impact of RLB's pensions and banking, for example.

• We run an annual management review of the EMS with the Head of Compliance, the ESG Manager and the Environmental Assistant.

• We are accredited to ISO 14001:2015 and have regular environmental audits across all of our offices with no non-compliances.

• In July 2022, we achieved a Silver accreditation with EcoVadis for the second year running, placing us in the top 12% of sustainability globally of all assessed companies.

• We have planted 1000 trees for our 'RLB Forest'.

• Rider Levett Bucknall UK Ltd (RLB) is directed, developed and managed using a framework of meetings and reports, which facilitate high levels of staff involvement and communication whilst maintaining clear points of responsibility. The identification of risk to the business occurs at many levels in the business meeting structure.

• At the highest level a Global Risk Management Committee meets on an annual basis to assess the risk of bribery and corruption and other risks in the company, the industry and countries of operation. The company has zero tolerance for corruption, bribery and extortion which is clearly outlined in our Ethical policy and procedures and complies with the UK Bribery Act 2010.

• The Board of Directors is the highest governance body of RLB and works closely with a Senior Leadership Group on Corporate Governance and Oversight but is ultimately responsible for Corporate Risk Management.

• Risk and opportunity identification occurs mainly through the annual business planning process; attendees include the Board of Directors and Senior Leadership Group. Risks and opportunities are considered in accordance with the Balanced scorecard, a management framework used to run and manage the business and includes People, Service, Customer and Profit.

• The company has a number of different policies and procedures within the quality management system which guide staff should they be confronted with extortion or bribery and which they must understand and comply.

Policies and procedures:
- Associated Companies Schedule
- Bid No-bid Protocol
- Bid Sign-off Protocol
- Bribery and Corruption Risk Assessment
- Charities Policy
- Disciplinary Policy and Procedures
- Expenses Policy and Procedure
- Ethical Policy
- Legal Document Checklist
- Managing the Risk of Fraud – Procedural Guide for Site Use
- Modern Slavery Act (2015) Statement
- Modern Slavery Act – Anti-slavery and human trafficking Policy
- Procurement Policy
- Procurement Policy
- Tax Evasion Board Statement
- Terms and Conditions of Employment – Part 2
- Whistleblowing Policy and Procedure

• All staff upon joining the business are required to sign our Ethical policy statement and undertake online Anti Bribery training every 12 months.

• All suppliers to RLB are required to confirm compliance with the UK Bribery Act 2010 and to provide related evidence before any contract is entered into.

• The Board of Directors accepts full responsibility for preventing and detecting bribery and unethical behaviour.

• The Finance Director is responsible to the RLB Directors for the implementation and management of the ethical policy and is responsible for:

• Keeping the Policy under review and ensuring it is reviewed and revised at least annually or as necessary.

• Identifying the requirements and ensuring resources are made available to implement the policy.

• Ensuring suspected acts of unethical behaviour and subsequent investigations are reported to the RLB Directors and that the Board is advised of the outcome.

• Ensuring that the Company’s insurers are advised and kept informed of any potential loss and the circumstances surrounding the investigation.

• The Compliance Partner is responsible for developing and maintaining the necessary supporting arrangements, including guidance required to deliver the policy and for reporting on the performance of those arrangements to the Senior Leadership Board.

• The Senior Leadership Group are responsible for the execution of the policy, communication to employees and ensuring that all gifts, hospitality, entertainment etc – both given and received - are recorded.

• RLB encourages a free and open culture in its dealings between its employees and all people with whom it engages in business and legal relations. The Company recognises that effective and honest communication is essential to its success. It is important to the Company that any fraud, misconduct, or wrongdoing by its employees is reported and appropriately dealt with.

• RLB’s Whistleblowing policy ensures everyone is aware of what to do and the appropriate person to notify in the event of concerns around serious malpractice, breaches of regulations or criminal offences and allows for investigation of matters where there is ‘reasonable belief’ that malpractice is or may be occurring.

• An employee or associated person may make a disclosure through Safecall who are an independent company that provide a confidential reporting service for
RLB 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They can be contacted via a free phone number at any time 365 days of the year. Calls are handled by a highly skilled professional call handler. In highly sensitive situations, the employee may also make the disclosure to the Company’s legal advisors.

• Any employee or Associated Person with concerns or reservations as to professional conduct that cannot be dealt with within normal line management channels would follow the RLB Whistleblowing policy and procedure.

• The Company investigates all matters disclosed in accordance with the Whistleblowing Policy thoroughly, promptly and confidentially, and some feedback on how the matter has been dealt with (without breaching any confidentiality) is provided to the employee who raised the matter.

• Monitoring to ensure consistency of all of the above policies occurs via regular internal audit. Results of internal audits are reported by the Compliance Partner and discussed at Senior Leadership Group meetings, and with the Directors responsible in crisis and issues and corporate compliance meetings.

• The company has had no reported incidents or fines in relation to bribery and corruption.