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Strengthening responsible business
The challenge
People’s trust in business is at an all-time low, so companies need to step up and show they’re acting responsibly and helping to create positive change.
How we can help
Societal challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis could lead to potentially catastrophic shocks for our wider world. We believe businesses, including Royal London, need to take more responsibility for reducing environmental and social risks.
We want to help strengthen society to create a better future for all. We’ve a proud history of leading the way for positive change and we’re committed to stakeholders beyond our customers. As a responsible investor, we use our investments to help better society and campaign for good corporate governance. We’re also focused on making our operations and supply chain more sustainable, working to support our local communities and building a diverse, inclusive and positive workplace for our people.
The responsible investment commitment
7 Committed to…
investing responsibly and encourage positive change in business
We’re a responsible investor, and a leading investor. We use our position as a force for good. We use our influence to encourage and challenge more businesses we invest in to act more responsibly, and work in collaboration with like-minded companies to push for positive change.
How we're delivering on this commitment:
- Building on our track record of responsible investing.
- Using our voice for good by speaking up when we believe the companies we invest in could be doing better.
- Working with likeminded others to engage with the world’s largest corporate greenhouse emitters and encourage them to take necessary action on climate change.
How we’re measuring progress – the UN Principles of Responsible Investment rating for RLAM:
- Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) were awarded the highest possible A+ rating for our strategy and governance approach to responsible investment. This improves on our A rating in 2019, demonstrating improvement in how we embed ESG factors across our investments.
How we're helping to prevent life shocks becoming a crisis:
- Helping to strengthen businesses through engagement and voting to improve performance and mitigate ESG risk (for example, climate change, financial and social inclusion, and diversity).
The environment and sustainability commitment
8 Committed to…
building sustainability into our operational estate and supply chain
We’ve a proud history of leading the way for positive change, and we’ve always been committed to doing the right thing. So we’re looking closely at how we can make our own offices, operations and supply chain more environmentally friendly and sustainable.
How we're delivering on this commitment:
- Preparing for the future by understanding the risks and opportunities arising from climate change, and making five key climate change commitments.
- Hiring a Group Environment and Sustainability Manager and setting targets for our operational estate and supply chain.
- Taking positive action, such as shifting our electricity contracts to renewable energy where possible. We'll purchase 100% renewable energy by 2025.
- In 2020 we achieved net zero emissions across our operational estate through carbon offsetting and our action plan will reduce our need to offset year on year.
- Continuing to send zero waste to landfill. We'll reduce our total waste by 50% by 2025.
- Launching an internal Environmental Champions Network to spearhead change initiatives.
How we’re measuring progress – scope 1 emissions reduction against 2019 baseline:
- Emissions from our estate and owned vehicles reduced by 48% in 2020 against the 2019 baseline (also impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic).
- We've targeted a 60% reduction in scope 1 emissions by 2025.
How we're helping to prevent life shocks becoming a crisis:
- Working with our supply chain to collectively play our part in reducing the likelihood of catastrophic climate change, and minimising our impact on the environment, to reduce the risk of extreme weather events and other environmental shocks.
The community commitment
9 Committed to…
helping communities prevent a life shock becoming a crisis
A life shock can have a big impact on our finances. For some people, these shocks lead to a crisis. That’s why we’re working with community partners to provide proactive help and immediate relief, as well as lasting support for those who are struggling. Our employees do a fantastic job of fundraising and volunteering to strengthen our communities and create a better future for all.
How we're delivering on this commitment:
- Launching our flagship social impact partnership with Turn2us.
- Creating, building, and investing in innovations through our Changemakers Programme to prevent life shocks from becoming a crisis.
- Creating local charity partnerships for each of our offices with The Food Chain (London), PETAL (Glasgow), The Booth Centre (Wilmslow), Held in our Hearts (Edinburgh) and Fealeacain (Dublin).
How we’re measuring progress – community investment total:
- In 2020 we contributed a total of £1.1m to our flagship partner Turn2us, the National Emergencies Trust (to support the national pandemic response), our local charity partners and through employee fundraising.
- We’ll work closely with Turn2us to measure reach and outcomes of the partnership.
- We’ll work closely with our Changemakers partners to understand long term reach and outcomes of the social enterprises we support.
How we're helping to prevent life shocks becoming a crisis:
- Working with trusted partners to help more people in our communities build resilience and recover from life shocks.
The people commitment
10 Committed to…
creating a meaningful, inclusive workplace for our people and their wellbeing
We’re all in it together. That’s why it’s important for our people to feel included and valued. We acknowledge that everyone is different, and we treat them as individuals. Similarly, each of our employees has a unique contribution to make to our company. We do all we can to protect their wellbeing and help them grow.
How we're delivering on this commitment:
- Giving our people a voice, providing supportive networks and supporting public initiatives such as the Time to Change campaign and the Women in Finance Charter
- Becoming a Disability Confident employer (learn more on our Inclusion and Diversity page).
- Introducing a range of initiatives to boost wellbeing for all of our employees.
- Listening to our people and measuring and monitoring our progress, so we can keep improving.
How we’re measuring progress – employee engagement scores for wellbeing and inclusion:
- Colleague engagement scores for wellbeing and inclusion in 2020 were 82%. These scores are above the industry average of 78%.
- We earned a Gold Award from the Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (ENEI) benchmark and were highly commended in ENEI’s annual awards in the Wellbeing category.
How we're helping to prevent life shocks becoming a crisis:
- Supporting our people through preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of shocks, and to cope with the financial and mental impacts of shocks when they do happen.
Modern slavery statement
At Royal London, we're passionate about ensuring our business is conducted ethically.