Scoring well above average in all 3 pillars with our score of 81 for social impact being best in class. And with the support of our partner The Disruption House, we are on a path of even wider positive impact.
Environment
Taking action to protect the environment today is critical for ensuring our planet can continue to provide for us in the years to come. Reducing environmental impact successfully requires a holistic approach, looking at the cost/benefit and resource requirements of potential impact mitigating actions, as well and evaluating the potential financial and stakeholder impact.
As a provider of digital products, our environmental footprint is primarily determined by our people and offices. Two of our three office locations are provided by WeWork and we are fully behind their sustainability mission to minimise energy use and reduce the carbon footprint of their buildings. Whilst we are above the industry average, we recognise there are still meaningful improvements to be made here and are exploring launching our own initiatives such as carbon offsetting.
Society
Social impact is a key part of any ethical business strategy. There is a direct relationship between bottom-line value and the wider reputation benefits of diversity, engagement, inclusion and community. Being strong in the social pillar is also critical for protecting a business from the rising number of controversies associated with poor social judgement.
We started with an ethical mandate to provide financial services to the traditionally excluded. Making sure our customers are treated fairly is at the core of our business and is very important to us. It is therefore no surprise we are industry leading here, achieving the highest possible score for product responsibility and close to the top score in all other areas, such as customer engagement, diversity inclusion, and employee welfare. Going forward we are exploring ways to further build on our strength here, such as launching financial education, community support and charity engagement projects.
Governance
Governance is as much about promoting the right ethical and cultural standards in a business as it is about operations and strategy. Good governance builds trust and ensures values are adopted throughout the company.
Our strong score in governance is a culmination of the significant work we do in driving ESG awareness, building and executing internal policies and managing risk and data security. We are currently working on the next step in our governance journey, blending our operational priorities with our long term ESG goals and increasing positive engagement with our partners and stakeholders even further.