CSR Report (SPS)

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY UPDATE 2018

Community Involvement & Development

Sovini Property Services believe that the essential characteristics for successfully embedding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) into our business is a willingness to be accountable for the impact our actions have on the environment and society as a whole.

We believe that behaving ethically is fundamental to establishing and sustaining legitimate and productive relationships with our partners and we understand the importance of CSR to the development and growth of our business.

We have adopted the principles of ISO 26000:2010 Guidance on Social Responsibility which provides us with a framework to document that we operate in a socially responsible way. This means acting in an ethical and transparent way that contributes to the health and welfare of society. The standard serves to clarify what social responsibility is, helps us to translate principles into effective actions and share best practice.

We recognise that we play a pivotal role in contributing towards growth and sustainability and we aim to conduct business in an ethical manner and seek to improve the communities in which we work. This can involve the creation of employment and training opportunities, working with local enterprises and community groups, or making the area more aesthetically pleasing.

Some of the community involvement projects we supported include:

Sovini Property Services support Radio City’s Cash for Kids campaign - Sovini Property Services were proud to support the Radio City Mission Christmas Cash for Kids campaign 2018. The campaign supports local children at risk of waking up to nothing on Christmas morning. Our very own Santa – Multi Skilled Operative, Phil McCarthy – took to the streets in his Sovini sleigh to deliver donation boxes across the Group where employees and customer could donate new and unwrapped gifts for children. The Sovini Group raised a staggering £4000 for Cash for Kids and received over 250 gift donations.
Giving apprentice the right tools for the job - We are passionate about investing in our staff and giving apprentices a platform to develop in their chosen career. We launched an initiative whereby we provide year one and new apprentices with a fully equipped toolkit worth around £300, allowing them the opportunity to start working to learn the trade on day one. Lucas Redmond-Quick joined Sovini Property Services in October as an Apprentice Plumber and received his toolkit from his manager Philip Hughes.

Lucas said: “I was really pleased to receive my toolkit after joining Sovini Property Services as an apprentice. This has given me a great start in my career as a plumber and I’m very grateful to the company for investing in my future.”

Sovini Property Services give Max ‘the best birthday ever - Local lad Max Riley turned six in November and asked his mum Jenny for a Sovini van for his birthday. Max, who goes to school in Litherland, regularly spots Sovini vans around his home and has always dreamed of having his very own toy version. Jenny contacted our call centre asking whether we could send her a toy van for Max’s special day. But we decided to go one better! We arranged for Mark Seanor, Multi Skilled Operative (and proud owner of Sovini’s cleanest van!) to visit Max at his Nan’s house after school on his birthday and hand deliver a toy van and Max’s own personalised SPS branded hi-vis! Max told Mark and his manager Philip Hughes that it was the best birthday present he had ever had and all his friends would be jealous when he told them!

Max’s Mum Jenny said: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am overwhelmed by the lengths Sovini Property Services went to for Max. He is one happy little boy!”

Sovini Property Services help local Merseyside family with autism-friendly garden - Cash for Kids and Sovini Property Services have been working together in collaboration with Cobalt Housing Association to create an autism-friendly garden for a local Merseyside family. Cash for Kids has facilitated the project, whilst Sovini Property Services have delivered the works. Cash for Kids mission is to respond to the needs of children in their communities, they aspire to enable all children to live life to the full and achieve their individual potential. They support children ages 0-18 who are disabled, disadvantaged or suffering from abuse or neglect. In 2017 they raised over £23 million and supported more than 709,000. The family were in need of some outdoor space for their two children, George and Jack Knowles who suffer from autism. After approaching The Steve Morgan Foundation for sensory toys the family realised their garden wasn’t autism-friendly or suitable for the sensory toys and the costs involved doing the works were completely unaffordable at around £6,000. Sovini Property Services supported by Cash for Kids created a garden which allowed the children to explore their senses in a safe and stimulating environment including sourcing and fitting brand new flagging, new posts and special fencing which faced outward to give more security and a brand new secure gate and artificial grass.

Carole Clare, Cash for Kids Charity Manager said: “We are so grateful for the support we have received from everyone at Sovini Property Services, they are a real pleasure to work with. The transformation is amazing not only from a visual point of view but from how it will transform the quality of life for the boys. It is fabulous when we can work together with local businesses to improve the lives of others.”

Sovini Property Services take off for Alder Hey fundraiser - Staff from across The Sovini Group, including operatives from Sovini Property Services, pulled a Boeing 737 aircraft weighing almost 40 tonnes, to help raise vital funds for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital. They toughed it out at Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) and helped raise over £2,500 for the cause. The money raised in the plane pull will be added to more than £80,000 already raised by LJLA for the charity during the last 12 months.

Carol Dutton, Director for HR & Community at LJLA, said: “This has been an amazing effort by everyone involved. A big thank you to all the companies who gave up time to take part in this unique challenge and particularly to Blue Air for providing one of it’s aircraft.”

1. Sovini Property Services support Radio City’s Cash for Kids campaign 2. Sovini Property Services save six local lads from redundancy after Carillion collapse 3. Sovini property services give Max ‘the best birthday ever

Environmental Achievements

We have conducted Environmental Aspects and Impact studies to assess the effect that our activities have on the environment and as such have set ourselves a number of environmental targets which are monitored on an on-going basis.

Plastics - The Sovini Group has eliminated all non-recyclable products from its in-house bistro. Plastic straws, cutlery, takeaway trays, salad and yoghurt pots have all been swapped for recyclable or biodegradable products.
The Sovini Group saw its carbon footprint reduced by 55% in comparison with our base-year data which saw a reduction from 9.34 CO tonnes per FTE in 2010/11 to 4.20 FTE in 2017/18.
93.16% construction waste recycled
75.65 tonnes scrap metal recycled = £23,037.00 back into the business

Our staff suggestion scheme incentivises staff to propose innovative ways to reduce our footprint.

Labour & Employment

We provide a safe and healthy working environment for our employees and our management systems have been assessed and registered to ISO 14001 Environmental Management and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management. This was also recognised by the award of the RoSPA Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety. The award, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, is the highest accolade that can be achieved.

External Accreditations
Mindful Employer
Investors in Diversity
Disability Confident
ISO 9001, 14001, 27001 & OHSAS 18001
Investors in People Gold and Health & Wellbeing
Great Place to Work 1st place and 4th place in Europe
Customer Service Excellence

SPS achieve HQN Contractor & Gas Accreditation - Sovini Property Services have been awarded two accreditations by the Housing Quality Network, in recognition of the excellent quality of service delivered as a maintenance service provider. The HQN ACCREDIT: GAS and HQN ACCREDIT: CONTRACTOR accreditations were awarded for excellence in service across all aspects of delivery, with 100% gas safety compliance for the past six years, the level of tenant and community engagement, and Value for Money, being highlighted as excellent examples of best practice. These awards provide evidence to clients that the level of service being delivered is achieving or, in most cases, exceeding best practice standards.

Kevin Bentley at HQN, said: “This is not an easy accreditation to achieve, as we are looking for best practice across all aspects of the service delivery. SPS achieved really high quality in every area of delivery. In terms of productivity, other organisations should be looking at SPS to see how it’s done.”

Sovini Property Services apprentice electrician, Emma Oakes named ‘young apprentice of the year’ at the Merseyside Woman of the Year Awards 2018. - Sovini Property Services apprentice electrician, Emma Oakes was named ‘Young Apprentice of the Year’ at the Merseyside Woman of the Year awards 2018. Judges praised Emma as “a true inspiration, not only to women in the construction industry but to working mothers and to those around her.” They went on to say “she has earned the respect of her peers and has become a role model in the construction field.”
Sovini Property Services save six local lads from redundancy after Carillion collapse - Sovini Property Services have taken on six apprentices from Carillion. The teenagers have commenced a three year apprenticeship with SPS in which they will gain a level 3 NVQ award with the company.

Steven Parker, Director of Sovini Property Services said: “We want to ensure our business and the sectors we work in are sustainable in the future and therefore taking this proactive approach enables us to bridge the skills gap particularly in the trades. As an organisation we are dedicated to creating opportunities for local people. It’s fantastic that we are in a position to take on the apprentices and look forward to seeing them progress in their career with Sovini.”

Consumer Issues

In order to ensure that fair, factual and unbiased information is readily available, we have compiled a suite of policies and leaflets which can be accessed from our offices or upon request. An Equality Impact Assessment is undertaken on all our policies to reduce any negative impact to any group or individual.

Sovini Property Services wins contract worth over £300m - A consortium led by Sovini Property Services has successfully secured a housing management contract worth £317.6m. The consortium, which includes CARROLL GROUP, will deliver integrated asset management for two Merseyside-based housing associations, ONE VISION Housing and PINE COURT HOUSING ASSOCIATION over a 10 year period.

Sovini Property Services will continue to provide repairs and maintenance services to the housing providers, which they have undertaken since their inception in 2010.

Sovini Property Services won the contract through OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union), a European procurement database designed to ensure fairness and transparency in tender processes. The consortium’s track record in delivering excellent services, consistently achieving high levels of customer satisfaction and a commitment to social value, were among the key factors in securing the contract.

Organisational Governance

We will ensure that we continue to practice accountability and transparency at all levels of our organisation. We will undertake annual reviews of our Strategic Plans, CSR Action Plan to ensure that effective arrangements are in place. We have developed a full suite of policies and procedures to ensure compliance with legal, regulatory requirements and best practice. We have a dedicated team who facilitate the “Strategic Planning Process” which considers both the internal and external operating environment

Organisational Governance is achieved through practicing accountability and transparency at all levels of our organisation; using leadership to create an organisational culture which uses the core values of social responsibility when making business decisions. Processes include; Governance and Probity, Gifts and Hospitality and Business Assurance Committee.

The General Data Protection Regulation

The Sovini Group are committed to protecting the personal data of people with whom we deal with in order to operate as a business. This data covers current, past and prospective employees, suppliers, customers, board members and contractors. The Sovini Group has a designated Data Protection Officer who takes the lead role for responding to data protection enquiries and for ensuring systems for data capture, storage and disposal are fit for purpose.

6. Fair Operating Practices

We have developed our own Governance and Probity procedures which are supported by our Anti-Fraud, Corruption and Money Laundering Policy and Gifts and Hospitality and Charitable Giving Policy, compliance with which is mandatory.

We are committed to promoting the highest standards of ethical business practice from our recruitment and employment activities through to the behaviours and procedural arrangements we expect from our supply chain partners.

Our aim is for continuous improvement in this area and we will build on our positive promotion of employee welfare, stringent selection procedures and monitoring of our supply chain, through to our zero tolerance stance for any form of discrimination or Human Rights breaches.

In Accordance with the Modern Slavery Act we have included a requirement for prospective suppliers to provide us with a copy of their Modern Day Slavery Annual Statement. The Group also have a nominated a Modern Day Slavery Champion.

Appreciate