Corporate Social Responsibility Effective date: June 2013 1
Table of Contents 1. Our business... 3 1.1 Ethical conduct... 3 1.2 Customers... 3 1.3 Business partners and suppliers... 4 1.4 Environment... 4 Reduce:... 5 Re-use:... 5 Recycle:... 5 2. Our employees... 5 2.1 Realising potential... 5 Expertise... 6 Respect... 6 2.2 Communications and employee satisfaction... 6 2.3 A meritocracy... 7 2.4 Health and safety... 7 2
1. Our business 1.1 Ethical conduct As a leading global player in Asset Management and Test Equipment Solutions, Microlease has a responsibility to act as a good corporate citizen around the world. At Microlease we recognise and perform the obligations we have towards our people, investors, customers, suppliers, competitors and the community as a whole. We believe our reputation, together with the trust and confidence of those with whom we deal, to be one of our most valuable assets. In order to keep this reputation and trust, we demand and maintain the highest ethical standards in carrying out our business activities. All of our employees are required to abide by our Code of Conduct, which outlines Microlease s core values and approach to business. The protection of our reputation is of fundamental importance, and employees are aware of the disciplinary implications of breaches of policy. The policy helps to uphold the reputation of our company and staff, and maintains confidence in Microlease. Our employees are encouraged to promptly report any potentially illegal, improper and/or unethical conduct that they become aware of at their workplace or in connection with their work. We believe we have an environment that enables our employees to raise genuine and legitimate concerns internally. However, in the event that our people believe their reporting to line management may result in harassment, victimisation or undue distress, they have the option of contacting HR directly to report matters. HR provides an opportunity for concerns to be investigated and ensures appropriate action is taken to resolve the matter effectively. 1.2 Customers We strongly believe that integrity in dealings with customers is essential for a successful and sustained business relationship. We operate a highly effective and efficient organisation, focused on meeting customer objectives. Our aim is to provide products and services which give fair value and consistent quality, reliability and safety in return for fair reward. We operate policies of continual improvement, of both processes and the skills of our staff, to take best advantage of advances in technology. This safeguards our operations for the future, ensuring that we continue to add value to our customers businesses. This is underpinned by a consistent approach to the way we conduct our work. To cater for the wide variety of work we do, we aim for a balance between flexibility in the way we operate and tight control to consistently meet customer expectations. We have clear and strong lines of communication which allow us to respond quickly and efficiently to customer and market requirements, and our customers receive a consistent 3
service across geographies, industries and technology areas. Our sales effort and delivery capability is aligned in order to ensure that we can successfully and consistently deliver what we promise. 1.3 Business partners and suppliers As with our relationships with our other stakeholders, we aim to develop relationships and improve networking with business partners and suppliers based on mutual trust. We believe one of our major strengths is our approach to alliances and partnerships with suppliers. Many of our new contracts come through these alliances and our partners contributions help us to deliver the solutions required by our customers and the market. Our clients appreciate the ability to offer, through partnership, the best combination of stateof-the-art technology and world class products, strong customer relations and deep industry knowledge and experience, combined with the capacity to implement and deliver valueadded, mission-critical, repeatable global solutions on time and within budget. 1.4 Environment The company believes that, by their nature, our operations have a minimal impact on the environment. However, we acknowledge that there are inevitable environmental impacts associated with daily operations. We aim to minimise any harmful effects and consider the development and implementation of environmental standards to achieve this to be of great importance. As such, we strongly encourage the internationally established 3 Rs: Reduce Re-use Recycle In the course of our operations we seek to identify opportunities to reduce consumption of energy, water and other natural resources. We also strive to re-use and recycle where possible and dispose of non-recyclable items responsibly, thereby minimising our impact on the environment. By adopting simple, environmentally friendly initiatives Microlease will continue to raise awareness amongst stakeholders and the wider community. The company regularly reviews its environmental policy to ensure that it reflects changes in regulations and best practice. We aim to continually to manage the impact of our operations and develop initiatives to improve our environmental footprint. The majority of Microlease s emissions originate from the use of electricity, gas and water supply, business travel / transport and waste. We are taking steps to roll out a global strategy that will expand on the 3 r s initiative and will include: 4
Reduce: Raising awareness through targeted communications and seminars to help our staff, and their families and friends, reduce energy use at home, as well as at work improved powering down of our facilities overnight and at weekends encouraging reduced business travel and use of conferencing technology upgrading of our office equipment to fewer and more energy-efficient devices. Re-use: Replacing, where possible, the reliance on disposable items with re-useable items. Recycle: Switching to more sustainable sources of electricity to power our offices. Improving our recycling facilities. As we work to ensure that our operations will result in a cleaner environment, we intend to maintain the continual improvement of our products, processes and services. 2. Our employees 2.1 Realising potential Make our customers the most efficient users of test equipment in the industry, recognised as Europe s market leader and a significant player around the world. Our aim is to be recognised and known as the test equipment management experts worldwide. Achieved through: Delivering clear value to our customer- recognised as the expert. The intelligence of our analysis and IT capability. The availability, scope and range of product portfolio and solutions. The strength of our supplier partnerships delivering mutual benefit and competitive service that adds value to our customers. The speed and quality of our service. The passion, integrity and commitment of our people. The answer is yes, now how do we make that happen Our aim is to maintain a culture based on quality where our people know what to do and enjoy the experience and rewards of contributing to the success of the business. The following code of conduct is at the heart of our culture and people success. These behaviours are what differentiate us in everything we do, at every level: Work with passion, integrity and respect for others. Examine your own performance and seek improvement. 5
Safe to fail not failsafe. Inspire others. Remember that people want to enjoy fellowship. Inspire improvement through change and celebrate success. "The Microlease Values" are based upon a number of important principles and capture qualities that each employee is encouraged to embody as an essential part of our success: Expertise Assure quality and drive innovation Listen to and learn from each other champion continuous improvement Be accountable keep commitments Customer Focus Share our vision; share our passion Strive for our customers profitability and satisfaction Be a trusted global partner Respect Think and act as a team Optimise the value of our global community Deliver results and celebrate success Developing our capability, delivering value to our customers on a global basis and securing long-term profitable growth is founded on releasing the potential of our employees. We actively support the development of our staff in a number of ways including formalised employee development discussions and structured programmes for personal and professional development. This is linked to the transfer, exchange and creation of knowledge in line with our strategic corporate objectives. This is part of the force behind the on-going innovation of Microlease products, services and processes globally. 2.2 Communications and employee satisfaction Microlease recognises that, as a rapidly changing knowledge-based business, communication is a critical ingredient for success. We place emphasis on both formal and informal communication. Each manager has a key role to play in communication. Managers are accessible; encourage collaboration and the 6
development of ideas that contribute to business performance and continuous improvement. In addition to face-to-face meetings, we encourage the use of Live Internet Meetings which allow the business managers to talk frequently to employees, without the need to bring them together in one place. We have an active programme to ensure communication from the Executive Team through a variety of media and encourage employee feedback and comment though various methods including group discussions, employee surveys and email dialogue. 2.3 A meritocracy As a global company we embrace diversity and respect for different cultures and local requirements. Employees of both genders, from different nations, cultures, disabilities, ethnic groups, generations and backgrounds contribute their skills and different perspectives to improving our solutions and delivering to our customers. It is a cornerstone of our ethos that Microlease is a meritocracy, where all employees are recognised and rewarded on the basis of their performance, effort, contribution and achievements. The company s performance management and personal development processes are active through the extended group and are based on the following principles: Employee s have a clear understanding of how they contribute to the business and have clear personal objectives, aligned to the business strategy and objectives. There is a career pathway that identifies key capabilities and behaviours at different competency levels. There is personal development, training and succession planning to support personal growth and an annual review of performance that drives decisions regarding pay and career progression. 2.4 Health and safety We aim to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for all our employees, outside contractors and visitors, not only on Microlease premises, but also for those staff and contractors working on client sites. The company aims to comply with all relevant local legislation or regulations and best practice guidelines recommended by national health and safety authorities. We liaise with staff regarding our policies and practices so that we can continue to maintain a healthy safe and enjoyable environment. 7
Due to increasing global security concerns, we continue to upgrade our policies to ensure our people are able to operate safely in all countries. All accidents and incidents are reviewed at the quarterly health and safety meeting, along with lost time incidents, accident forms, RIDDOR reportable occurrences, health and safety trends etc. 8