Our corporate responsibility

The GLE Group is committed to maximising the potential of individuals, small enterprises and growing businesses. We are equally committed to building a group of sustainable businesses, so we recognise our corporate responsibility – placing it at the forefront of our values and relationships with our people, community and environment.

Our people

We recognise that our staff are the most valuable part of our businesses, and so we aim to reflect this in our values.

• we aim to realise our business objectives through the effective management and development of our people, approached by the Investors in People accreditation and compliance to ISO 9001.
  
  
• personal development is essential for our people, and so every member of staff is provided with the opportunity to enter relevant and specialist training in professional qualifications or personal skills development.
  
  
• we recognise the benefits from listening to our people and so we provide opportunities for everybody’s voice to be heard. These range from an anonymous electronic suggestion box, departmental meetings, to staff presentation events. We also have an open-door policy in place, allowing all individuals the opportunity to talk directly to directors.
  
  
• we recognise the importance of diversity and equal opportunities for all in our recruitment and appraisal practices. In particular we are accredited with Two Ticks for Disability.
  
  
• we make internal communications a priority, and so our intranet provides an information hub of social as well as business activities, and we actively encourage fundraising activities by staff.

Our community

Through the provision of business advice, finance, accommodation, organisational development alongside our consultancy work, the GLE Group assists thousands of individuals, small and growing businesses, and voluntary organisations to maximise their potential – an element in itself which we regard to be a highly important aspect of corporate responsibility.

By addressing employability and enterprise, and providing support to voluntary and community projects, GLE particularly focuses upon the inequalities that exist between the least advantaged groups and communities and the rest of society by closing the opportunity gap and ensuring that support reaches those who need it most.

Our work ranges from advising young entrepreneurs, delivering Mayoral-backed initiatives, providing equity finance to high growth businesses, to supporting community and third-sector organisations which assist disadvantaged groups back into work and reintegrating them into society.

Through focusing upon an issue high on the public policy agenda, GLE aims to help build sustainable communities, ensuring a sustainable business future for us all.

Our environment

In 2008, the GLE Group was awarded the Green Mark accreditation, in recognition of our constant striving to reduce the potential direct and indirect environmental consequences of a growing business. Three key areas of our current focus are staff awareness, recycling, and energy usage.

Recycling
GLE strives to be a paperless company wherever possible, through extensive use of the intranet, internet and extranets. Where it is unfeasible to work electronically, we ensure that only recycled stationery is purchased, and that paper is printed double-sided by default. Our environmental conscience does not end internally however and GLE has signed up to the Mayor of London’s Green Procurement Code, and ensures that our external printers also uphold their CSR obligations wherever possible.

Energy usage
Working throughout the UK and Europe, we are becoming increasingly concerned with the implications of carbon dioxide emissions from frequent travelling between offices. Wherever possible we advocate audio and video conferencing, particularly for internal meetings, and in other occasions promote the use of public transport. Internally, GLE provides staff with a cycle scheme, and non-motorised vehicles are also utilised for couriering goods throughout London.

Staff awareness
Our environment committee constantly examines the ways in which GLE can improve its environmental credentials. A key area of this committee is to keep employees up-to-date of new changes and to encourage staff awareness, through a dedicated intranet page, and regular e-alerts and posters.