SMT Online Editor's View: Corporate, Social... and Responsible

25 Jun 09

During the last couple of years or so, regular readers of Security Management Today in its original print format – and those sector professionals who have since migrated with us to cyberspace – will no doubt have noticed a major theme creeping into comments made by (in particular) security guarding company managing directors and chief executives. People like Wilson Chowdhry at AA Security and Magenta Security’s Abbey Petkar.

That theme being Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR for all you serious acronym buffs. Be warned, though. This abbreviation does take us dangerously close to a hugely popular American television series, but given that the programme in question is all about crime scene investigations I guess it’s “not too big of a problem” (as they like to say Stateside).

More and more, it seems, guarding companies and organisations in the commercial universe per se are recognising the fact that their business activities have both a direct and indirect impact on the communities and environments in which they operate.

This being the case, it’s important all of those activities are managed in a responsible manner.

On top of that, sound and demonstrable performance in relation to CSR is now very much a fundamental element of achieving business goals and, in turn, building a sustainable operation for times ahead.

So it should be. In this day and age, there’s no good reason why any company shouldn’t aspire towards accounting for the economic, social and environmental impact of what it does on a daily basis.

Big Boys must take the lead

I’ve always maintained that, whether we’re talking about Security Industry Authority licensing, the Approved Contractor Scheme, training or career development, it should be the so-called ‘Big Boys’ of the guarding world who must lead by example.

Wilson James continues to bang the drum on the 48-hour working week. VSG continues to lead on Commitment To Quality. Now – and to its great credit, I might add – G4S is firing all of its CSR guns with gusto.

A few days ago, I was leafing through my snail mail – which we no longer receive much of, I hasten to add, since the majority of PRs now realise we’re living in an electronic media age wherein time is of the essence – and looking for something of note. I found that something. In a white A4 envelope. A document entitled ‘Securing Your World’.

Prefaced by an introduction courtesy of David Taylor-Smith (regional president and CEO for G4S Secure Solutions in the UK and Ireland, who sent the report to me under personal cover) and Ian Nisbet (chief executive of G4S Cash Services, again across the UK and Ireland), this excellent 16-page document – printed on 100 per cent recycled paper, of course – is the first-ever CSR report from the company, and examines what has been achieved since the security giant issued its inaugural CSR Policy last year.

Permit me to take a quick look at what that policy said – and continues to say. The principles underpinning the company’s strategy are divided into five areas: general business practices, labour practices, community engagement, environmental performance and supply chain management.

Planning for general business practices

In terms of general business practices, the company wanted – as a bare minimum – to “conduct all business in compliance with relevant legislation”. There was also a desire to carry out said business “in a fair and ethical manner”.

To ensure that corruption does not exist in any form, and report CSR activities in both an accountable and transparent manner. All perfectly reasonable goals for G4S to have set itself, I would suggest.

On to labour practices, and there was a stated desire to respect the standards outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The perceived need for promoting equality and diversity was high on the agenda, so too the provision of a working environment that ensures the Health and Safety of all employees (vital for an organisation that’s listed as the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange, with 570,000 members of staff… 40,000 of whom work in the UK and Ireland).

Training was part of the mix, as was the “right to freedom of association and collective bargaining” (thereby paying due consideration towards trade unions like the GMB, to whom many G4S employees belong).

Community engagement is where the CSR agenda really comes to life. Here, G4S wanted to offer “suitable employment opportunities within the local communities in which we operate”.

The organisation also wished to help build safer communities by engaging with young people and employees through sport, for example, and with young people at risk, offenders and ex-offenders too.

Get them involved in sport and/or related activities “to help them lead purposeful lives”. Again, nothing wrong with that at all – a laudable objective.

Commendably, G4S also said in its CSR Policy that it wished to provide assistance to a range of charitable causes, and at the same time fully support any employees who volunteer – or otherwise engage with – community activities in the areas where they’re located.

What about environmental performance?

The environmental performance element of the G4S CSR Policy pretty much mirrors that of most other blue chips.

There’s mention of measuring and managing energy use, setting targets to reduce energy consumption, measuring and managing waste streams, increasing recycling rates and reducing waste sent to landfill.

G4S also wanted to “minimise disturbance to the natural and built environments” where it does business.

Last but by no means least, the largest security company operational in the UK tackled supply chain issues by stating that it desired to work with suppliers to deliver the objectives of this [CSR] policy throughout the supply chain, and ensure that all elements of the procurement strategy reflect the commitments made.

The most vital element of any private sector security company is its people. The men and women ‘on the ground’ are the public face of the organisation.

There has to be an inherent desire to attract, retain and develop the right type of talent at all levels, nurture that skill and facilitate its wish to exceed customer expectations.

What’s G4S doing in this area, then? Like any other security company, this contractor reflects the industry’s clear weighting towards male-dominated security occupations.

There’s a definite challenge in such a situation when it comes to driving forward the diversity and inclusion agenda.

In what was a masterstroke, G4S signed an agreement with Remploy (the specialist employment services organisation), in turn opening up possibilities for people with disabilities and health conditions to work at over 1,000 sites operated by Trillium.

Commendably, there’s “heavy investment” in the training and development of G4S staff. The company is a member of both the Justice and Security Sector Skills Councils, working in tandem with each to develop National Vocational Qualifications recognised and applied across the arenas in which the company creates a footprint.

Defining the commitment to training

G4S is lucky enough to be able to foot the bill for officers’ licences, paying for over 2,700 SIA licence cards last year alone.

There are dedicated training centres and a Training Academy covering basic security and cash handling education, while trainers with ‘Roving Training Status’ – as approved by Skills for Security – have now been let loose to provide continuation training on site as and when required.

Having watched the latest episode of ‘I’m Running Sainsbury’s’ on the box this week, it struck me how out of touch a senior manager who appeared on that programme really is when it comes to the world inhabited by the rest of us. The individual concerned must have swallowed one of those Business Bingo lists to which I like to refer from time to time.

“The standards you set are the standards you get” was one of the off-colour pearls of wisdom emanating from his lips, along with the heinous “helicopter view of the world”.

I thought he’d ask one of the shop floor serfs not lucky enough to be clad in a hand-tailored suit to “finesse the bananas” at some point, but (thankfully) that moment didn’t come to pass.

It’s management by numbers, isn’t it? Management by sounding good, but in truth saying nothing of any merit or practical value.

Thankfully, G4S doesn’t condone its management team becoming divorced from the grass roots of the business, allowing them to spend time each year going ‘Back To The Floor’.

I recall that we included an article in SMT describing G4S’ marketing director Douglas Greenwell doing just that at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships a few years back.

No less than 495 managers took part in this programme last year (including the CEO and each and every member of the executive management team). That’s what I like to see.

Communication with staff is also crucial. Of late, I’ve seen plenty of guarding companies wise up to that fact, with new newsletters appearing, company magazines, e-blasts (another one of those Business Bingo terms, this time with a nod to blanket coverage e-mails) and so on. G4S is no shrinking violet on this front, that’s for sure.

Over 200,000 copies of internal magazines and documents have been delivered to employees over the last 12 months.

The Intranet’s freely available to 7,700 office-based employees. There are also three Roadshows each year at ten different locations for 1,000 managers in the security business.

The Ethical Employment Partnership

In 2008, the company launched its Ethical Employment Partnership with the aim of protecting the needs of employees, customers and shareholders alike.

An agreement was reached with UNI – the global union federation – to ensure that employee and Trade Union rights are always respected throughout the organisation.

That agreement is pretty important, and most certainly worthy of further examination here.

It aims to drive through improvements in industry standards, employment conditions and “wages” (I’d much rather the talk was of salaries for ALL employees in guarding companies, but that’s another debate for a separate occasion).

The company is fortunate in that it can afford to invest “millions of pounds” in crime prevention measures to protect its employees.

There’s funding to provide retail-based officers with enhanced forms of physical protection – in other words conflict resolution – training, and the latest equipment and tailored body armour for Cash-and-Valuables-in-Transit crew members.

In the last 12 months, no less than six G4S sites have been awarded the much-coveted Swords of Honour by the British Safety Council. That really is something to write home about.

It would also be remiss of me not to mention the Criminal Attack Fund devised between the UK cash business and the GMB. The first of its kind in the industry, it exists to make cash awards to employees based on the effect of any injury they may suffer in the line of duty. A brilliant and totally altruistic step that shows much willing.

G4S has also been hugely supportive of the communities in which it operates. This is really all about a company, any company, striving to be a good corporate citizen.

According to the report, G4S operates a Sponsorship Matching programme to help employees (and the various projects in the community they support) by offering to match funds of up to £1,000 they’ve managed to raise for worthy causes.

In 2008, G4S matched funds of more than £20,000 for numerous local community schemes.

The Sponsorship and Grants Initiative

The UK cash business also launched the Sponsorship and Grants Initiative, affording over 7,000 members of staff the opportunity to raise essential monies for good causes, national charities or local projects by requesting that a company donation be made.

Close on £7,000 of this donated finance was shared by the Tadworth Childrens’ Trust, the Friends of Annalong Primary School, Penmeas School, Redburn School, Hampshire Fire and Rescue, Greenwich and Bexley Cottage Hospice, the Ysgol Hen Felin School and Brighton Rugby Club.

There was an interesting partnership forged between G4S Jersey and Crimestoppers (Jersey) to form a Community Sports Development programme that would prevent groups of youths loitering during school holidays.

A series of ‘Come and Play’ events were staged and delivered by the States of Jersey Education Sports and Culture’s Community Sports Development Department.

There was a desire to reduce boredom and the propensity towards anti-social behaviour among the local youths. It worked. Over 500 young people took part in activities ranging from games of rugby through to cricket and football. An easy win, then.

Given that we wrote about the Youth Judo Programme at such length on SMT Online, it would be remiss if I didn’t mention what’s happened since launch day in London.

If you recall, this project is concerned with encouraging the children of G4S employees to become involved with sport and, through judo, learn its core values – of discipline, self-control and the like – while at the same time fostering physical fitness and a healthier lifestyle.

By providing subsidised judo lessons, and making contributions towards kit, licensing and grading, G4S is also hoping to grow what is still seen as a minority sport on home shores in the lead-up to the 2012 Games and beyond. According to the G4S report, just shy of 150 children have taken up the offer. Not a bad result at all.

When it comes to protecting what we call “our society”, G4S is on the front line. The company provides a range of critical services to support the police and thereby release sworn officers for core duties.

G4S secures more than 300 police service and Court Custody Suites, manages four prisons and three secure Training Centres and escorts something like 750,000 prisoners and detainees every calendar year. More than 12,000 offenders are monitored by trained and competent staff.

Rehabilitation of offenders: the programme

It’s the offender rehabilitation programmes that catch my eye. A rail track work project, for example, began at HMP Wolds back in 2006.

A similar scheme has since been introduced for HMP Rye Hill. The first course of its type, no less, to be run inside the walls of a closed prison.

The participants work towards NVQs at Level 2 in railway maintenance. Some of the men who participated and are now free earn their honest crust in the railways sector as a direct result.

Nearly everyone in this world now talks of green issues. Environmental initiatives. Stopping global warming. There’s little doubt that climate change is the greatest threat we’ve ever faced to the environment.

As Marillion’s lead singer Steve ‘h’ Hogarth sings: “The hole in the ozone layer is all right by me, Makes England warmer in the summer, Them tropical guys had it too good too long, High time they learned to sing a different song… And anyway, what’s wrong with the odd melanoma, If it gets us all out of the coma” (these are the opening lines from the classic track Costa del Slough that sits on the magnificent Radiation opus).

Yes, there is a gaping hole in the ozone layer, h, and it can never be repaired. What’s more, big business couldn’t care two hoots about it. They just want to make money, and make it today.

The leaders of the moment will not be around when the Earth turns to ashes, so they just try and fill their avaricious boots while they can.

What about the longer term depletion of fossil fuels, not to mention the substantial increase we’ve all witnessed in energy costs? These issues demand to be addressed now.

Details of the Climate Action Programme

With that little lot as a backdrop, it’s great to see G4S publishing its Climate Action Programme to report on greenhouse gas emissions, and then look to reduce them wherever possible.

Last year, smart meters were installed in more than 60 per cent of all G4S cash properties. These allow the accurate tracking of carbon emissions from the company’s estate.

There has been an ongoing campaign across all divisions of G4S to encourage members of staff to use all electrical equipment in the most efficient manner (we did the same a while ago, nominating someone to be ‘Captain Carbon’ for a short term of office and it worked – in as much as we all began switching off our PCs at the end of every day as a matter of routine).

Energy efficient lighting has also been installed across a number of trial sites belonging to G4S Cash Services. These consume between 30 per cent and 40 per cent less energy than their predecessors.

In turn, this has reduced total electricity consumption at these properties by 10 per cent.

Annual carbon dioxide emission savings from just two properties with energy efficient lighting total 20 tonnes. Another easy and at the same time inexpensive win.

The 2008 CSR Policy stressed that it was essential the company also examined its waste streams, increased recycling rates and cut back on waste matter going to landfill.

By introducing colour-coded recycling facilities to separate waste streams, the recycling rate in G4S’ UK cash business has risen from 6 per cent in 2007 to 24 per cent come last December.

The Harlow site now recycles 80 per cent of all waste produced. That represents over three tonnes every month. Simple, yes, but so very effective.

Where does G4S go from here?

G4S harbours a desire to develop sustainable CSR programmes across all of its business units, and appoint a dedicated environmental manager to look after the security business.

There’s also a stated willingness to implement a robust measurement and reporting system for energy consumption and waste disposal attributable to the company.

G4S now wants to introduce those electric smart meters into all major locations, and further reduce energy and fuel consumption.

‘Securing Your World’ also talks of developing more and more community engagement programmes across the business, as well as a diversity and inclusion strategy (complete with a plan of action dedicated to its furtherance).

Plenty of people – some of them competitors, some of them regular industry commentators or movers and shakers – are pretty quick to do down the ‘Big Boys’ in the guarding world, saying that they’re likely ‘in it’ [ie guarding and its spin-off activities] for the money, only interested in satisfying shareholders and that they probably don’t look after their people that well.

I suggest these ‘behind closed doors sniper’-types read ‘Securing Your World’, and then ask themselves if they’re really doing all they need to be doing – or can do, within constraints – when it comes to meeting CSR commitments.

Those venomous tongues might well discover it’s high time they put their own house in order before waxing lyrical about their fellow security professionals who are handling matters the right way. The CSR Way.

Until next time.

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