Esg - WSD

Environmental
Social
Governace

Environmental

Social

Governace

At Wall Street Docs, we are committed to running our business in a sustainable and ethical way. From taking steps to reduce our Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions to ensuring we support our employees and the communities in which we operate, we are working hard to improve Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices throughout the company.

Open and honest Communication

As is the case with all business, we believe that clear ESG communication with both internal and external stakeholders is fundamental to business sustainability and advancement. In addition to sharing ESG accomplishments to date, we know it’s important to share future goals to maintain accountability and success rate.

We have recently completed an external ESG review, which has led to the development of bespoke recommendations and best practice guidance. This initiative helped us in creating a roadmap for improved ESG performance year-on-year, reflecting our commitment to sustainability and responsible business practices. For detailed insights into our recommendations, achievements from the past year, and future plans, please download our ESG report.

DOWNLOAD REPORT

Environment

We are committed to understanding and reducing our environmental impact and currently have the following initiatives in place.

We have calculated our GHG emissions and have received guidance on reducing future emissions. You can find our Emissions report here.

WSD has received a silver EcoVadis rating, placing us in the top 25% of assessed companies. In 2023, we completed our first ever EcoVadis submission. EcoVadis is a globally recognised assessment platform that rates businesses’ sustainability based on four key categories:

• Environmental impact
• Labour and human rights standards
• Ethics; and
• Procurement practices

It was important for us to complete this process, as an EcoVadis rating is becoming increasingly requested by our top-tier clients as evidence that we are committed to embedding sustainability into our business. EcoVadis ratings last for 12 months, so we will be completing the process again next year.

WSD has received a Silver EcoVadis rating, as well as being placed in the top 13% (or 87th percentile whichever you prefer) of EcoVadis assessed companies.

We promote an Environmentally friendly workplace guide which provides best practice guidance on sustainable office habits. You can read the guide here.

While our landlord manages our waste, we engage in conversation with them to ensure that building custodians handle our recycling appropriately. We receive quarterly waste management reports from our building manager and review those accordingly. Within our office, we no longer have personal waste bins located at each desk, hoping to encourage the recycling practices of our staff.
We are aware that due to the nature of our business, a lot of the energy we use comes from external servers and data centres. We are committed to keeping our energy usage low, and as part of this, we only work with suppliers who have their own energy-efficient policies and procedures. Additionally, where possible, we procure renewable energy.

Social

As a business we want to ensure that we positively affect all our stakeholders, including our employees and local communities.

Hearing and responding to the opinions, values and challenges of employees is a key way to drive improvement in any business. We employ quarterly and bi-annual Employee Engagement surveys and have an internal Employee Engagement Committee. The Committee is made up of various employees across the business, representing different cultures, genders, ages, departments and roles at WSD.

We understand the importance of giving back and enjoy participating in various community engagement initiatives. We have participated in charity initiatives such as the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge, the Canary Wharf Group Water Aid Dragon Boat Race and the Bowmark Charity Dodgeball Tournament. We are looking forward to participating in more charitable initiatives in the near future.

Through proactive hiring practices, ongoing education and training, and the promotion of open communication and collaboration, we strive to cultivate a diverse workforce.

It is important to us that our employees feel supported and looked after. As such, we offer a range of Wellbeing benefits including, access to PerkBox, an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, the option to choose additional health insurance and access to a WSD office-specific Mental Health First Aider. We also offer an internal mentoring programme, designed to support any of our employees.

Governance

Sound processes and policies are key to a well-run, sustainable and responsible business.

A strong and current policy suite is crucial – work is ongoing to constantly review and update our policies.

We have established an ESG Committee that meets weekly and discusses all manner of ESG issues relevant to WSD to determine the best way to guide the company to improve its ESG practices. We have created an ESG Roadmap, that maps out the company’s high-level ESG goals up to 2030, which is underpinned by our ESG policy.

WSD is committed to conducting its business in an ethical manner, upholding the highest standards of integrity, honesty, and fairness in all our dealings.

We are proudly ISO 27001 Accredited and have robust data and cyber security practices in place including a GDPR policy, Major Incidents process and cyber risk insurance

Our Board Diversity policy, Board succession plan and Nominations Committee are all key elements to help improve Board diversity over the coming years.