ESG Strategy

In 2017 we moved our office to the building we are in now at 49 Sankey Street. This was a great move for the business and gave us the opportunity to buy the historic building meaning we were more in control of making positive changes to the building to make it more efficient. We then set about putting considerable investment into a refit of the building.

Some of the positive changes we have made include;

–  Installed LED lighting throughout the building which is far more energy efficient.

–  Significantly improved the insulation of the building.

– Had double glazed sash windows bespoke made in order to be in keeping with the heritage style of the building and the local area, massively reduced our energy usage.

– Installed air conditioning to make our office environment more comfortable for staff and customers but chose one with a wireless remote so we can ensure we don’t waste energy and only use it when absolutely necessary.

– Installed Hive to further maximise our energy efficiency.

– In 2019 our business became almost entirely paperless. We utilise technology such as Signeable to remove the need for paper contracts. The little paper we do use is recycled in an ecofriendly way, using a specialist third party.

– We also pride ourselves on advising and encouraging our landlords to make positive changes to their properties such as insulation, upgraded boilers and draft exclusion to improve their EPC ratings and to benefit tenants with a better quality of housing and reduced bills.

The social aspect of ESG is one that is very close to our hearts and we take great joy in making life that little bit better for our team, clients and our community. Some of the key ways we do this include;

Building local businesses

All of our contractors are local micro businesses and we work hard to build great long term relationships with these trusted contractors by good communication, prompt payment and loyalty. Our electrician has been with us for 14 years!

Charity

– We have consistently sponsored and raised money for the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust (over £15k raised so far). As well as our financial contribution we also give them our time whenever we can. Our whole family went to help at their Christmas event.

– Me and my wife (Gary and Amanda, the franchisees of Belvoir Warrington) are keen cyclists and runners and our method for raising the money for the Children’s Adventure Farm are big cycle events and running the odd marathon!

We also do little fun things in the office like dressing up according to a set theme for ‘Crazy Friday’s’ in December. We get the community involved too and for anyone else who shares themselves on our social media channels dressed up in the same theme, we donate money.

Team

Our amazing team are vital to the excellent service we are able to deliver to our clients and we do what we can to reward them and make their working day a little bit brighter. Some of the things we have done include;

– Great office location and a nice building that we have heavily invested in, providing a nice working environment.

– We subsidise premium parking spots for the team, so they don’t have to arrive at work stressed and flustered!

– We have ‘Foodie Fridays’ where we pay for the teams lunch.

– Summer and Christmas do for team building and to say thank you.

– We pay our team above market rate and bonuses which are all customer service orientated.

– We invest in training for the team to support their own professional development.

– We invest in a highly professional HR service and have clear and fair staff contracts and staff handbooks

– We have a relaxed and informal staff recruitment style whereby we favour informal chats over formal interviews to allow us to get to know potential staff better and to better reflect our relaxed and friendly office environment

– We have a give and take culture so staff don’t have to miss kid’s sports days and other key memories and life events that might be in working hours.

– We have a constant dedication to compliance which is key in our sector. As part of being a franchisee of the Belvoir Group, we have an annual audit where our compliance is rigorously checked by the Group’s Professional Audit Team.

– We are members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme which offers our clients an independent redress scheme in the unlikely event that they have a complaint and feel it has not been resolved adequately by us. Being members means we have to adhere to a strict code of conduct.

– We also abide by anti-bribery/anti-slavery and discrimination laws and all other vital laws and guidance necessary for a business of our size. We also pay all of the appropriate taxes.