Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility Statement 2024

The management of Ede & Ravenscroft recognises its responsibilities to the environment, its customers, suppliers, employees, and to the wider community. It places a high priority on operating to high standards of integrity and ethics.

We recognise that our activities impact on the environment and we therefore aim to minimise that impact by taking a responsible approach to the way we source and use materials and energy. We minimise waste wherever possible and manage any waste according to a waste hierarchy and in a proper and responsible manner.

Ede & Ravenscroft aims to make a meaningful contribution to the local community and to behave as a responsible employer. The following sections set out the principles we follow and the initiatives in place as part of our commitment to corporate social responsibility and continuous improvement programmes.

Buying Principles

We work closely with our suppliers with the aim that the materials used in the manufacture of our products or products that we sell are traceable, and socially and ethically-sourced. We review our suppliers’ policies and practices on an individual basis and expect them to adhere to high standards and the following principles:

  •   Quality

We provide our customers with quality products by ensuring that we use only the best materials and production methods. We work with the most-skilled producers and always try to promote traditional and artisan methods of production. We work with our direct suppliers to apply quality control procedures and to reach traceability back to source.

  • UK Sourcing

Wherever possible, we always try to source from within the UK to minimise our carbon footprint, however, where materials and products are not available, we also work with exclusive and distinctive suppliers from across the globe.

  • Sustainability

We promote sustainable and environmental practices throughout our supply chain, and use products from sustainable sources. We do not support the rearing of animals for the sole purpose of using their skin. We use faux fur and work with our suppliers to ensure that they do not use endangered or threatened animal species, fauna or flora. Suppliers must comply with CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants do not threaten their survival. All our timber and paper supplies are from sustainable well managed sources.

  •   Ethical and Environmental

We assess our suppliers and their products against our Corporate Social Responsibility policy and our purchasing codes, taking information of relevance and pertinence from our supplier questionnaires, audits and specifications. We work with our suppliers to ensure their commitment to best practice on all issues, such as protecting the environment, animals, human rights and renewable resourcing, to deliver ethical quality goods. We do not use any materials that have been tested on animals. It is our aim to promote and implement progressive sustainable practices across the design, sourcing and manufacturing supply chain.

Supply chain engagement

  • ·  Selection & Sourcing

    We work closely with our suppliers to ensure we source the highest-quality products and work towards our objective of full traceability. Building long-term relationships with our suppliers is important to us, and a number of these relationships span many decades. This close relationship enables us to foster sustainable design, enabling environmental impacts to be reduced upstream and products to be created that have longevity or are recyclable beyond their serviceable life.

    ·  Ethical & Environmental

    The direct relationships we enjoy with suppliers allow us to ensure they follow a responsible code of conduct towards sustainability, and allow us to ensure that they and their employees are being paid a fair price for the product. Many of our suppliers are very small, and we support them to ensure a continuing supply.

    ·  Slavery and Human Trafficking

    Ede & Ravenscroft is committed to ensuring that there is no slavery, human trafficking or child labour in our supply chains. To this end, we have commenced a programme whereby we clearly set out to suppliers the expectations we have for our business partners. We also require our suppliers to set out their employment, remuneration and welfare policies which are reviewed carefully. If any suppliers fail to reach our standards then we will terminate our relationship with that supplier.

    A Modern Slavery Statement is published on our website.

     

    ·  Communication

    We work directly with our supply base and through regular meetings and visits, we ensure that the standards that we set are maintained. CSR is included in supplier profile documentation, ensuring there is a requirement for suppliers to state their CSR principles.

The Environment

Environmental Policy

Ede & Ravenscroft is committed to reducing our impact on the environment by improving energy efficiency (carbon management) and minimising waste. It is our policy to operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation. We also aim to continually improve our environmental performance and minimise the impact of our activities by regularly reviewing our environmental policy. This will allows us to:

  • prevent pollution
  • reduce our carbon footprint
  • minimise the consumption and wastage of natural resources as far as reasonably and economically practicable.
  • ensure that consideration is given to purchasing environmentally sustainable products and services as well as considering service partners’ environmental credentials in the selection process.
  • encourage the use of travel options that minimise environmental impact

Carbon Reduction

We recognise that our operations create carbon emissions and that this has a detrimental effect on the environment. We continue to take action to reduce and minimise these emissions through a number of energy efficiency initiatives and investments.

Achieved to date

  • 100% renewable electricity purchased grid supply across all buildings since 2021.
  • Smart meter roll out across all our sites, enabling clearer visibility on usage and highlighting of areas for reducing consumption.
  • 100% Biogas purchased grid supply across all buildings with mains supply since 2023, saving around 150 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
  • Replacing standard lighting with LED lighting across the business delivering around 70-80% less electricity demand than previous lighting.
  • Fleet drivers have completed a Fuel-Efficient Driving course, which results in a 20% reduction in fuel use.
  • Stringent servicing regimes for our plant machinery to ensure optimal operation and efficiency to limit emissions.
  • Behaviour change initiatives across all sites to encourage energy conservation.
  • We are part of the ‘Cycle to work scheme’ and offer this to staff to encourage them to commute by bike.
  • We have begun installing Electric Vehicle charging stations at our sites for staff and visitors.

Ongoing Initiatives

  • 118.5 kW of Solar PV are due to be installed, collectively saving around 24 Tonnes of CO2 per annum.
  • ‘Carbon Literacy Training’ for managers - acquiring the knowledge and skills to lower carbon footprint, with typical realised carbon savings of 5-15% per person.
  • Our Fossil Fuel Plant phase out policy ensures we assess the latest low carbon technology when our existing plant machinery comes to the end of its useful life.
  • Our Fossil Fuel Fleet phase out policy ensures we assess the latest low carbon technology when our existing fleet comes to the end of its useful life.
  • We are in the process of setting our Science Based Targets.
  • Our Paper Policy ensures we will limit deforestation impacts through our use of paper.
  • Our Single Use Policy will guide our decision-making to limit the use/distribution of single use products, packaging or materials.
  • Our Waste and Recycling Policy guides our procurement decisions and how we handle materials at the end of their useful life.
  • Our Energy Efficiency Policy will help us make decisions on the plant and small power items we purchase and assist us to find energy saving measures across our business.

We publish our environmental policy and make our employees and suppliers aware of their environmental and social responsibilities.

Waste Management

Our aim is to continuously reduce our environmental impact via the application of the waste hierarchy. Waste is eliminated where possible. Where waste cannot be avoided, we aim to recycle materials towards achievement of our objective of zero waste to landfill, across the business.

  • Our production facilities are zero landfill sites
  • Our gown hire services are a circular process using re-usable delivery systems.
  • We have eliminated plastic from all of our outbound product packaging, which is also widely recyclable.
  • Our photographic processing utilises an on-site silver recovery system that eliminates the need for tanker collections and recycles precious metal resources.
  • Our state-of-the-art fabric cutting technology optimises material yield and minimises waste.

The Community

·  Charitable Giving

Ede & Ravenscroft supports a number of organisations and charities in the local community and nationally in a variety of ways, including cash donations, contributions of goods and services, educational sponsorships, grants and internships.

·  Local Organisations

Ede & Ravenscroft supports organisations, associations  and clubs local to its operating bases. 

·  The Arts & Education

We have a long history of supporting students and artists by providing grants and internships both in the UK and internationally.

The Ede & Ravenscroft Team

Ede & Ravenscroft invests in our team, their working environment and welfare. Our key employment principles are as follows.

·  Equal Opportunities Policy

We are committed to ensuring that no employee, colleague, supplier, applicant or associated worker is treated less favourably on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all staff, employment decisions are based on merit, qualifications and abilities. All employees must be dealt with equally, fairly, ethically and with consideration for their self-esteem.

·  Staff Engagement

Staff Engagement is critical to our success. To ensure that our team is fully informed about the business and have opportunities to participate in decision-making, we take the following steps:

·  Provide updates on our trading performance and relevant day-to-day issues.

·  Have bulletin boards to convey information to staff.

·  Hold regular meetings.

 

·  Skills and Training

Employees receive training and instruction on their arrival within the company. They are supported and encouraged to develop their own skill-set, both to enhance their performance and to ensure that they gain greater self-confidence and awareness.  Training, coaching and development are offered.  We have an internal trainee programme for tailoring, robe making and wig making and have engaged in a government sponsored  apprenticeship programme in IT services. 

·  Benefits and Rewards (reward and recognition)

All staff are paid a fair wage for the work they do which is regularly monitored against the general market rate.  In addition to pay, numerous benefits are offered to all staff, including a pension scheme, interest-free travel loans and generous staff discounts. There are also Long Service Awards.

Our Clients and Customers

Ede & Ravenscroft is a unique business and our sense of purpose comes from our motto Pete Excellentiam. This single founding principle informs and guides what we do, and extends to our staff and suppliers. We aim to provide an exceptional customer experience through all channels, whether this is in our stores, at events, online or by phone. Our team is trained to be knowledgeable, polite, professional, attentive, friendly and helpful. We aim to provide old-fashioned service backed up by modern systems and processes.

On those occasions where something goes wrong, we aim to provide and promote a generous response. We undertake regular ‘mystery shopping’ exercises and engage with customers and clients to monitor performance, and help us to continually improve the services we provide.

M W Middleton, Chairman