Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
• Employee Wellbeing
• Responsible Supply Chain

Environmental Achievements

• Progressing towards validated Carbon Neutral Company status, assessed against ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol Emissions Standard.
• Significant reduction in commuting-based emissions due to remote work.
• Minimized physical office space, associated power consumption and waste production.

Social Achievements

• Increased ethnic diversity to 20%, 7.6% higher than the UK population.
• 14.3% of the team identifies as LGBTQ+.
• Increased women in leadership positions from 28.6% to 38.6%.
• Launched Group Restricted Share Plan to incentivize employees.
• Improved employee retention rate to 73% (FY21: 86%).
• Ran two academy programs to attract and train new entrants.
• Implemented a performance management program.
• Provided free access to assistance programs for life and work issues.
• Trained mental health first aiders.

Governance Achievements

• Adopted the Quoted Companies Alliance’s Corporate Governance Code for Small and Mid-Size Quoted Companies.
• Established an ESG Committee.
• Published gender and racial pay reports.
• Maintains ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Inability to attract, recruit, and retain high-quality candidates and employees due to inflationary pressures on salaries and a shortage of skilled personnel.
• Loss of key management personnel.
• Employee action (fraud, theft, etc.).
• Non-compliance with information security, data protection, and privacy legislation.
• Breach of IT security, privacy, or cybersecurity risk.
• Undetected defects in software.
• Solution or software product errors or lack of service availability.
• Dependence on certain key clients.
• Competitor activity.
• Unsatisfactory investment decisions.
• Intellectual property infringement and/or litigation.
• Impact of inflation on workforce and operational costs.
• Macroeconomic risks (financial system instability, market disruptions, economic recession).
• Non-compliance with laws and regulations.
• Climate risks and failure to appropriately respond to sustainability concerns.
• Changes in government policy or spending.

Mitigation Strategies

• Focus on culture and purpose to become an employer of choice; streamlined hiring process; competitive compensation packages; employee engagement surveys; monthly attrition rate monitoring.
• Progressive and competitive Remuneration Policy; additional senior hires; regular review of operational and management capacity.
• Background checks and security clearances; regular training programs; systems, processes, and technical controls to protect against data loss; incident management processes.
• Review of new and updated regulations; targeted training initiatives.
• Regular review and improvement of systems and processes; robust testing process; disaster recovery plans; crisis management procedures; new Compliance and Risk function.
• Rigorous change control and software development processes; 24/7 monitoring of software and systems.
• Resilient and available systems; awareness of vendor/supplier capabilities; rigorous software development life cycle; critical incident and problem management processes; professional indemnity insurance.
• Regular contact with key clients; Executive Sponsor assigned to each key client; account teams and plans regularly updated; service reviews; expansion of client base.
• Significant barriers to entry; focus on delivering first-class services; monitoring of bid-to-win ratios; investment in new capabilities.
• Regular strategic reviews using customer and market intelligence.
• Non-disclosure agreements; awareness of client confidentiality requirements; patent searches; monitoring of third-party software; clauses in employment and consultancy contracts; background checks and security clearances.
• Regular forecast updates; incentivized leadership team.
• Service line structure; stakeholder engagement plans; regular dialogue with clients; research and marketing activities; regular strategic reviews; business continuity plans; disaster recovery activities.
• Review of draft and current regulatory requirements; impact assessments; monitoring of internal processes and systems; training and awareness activities; Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy.
• Implementation of ESG strategy; ESG Committee; CEO as Board-level sponsor; plans to record and reduce environmental impact and CO2 emissions.
• Expansion into new capabilities; diversification of client base; exploration of international opportunities.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Supplier Assessment Questionnaire used for each supplier.

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Assessment Questionnaire considers price, value for money, quality, reliability, flexibility, responsiveness, environmental management, social values, diversity, and financial standing.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: ISO 14064, GHG Protocol Emissions Standard

Certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus

Awards & Recognition

• #40 in best mid sized companies to work for in the Best Companies Awards

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced total carbon emissions from 463.52 tCO2e to 386.45 tCO2e
• Reduced carbon per employee from 2.5 tCO2e to 0.9 tCO2e
• Achieved carbon neutral status and committed to being carbon net zero by 2030

Social Achievements

• Increased ethnic diversity to 20%
• Gender balance of 33% women (higher than industry average)
• Improved gender pay gap by 7%
• Obtained social value quality (level two) accreditation

Governance Achievements

• Performed an internal formal evaluation of Board performance
• Obtained ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Unforeseen rephasing of work packages by certain clients impacting FY23 performance
• Budgetary pressures experienced in local government sector
• Inflationary pressures on salaries and operating costs
• Shifts in the political landscape resulting in client project delays
• Increased public sector competition driven by a slowdown in public sector spending
• Economic uncertainty and forthcoming general election putting pressure on clients

Mitigation Strategies

• Realigned headcount with current forecasts
• Implemented significant changes to capacity management and reporting processes
• Developed three new SaaS products for the local government market
• Strengthened senior leadership team
• Right-sizing of the cost base – improved billable utilisation, reduced contractor numbers and partner work, improved management information; and a reduction in spend on capability investments
• Expanding into new capabilities and diversifying client base
• Identifying opportunities in new geographies outside the UK

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Assessment Questionnaire considering price, value for money, quality, reliability, flexibility, responsiveness, environmental management, social values, diversity and financial standing

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: QCA Code

Certifications: ISO 9001, ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, Social Value Quality Mark (level two)

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Three new SaaS products for local government: Housing Repairs, Voids, Evidence

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved carbon neutral status for the second year running.
• Set an ambitious target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.

Social Achievements

• Gender, ethnicity, and other diversity measures remain materially better than the industry average for the technology sector.
• Launched a People Forum, comprising employee representatives from various parts of the business to foster open dialogue and address workforce needs.
• Staff attrition rate substantially improved to 19% in FY24 (FY23: 30%).

Governance Achievements

• Welcomed Neil Elton to the board as Chief Financial Officer.
• Achieved the voluntary target set for FTSE100 and FTSE 250 boards of at least 33% of board positions being represented by women.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Government procurement market for digital services slowed in FY24 due to uncertainty created by the UK general election and budgetary pressures.
• Building the software division took longer than anticipated due to market 'change fatigue' and extended sales cycles.
• Increased Scope 3 emissions due to increased on-site work and commuting.

Mitigation Strategies

• Focused on improving profitability through increased productivity and improved capacity management.
• Restructured the sales organisation to enhance access to senior client stakeholders and made pivotal appointments of senior sales leaders.
• Made changes to the software division structure and appointed an external board advisor.
• Implementing initiatives aimed at reducing carbon footprint, including more detailed research into energy use by staff and exploring ways to reduce emissions from the 'workplace home'.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Working with suppliers who share our commitment to sustainability

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• SaaS solutions aimed primarily at the Local Government housing market