Helical Bar - Corporate Responsibility


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Corporate Responsibility

At Helical we recognise that our business activities impact on the environment and the wider communities in which we operate. Over the past year we have been analysing the way that our business manages environmental and social issues. This has led us to the conclusion that we must focus on developing a robust and strategic approach to embed environmental and social considerations into our business operations.

Our priority as we move forward is to ensure that Helical is positioned to minimise the business risks of any adverse environmental and social impacts from our investment, development and asset management activities as well as maximise the benefits that a strategic approach to corporate responsibility can bring to the business.

Our approach
To date, we have largely focused on environmental impacts, and the setting of annual targets to monitor and report on progress. After our last assessment of progress in the year to 31 March 2008, we took the decision to review our overall approach to ensure that we are delivering maximum impact through our work in this area.

Helical commissioned Jones Lang LaSalle to assist with this process, with two key objectives:

To ensure that our stakeholders’ priorities (particularly investors and joint venture partners) are echoed in our approach to managing corporate responsibility.
To continue listing in the FTSE4Good UK Benchmark Index (which we have been part of since 2001), using current and future inclusion criteria as a basis to inform practical action.

The review concluded that:

The targets in the year to 31 March 2008 were focused on individual assets which enabled us to drive operational improvements. Going forward, there is a need to bring these commitments together as portfolio-wide aims to ensure consistency and to gain strategic value from our efforts. In addition, we identified the need to broaden the scope of our strategy to include socio-economic issues.
There are a number of immediate and medium-term priorities that we need to address in order to meet and exceed shareholder expectations and drive true value from our activities in this area. These include improved reporting on environmental performance and employee management, and a clear policy commitment on climate change.
Stakeholders felt that the flexibility of Helical’s approach and business model was one of its core strengths and a key factor in its success to date; this should continue to be one of the key principles of our corporate responsibility strategy.
Stakeholders felt that there were a number of areas where we could make improvements in order to ensure greater consistency in responding to environmental and social challenges. For example, establishing a set of minimum environmental standards for our development and refurbishment projects.

As a result of the review, our key activities over the next year will focus on:

The introduction of aspirational strategic targets as well as minimum standards across environmental and social impacts that address our most significant business risks.
Improved measuring and monitoring of environmental and social performance.
Improved public disclosure through the Annual Report and on the Group’s website.
Delivery against our strategic targets.

Review of progress in the year to 31 March 2009
We continue to manage our environmental and social impacts in the belief that doing so can help us secure planning consent, improve asset marketability, reduce the operating costs of our managed assets and also mitigate the risk of future legislation and regulation. A selection of last year’s highlights are described below.

1 Employees
Helical Bar is committed to treating our employees equally and fairly. As at 31 March 2009, we employed 24 people including executive Directors. 38% of our staff are women. During the year to 31 March 2009 we carried out reviews to a number of our key employee policies to ensure legislative compliance, notably our equal opportunities, whistle blowing and harassment and sexual discrimination policies. We also implemented revised maternity and anti-bribery policies. There are no incidents to report against these policies to date. We continue to maintain high levels of staff retention, and consequently retain a highly skilled and experienced team. This also reflects our ability to continue to offer a competitive remuneration and benefits package. The table below shows a breakdown of the average length of service.

	Total number of people	Average length of service (years)
Directors & Management	9	14
Finance	7	7
Administration	8	5

2 Health and safety
Helical’s policy is to develop a culture throughout its organisation that is committed to the prevention of injuries and ill health to its employees or others that may be affected by its activities. The Board of Directors and senior staff are responsible for implementing this policy and ensure that health and safety considerations are always given priority in planning and in day-to-day activities.

3 Community investment
Helical takes a strong interest in community issues. Community engagement is an on-going concern throughout the development process, from planning until development completion. At our Bramshott Place development in Liphook, for example, we have signed up to the Considerate Constructors Scheme which follows a strict code of practice in relation to construction impacts such as noise, vehicle movements and community liaison.

The following examples also demonstrate how community engagement has benefited the communities that we work within:

We recently completed a wide ranging consultation for our proposed development at 200 Great Dover Street involving the local community which resulted in reducing the height of the proposed building, making alterations to the facade design to integrate it better into its surroundings and altering ground floor uses from retail to flexible mixed-use space.
In Exeter, as part of our planning application for the St Loye’s College scheme, we have been working closely with a local leisure and football club, located within one of the most deprived residential wards in England. As part of our s106 contribution we are discussing a package of benefits that will enable the club to invest in the future of its junior football teams through improved pitch and changing facilities.

At a corporate level we continue to support charitable causes. Over the past year we have donated Ł14,400 to charity including UNICEF and Land Aid. Helical Bar continues its involvement with Land Aid and our Chief Executive Michael Slade is a trustee of the charity.

4 Environment

Policy and objectives
We recognise our responsibility to reduce any adverse environmental impacts arising from our business activities. The Group’s full environmental policy can be found here.

The following environmental objectives ensure that we address our key environmental impacts throughout the property process:

In acquiring new properties, we will investigate pollution and other environmental risks as part of our due diligence procedures.
We will limit our consumption of natural resources, including energy and water in an attempt to maximise efficiency and minimise waste.
We will pay particular attention to good waste management practices, seeking to reduce, re-use and recycle before disposing of the rest according to the best practicable environmental option.
We will take care to protect landscape and biodiversity and try to improve the quality of these wherever practical.
We will be mindful of the transport associated impacts of our developments and investments and attempt to promote more sustainable forms of travel to and from properties.
We will integrate environmental considerations into the design of new and refurbished buildings, seeking wherever possible to achieve good practice standards.
We will prohibit the use of materials that have potentially hazardous effects, as well as tropical hardwood that has not come from sustainably managed sources.
We will minimise the risks of pollution or contamination arising from our activities and seek to operate a ‘good neighbours’, policy, particularly during construction or demolition.
We will seek to reduce the adverse environmental impacts associated with our own office management practices and procurement policies.
We will communicate effectively with our contractors, consultants and agents, as well as our tenants wherever practical, in order to help and encourage them to meet our environmental standards and improve their own environmental performance.
We will monitor and review our performance against our environmental objectives on a regular basis in order to demonstrate that we are achieving the standards that we set ourselves and ensure their ongoing appropriateness.

Practical action
Our approach to environmental management is pragmatic, practical and tailored according to individual assets or projects. We continue to comply with environmental legislation as a minimum and go beyond where it is practicable to do so. The following examples provide an overview of some of our environmental initiatives in the year to 31 March 2009:

Bramshott Place, Liphook: In partnership with Urban Renaissance Villages we recently received planning consent to develop 147 retirement homes to the Eco-Homes (2006) ‘Excellent’ Standard. The units will produce between 10 and 12% of their own energy sources from solar heating. Furthermore, water harvesting systems have been sensitively incorporated into the scheme to support landscaping. To reduce car dependency, we will be introducing a village bus to transport residents to and from the local shopping area.

Shepherds Building and 61 Southwark Street, London: Following an energy audit at Southwark Street which highlighted recommendations for energy savings, low cost energy efficiency measures such as lighting sensors have been fitted at both buildings in common areas. Larger capital investments have also been made to replace old plant and machinery including boilers, water pumps and pressure vessels which has resulted in improved energy efficiency.

5 Suppliers
Fair treatment of suppliers remains a key priority for Helical, particularly in challenging market conditions. The Group’s policy is to settle all agreed liabilities within the terms established with suppliers. During the year to 31 March 2009, the average payment period to suppliers was 29 days.

Board responsibility
Board level responsibility for employment, health and safety, community and environmental issues lies with the Group’s Chief Executive, Michael Slade.