As a fiduciary our stewardship of assets affects both current and future generations. If we are to act in their best interests we need to ensure we do so in a responsible and sustainable way to enable us to meet the needs and ambitions of our current beneficiaries without compromising those of future generations. This responsibility also flows through to our staff, our wider stakeholders and to the communities we interact with.

To act sustainably is to understand the cause and effect of all that we do and to mitigate the residual effects to allow continuing prosperity. To act responsibly is to do the right thing. We value the relationships we have with our clients and wider stakeholders as well as those forged in our local communities. This also means that we need to translate a set of sustainability principles into the values and ethics of our business in a meaningful way that are reflected in everything we do. We do not underestimate the challenge of creating a more impactful and sustainable business and recognise that this means embracing environmental, social and governance commitments if we are to meet those ambitions.

We are proud of the community endeavours we have supported over the years as part of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme and we are committed to the community around us. We believe in making a positive impact through our charitable giving, community action and environmental initiatives. We pride ourselves in the standards we set which applies as much to the approach we take to CSR and ESG as it does to caring for our clients. In a sense our approach is increasingly complimentary which we believe will yield the most satisfactory outcome for all of us.

We have ambitions to make a real difference and through our actions demonstrate our commitment and leadership. That also means being clear and transparent about how we approach ESG and adapting how we do things. We have created some real momentum and will develop how we communicate and report on our targeted plans.