Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Strategy
Acacia Training’s overarching Vision
Vision
We improve peoples’ lives through delivery of quality education and empower them to be able to make choices. Our vision is to make education accessible to everyone, ensure opportunities for career progression and for ourselves and our learners to make a positive contribution to modern society.
Maxims
- All decisions are made based upon the greatest impact on the learner
- We are a work family, every member contributes
- Mistakes are a learning tool – reflect, learn, move on, improve
- Consider how we can positively impact the world environmentally and socially
Objectives
- Acacia creates opportunities for learners to be successful in work and life through engagement and progression with learning programmes and work
- Acacia delivers impactful learning to develop effective skills, knowledge & behaviours by providing outstanding education.
- Acacia is a forward-thinking company that champions diversity, inclusion and effectively governs our environmental, economic and social impact
Values
- Respect each other
- Safeguard and care for all
- Everyone has a voice
- Do the right thing
ESG Strategy Mission
Have a positive impact on people, planet and prosperity locally, nationally and globally in aligning with UNSDG’s
ESG Strategy Objectives
- Use innovation to find new ways to improve life
- Align our Business for Good Strategy with UNSDG 4 – Quality Education
- Align our strategy with MBH’s strategy and UNSDG’s 8, 10 & 13 and supported goals 3 & 5
- Forge strong, impactful, strategic relationships which together have a positive impact
- Ensure a “do the right thing” culture driven by inspirational leaders
- Ensure responsible action is adopted by everyone within Acacia Training
- Endorsement of social and environmental principles throughout our supply chains
- Have appropriate ESG policies, training and targets in place that meet expectations
- Create positive outcomes and progression opportunities for learners
- Actively target inequalities to break down barriers for people
- Promote UNSDG’s with our learners, employers, partners and supply chain
- Link into local initiatives to support ESG locally and nationally
- Embed UNSDG’s into our curriculum
Acacia Training’s ESG strategy
Acacia Training focuses on impact when it comes to ESG. We deem compliance as the minimum requirement and always stretch to go beyond compliance to support effective, impactful action.
We fully recognise as a business leader, the value and responsibility we have with regards to our people and our planet. This is driven by the culture of the group to ensure as leaders we use our position for a positive impact on the world and the recognition of the benefits for ours and our customers businesses.
Our strategy has been developed by our people – they are ultimately the members not just of our business, but the communities in which we serve and operate. Their engagement is key to its success. We align ourselves with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we actively measure impact to ensure that whatever we do is has a purpose and is tangible.
Acacia Training has adopted the following UNSDG’s and demonstrate a commitment to supporting these goals through the work that we undertake.
Driving Goal
What is the goal with UNSDG 4?
Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
Why UNSDG 4 Matters
Education enables upward socioeconomic mobility and is a key to escaping poverty. Education helps reduce inequalities and reach gender equality and is crucial to fostering tolerance and more peaceful societies.
Other Key Supported Goals
What is the goal with UNSDG 3?
To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Why UNSDG 3 Matters
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being is important to building prosperous societies
What is the goal with UNSDG 8?
To promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
Why UNSDG 8 Matters
Sustained and inclusive economic growth can drive progress, create decent jobs for all and improve living standards.
What is the goal with UNSDG 10?
To reduce inequalities within and among countries.
Why UNSDG 10 Matters
Inequalities based on income, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, class, ethnicity, religion and opportunity continue to persist across the world. Inequality threatens long term social and economic development, harms poverty reduction and destroys people’s sense of fulfilment and self-worth. This, in turn, can breed crime, disease and environmental degradation. We cannot achieve sustainable development and make the planet better for all if people are excluded from the chance for a better life.
What is the goal with UNSDG 13?
Taking urgent action to tackle climate change and its impacts.
Why UNSDG 13 Matters
The climate crisis continues unabated as the global community shies away from the full commitment required for its reversal. 2010-2019 was warmest decade ever recorded, bringing with it massive wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods and other climate disasters across continents.
What is the goal with UNSDG 17?
To revitalise partnerships for sustainable development
Why UNSDG 17 Matters
In light of the consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen that strengthening local, multilateralism and global partnerships are more important than ever if we are to solve the world’s problems. The SDG’s remain the framework for building back better. We need everyone to come together—governments, civil society, scientists, academia and the private sector.
Acacia Training’s 5 stage Roadmap
Our ESG committee consists of members from across the team who are responsible for driving ESG through our organisation. Alongside informing and driving ACACIA TRAINING’s strategy, they meet regularly to share practice, knowledge and learnings across the business and collaboratively working with other businesses within the MBH Group. ESG is part of the due diligence process for the suppliers we work with and the committee’s ESG ambassadors work with the team to support them on their ESG journey regardless of their starting point.
Our 5-stage roadmap for Acacia Training is:
1) Identify – the Sustainable Development Goals that your business is best placed to support.
2) Commit – making high-level commitments and setting specific targets for these.
3) Act – businesses carrying out the good work to support the goals and targets.
4) Measure – progress against goals and targets.
5) Share – informing our employees, customers, investors and suppliers about our work.
Our impact on Developing Nations
During 2020, Acacia Training has continued its partnership with B1G1.com turning our business transactions into positive impacts all around the world. You can view our impacts here:
https://acaciatraining.co.uk/global-goals/
We have initiatives throughout the year where we turn our business transactions into positive action for the world.
High Level Commitments & KPI’s Driving Goal
Commitment
To positively impact people, planet and prosperity through the delivery of quality education
KPI’s
- 100% of our courses to include environmental and social knowledge and skills development
- 100% of our courses to have a robust career path
- 100,000 positive impacts per year for education in recovering and third world economies
Other Key Supporting Goals
Commitment
To support our employees and learner’s health and wellbeing
KPI’s
- Staff wellbeing survey score to be 80% +
- 100% of learners to be empowered to support their own health and wellbeing and that of others
- 100% of courses to have health & wellbeing embedded into the curriculum
Commitment
To work with businesses to create positive job and career opportunities for learners
KPI’s
- Work with employers to create 2000 job opportunities per year
- 95% of learners to have a positive career progression
- 98% of our apprentices to be on national minimum wage as opposed to the apprentice wage
Commitment
Actively engage with under-represented people and communities
KPI’s
- Invite 4 guest speakers per year from under-represented communities to raise awareness
- 1 Board Apprentice per year from an under-represented community
- 100% of our employees will earn no less than the real living wage
Commitment
We will work and co-operate with our stakeholders and partners to positive impact people, planet and prosperity
KPI’s
- 90% attendance to local, regional and national stakeholder groups to share information
- Arrange 4 business forums per year to share information with regards to ESG
- 100% of our employees be given volunteer days to allow them to contribute to local communities