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outco esg

OUTCO ESG

OUTCO ESG strategy is rooted within the DNA of the business, underpinned by technology, with a clear focus on achieving best possible practice in each of our constituent business lines

Authentic, accountable, meaningful, motivational, and best of breed

OUTCO ESG strategy is rooted within the DNA of the business, underpinned by technology, with a clear focus on achieving best possible practices in each of our constituent business lines. For OUTCO, ESG has to be:

  • Authentic – from the heart, with innovation and ambitions that reflect our company’s expertise and skills
  • Accountable – driven by internal policies that trickle down from government targets and international stewardship codes
  • Meaningful – deliberate steps to achieve real, relevant, measurable goals
  • Motivational – for our people and clients, creating a partnership in which we participate together
  • Best of breed – ambitious goals and policies bringing in expert external consultancy and expertise

Environmental Responsibility

OUTCO’s environmental impact has a history of localised initiatives, including industry-leading research into alternative methods and adoption of alternative, low-impact environmentally friendly materials. Some recent initiatives have included:

  • OUTCO leading the way with research and use of innovative low-impact materials such as ERA tarmac solutions
  • OUTCO only uses electric salt spreaders, reducing noise, the use of fossil fuels and pollution
  • OUTCO uses sustainable white marine salt for applications, harvested from the oceans using solar evaporation
  • OUTCO Brand Ambassador and Polar explorer Mark Wood, trekked 470 nautical miles across the polar ice cap, highlighting climate change
  • OUTCO vehicles have a maximum speed limit that is 5mph below the speed limit, minimising fuel use
  • OUTCO production of the BIFM Good Practice Guide to Winter Maintenance, highlighting the environmental difference winter maintenance companies can aspire to
  • OUTCO has a further range of localised contract-specific environmental initiatives, from the transition to electric vehicles and drone technology through to hedgehog friendly campuses and all-electric hand equipment for grounds maintenance teams

OUTCO’s environmental ambition continues to expand, with an ambitious set of new company material targets due to be published in 2024, together with further formalisation of the ESG program.

Learn more about our environmental and sustainability goals.

Download a copy of our Greenprint report.

Social Responsibility

OUTCO is a national company with a local focus. OUTCO believes in supporting local communities and acting as a responsible force for good where we operate. OUTCO also believes in supporting and investing in its own staff with programs of training, opportunities to advance and above all, fair working conditions enshrined by a set of institutional policies. Some of our initiatives have included:

  • OUTCO developing a campaign to help keep children safe and lessen the social impact of school closures by creating an initiative to offer £50,000 worth of free grit bins and salt to schools
  • OUTCO colleagues from Leeds joining forces to raise money for HortAid, Perennial’s annual fundraising appeal. The team raised £10,000 by completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks, Yorkshire Tough Mudder and Yorkshire Marathon
  • OUTCO were the first Outreach Ambassadors appointed by the Princes Trust. OUTCO provided a two-week work placement orientation program, running once a month, giving an insight into each area of our business, how it operates and how we interact with our customers.
  • OUTCO providing employment to young offenders as part of this scheme, helping them integrate back into the local community once they have been released. We were shortlisted for the Employers Award at the Redemption & Justice Awards
  • OUTCO staff putting their best foot forward to help raise awareness and funds for Blood Pressure UK following the untimely passing of friend and colleague Kruger who was just 29 years old when he died due to blood pressure related problems.
  • OUTCO adopting best practice in HR and training, with a continuing goal of being an employer of choice. We employ from local communities closest to the sites that we service, ensuring that while we have a nationwide presence, we also contribute to local communities
  • OUTCO hiring out Donnington Race Track in conjunction with professional driving instructors for advanced skid and driver training for our operatives. This has led to a noticeable reduction in RTAs, keeping our staff safe

OUTCO social ambitions lie in continuing to be an employer of choice with opportunity for all, spreading knowledge and opportunity throughout deprived local communities and under-represented social groupings.

Governance

OUTCO governance is everything you’d expect from an enterprise level ISO-led corporation.

  • OUTCO implementation of ISO 14001:2015 which provides a framework for setting and reviewing environmental objectives and targets
  • OUTCO’s policies are renewed each year, to ensure that they continue to provide the ‘top down’ directive required to create an anchored driver for improvement across environmental and social areas of the business. OUTCO policies include:
    • OUTCO Corporate Social Responsibility
    • OUTCO Environmental Policy
    • OUTCO Quality, Environmental and Health and Safety Policy
    • OUTCO Diversity Policy
    • OUTCO Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy

OUTCO’s governance ambitions include an ESG/sustainability reporting framework for investors and customers, incorporating forward-looking policy and regulatory risk dashboards, taking into account future policy and regulatory requirements

OUTCO ESG

  • OUTCO has retained an external ESG advisory body combining direct policy and political experience across a range of geographies and ESG specific issues from climate change to human rights. The team includes members coming directly out of investment firms, government, NGOs and the UN. ESG-focused projects completed by the team over the past 24 months includes:
    • ESG policy writing for a mid-cap private equity firm and its portfolio companies
    • Due diligence on a plastic films manufacturer in the US
    • Benchmarking of carbon accounting schemes and emissions trading platforms
    • Advising a portfolio company on supplier engagement in line with Modern Slavery
    • Benchmarking of the performance of an oil major with the EU taxonomy
    • Due diligence on a bicycle manufacturer sourcing parts from Asia
    • Ongoing ESG policy and regulatory advice for a $200bn+ global private equity major