Communication on Progress

Communication on Progress-Preston Rowe Paterson

Participant
Published
  • 04-Sep-2017
Time period
  • September 2016  –  September 2017
Format
  • Stand alone document – Basic COP Template
Differentiation Level
  • This COP qualifies for the Global Compact Active level
Self-assessment
  • Includes a CEO statement of continued support for the UN Global Compact and its ten principles
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Human Rights
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Labour
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Environment
  • Description of actions or relevant policies related to Anti-Corruption
  • Includes a measurement of outcomes
 
  • Statement of continued support by the Chief Executive Officer

  • Statement of the company's chief executive (CEO or equivalent) expressing continued support for the Global Compact and renewing the company's ongoing commitment to the initiative and its principles.

  • 4th September 2017

    To our stakeholders:

    I am pleased to confirm that Preston Rowe Paterson Australasia reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

    In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to share this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

    Sincerely yours,

    Gregory Sugars
    CEO & National Director

Human Rights
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of human rights for the company (i.e. human rights risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on Human Rights.

  • Preston Rowe Paterson has continued to train and educate our teams on the principles listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    All new policies and procedures within the business source he Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a reference document.

    We have also ensured our key supply chain partners are adhering to the he Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement Human Rights policies, address Human Rights risks and respond to Human Rights violations.

  • During the year we became corporate signatories to the Women's Empowerment Principles as promoted by the UNGC.

    During the year we released a Reconciliation Action Plan, documenting how we engage with Indigenous People of Australia

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • We had ZERO reported nvestigations, legal cases, rulings, fines and other relevant events related to Human Rights

Labour
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of labour rights for the company (i.e. labour rights-related risks and opportunities). Description of written policies, public commitments and company goals on labour rights.

  • Written company employment policies have been written to include references to Australian Government Legislation (Fair Work Australia) which in turn uphold the freedom of association and collective bargaining and the elimination of forced labour, child labour and employment discrimination.

    During 2017 we implemented new Health & Safety Policies to further strengthen protection of our work force.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions taken by the company to implement labour policies, address labour risks and respond to labour violations.

  • All Human Resource and Labour policies were uploaded into general access areas of internal company intranet and referenced in newsletters to staff.

    Minimum wage standards were reissued by the Commonwealth Government of Australia and we ensured that all employees within the organisation were paid in excess of the minimum standards.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates performance.

  • We have continued to diversify our workforce. As at the end of the financial year (ending June 30) our national workforce comprised 47% women and 53% men.

    Further more we measured ethnicity statistics for the first time with employees now representing 20 distinct ethnic groups from around the world, including team members from all all major continents.

    These statistics are now monitored and reported upon in aour annual report.

Environment
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of environmental protection for the company (i.e. environmental risks and opportunities). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on environmental protection.

  • Last year we Issued for the first time formal Environmental polices to our workforce that deal with sustainable Electricity Consumption, sustainable Fuel Consumption and consumption of recyclable goods used in our workplaces. This year has seen further refinement.

    A large target has been the desired outcome of reducing air travel for our senior exec team and has seen technology innovation to allow on line meetings between different offices and countries.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement environmental policies, address environmental risks and respond to environmental incidents.

  • Awareness training of key principles of sound environmental management continue. Our desired goal for our business to be 100% paperless by 2020 is well on track and we have invested heavily in new management software to utilise electronic storage of all working documents generated by our business.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates environmental performance.

  • We have seen ZERO investigations, legal cases, rulings, fines and other relevant events related to the Global Compact environmental principles.

Anti-Corruption
  • Assessment, policy and goals

  • Description of the relevance of anti-corruption for the company (i.e. anti-corruption risk-assessment). Description of policies, public commitments and company goals on anti-corruption.

  • Whilst we continue to believe isk of corruption and bribery in tour industry and countries of operation are low, we carefully monitor the situation.

    We have commenced doing business in Asia for the first time and our CEO has been to seek specialist advice about possible challenges operating in new countries with perhaps lower tolerence of corruption and bribery.

    We reconfirmed our commitment to the Ethical Standards Coalition and our CEO attended a workshop run by them during the year.

    Further development on Conflict of Interest policies took place and new policies were issued to our workforce.

  • Implementation

  • Description of concrete actions to implement anti-corruption policies, address anti-corruption risks and respond to incidents.

  • Awareness of all team members was raised during internal training.

    We have also implemented a specialised briefing session for all teams departing Australia to undertake work in foreign countries.

  • Measurement of outcomes

  • Description of how the company monitors and evaluates anti-corruption performance.

  • We had ZERO investigations, legal cases, rulings, fines and other relevant events related to corruption and bribery.

    Internal management audits saw NIL incidents within the business during the last year.