The Partners and Senior Management of the HW Group recognise the importance of approaching their responsibilities for corporate social responsibility in a co-ordinated and committed fashion.

Consultation with partners and employees had allowed us to develop a corporate social responsibility programme comprises of:

Our work in the community
Our environmental policy
Our ethical policy

Each of the partners has committed to bring this combined corporate social responsibility statement to the attention of all members of staff through local communication channels and via our national communication network.  In addition it has been agreed that this policy will be reviewed and measured annually to ensure that our commitment to environmental responsibility, the community, and our ethical policy are as up to date and forward thinking as possible.

Our Work in the Community

Involvement in the local community is of paramount importance to the HW Group - we consider ourselves as community accountants being committed to businesses in the local area, hence our wide geographical presence around the UK.

At HW we believe in helping the local community is not just something we choose to do but is actually an important part of our business.

We understand that local businesses and communities are closely linked and that we can have a significant impact on communities as a whole.  The HW Group plays an active role in contributing to these communities both through direct financial support and through the support of our partners and staff who take part in activities organised both by the firm and by themselves.  Our partners and staff are involved in regional Chambers of Commerce, local council initiatives and other business group activities.  We also provide work placements for local students and support for educational establishments.

The firm supports a number of national and local charities with both time and money. The firm supports payroll giving and many of the partners provide time and advice free of charge to local groups and organisations.

Our objective is to encourage our partners, management and staff to be able to play a significant part in the development of the local communities.

Our Environmental Policy

The partners and management are committed to achieving a real and sustainable positive impact on the broader community in which we live and work.  We believe that it is essential that both as a firm and as individuals we should operate in an environmentally conscious manner. Our objective is to minimise the impact of our business activity on the environment, wherever possible.  This includes ensuring that our suppliers do likewise and that we persuade our clients to consider environmental matters wherever possible.

A review has concluded that the most significant areas of impact we have on the environment are use of natural resources.  Our significant natural resource usage include power, water, travel, and consumables such as paper and IT equipment.  

We recognise our impact on the environment comes from:

• Electricity to heat, cool and power office equipment.

• Gas for heating

• Travel by air, road and rail to visit clients and conduct internal meetings.

• Water in offices used for a variety of purposes.

• Resources such as paper.

• Waste including paper, plastic and consumable IT equipment.

Our objectives are to:

• Evaluate future energy usage to see how we can use low energy systems

• Avoid unnecessary travel on business by the use of video conferencing and telephone communication where possible.

• Use the most environmentally friendly mode of transport, where necessary, consistent with business needs.

• Reduce overall the resources we use.

• Aim for a paper free office culture.

• Reduce our letters and correspondence by 50% in the coming two years, where alternative electronic mechanisms can be used.

• Minimise our hard copy marketing by 50% in the coming two years.

• By 2009 all offices will use either recycled or FSC paper for all hard copy correspondence, wherever possible.

• Consider environmental criteria when choosing services and goods.

Fundamentally we will reduce our impact on the environment and ask that our staff, suppliers and clients to do likewise.

Our Ethical Policy

This goes beyond the legal requirements of Chartered Accountants where we need to maintain the highest level of professional integrity with regard to our clients, staff and professional regulators, along with others with whom we interact.  We set our standards in excess of regulation with regard to client confidentiality, our objectivity and our independence

The HW Group also supports the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights through its business practices.  This means that we support freedom from torture, unjustified imprisonment without fair trial and any other oppression.  In addition, we support the right of any individual to have freedom of expression and religion, political representation or in respect of any other matter.

Accordingly, HW Group will not support or work with organisations which fail to uphold basic human rights within their influence, which are involved in the manufacture or transfer to an oppressive regime, or are involved in the manufacture of equipment used in the violation of human rights.  Neither will the HW Group support or work with organisations which are involved in the funding or carrying out of terrorist activities.

In addition, the HW Group will not provide support or work to organisations which do not accept the most widely accepted standards for minimum labour rights or which do not cover the use of underage or forced labour.

We will not tolerate discrimination, bullying or any other kind of harassment within our business community.  The concept of ’mutual respect’ will be one of our guiding principles.  Employees are expected to abide by company rules and to be honest and considerate in their various roles.  
Internal procedures are established to report grievances or suspected inappropriate behaviour to other individuals or organisations. Equally the company will treat dishonest actions and accusations seriously; this may result in disciplinary action in accordance with company rules and disciplinary procedures.

The Future

The HW board will review this document annually and consult both partners and employees in order to evaluate this strategy and update and improve our policies on an ongoing basis.
As part of this process, we will monitor our progress against our objectives to ensure compliance by our offices and we will continue to set new objectives for the future.