Focus on
Corporate Social
Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is a core part of our ethos:
it’s embodied in our commitments to our employees, clients and suppliers and in the way we support our communities and protect the environment.

Positive Working Environment

Our people are our greatest asset, and we foster a positive working environment in a variety of ways:

  • Culture of Respect, Diversity & Inclusion - we place great importance on respect, diversity and inclusion; we want our workforce to reflect the diverse clients we serve, and we want to hire talented employees who come to work feeling valued, are appreciated for who they are and are free to contribute different ideas. We are committed to providing equal opportunities at every stage of recruitment and employment and to creating a working environment where everyone can thrive and feel a true sense of belonging.


  • Reward - we are proud of our high-performance culture which offers employees intellectual challenge, industry-leading work in service of our clients and meritocratic reward. Accordingly, we offer employees a competitive remuneration and benefits package.


  • Wellbeing - employee health and welfare is of paramount importance to us; we have an Employee Assistance Programme offering employees free and confidential help with personal or professional problems that could affect their home life, work life, health and wellbeing.

Environmental Standards

Climate change is a significant threat to our planet, now more than ever. We are committed to reducing our environmental impact by continually monitoring and improving our environmental performance as an integral part of our business strategy and operating methods. We encourage our clients and suppliers to do the same.

  • Transportation - we are determined to cut our carbon footprint by reducing the need to travel. We restrict overseas travel to essential trips only, promote the use of travel alternatives such as remote working, e-mail or video conferencing, and encourage our employees to use environmentally friendly modes of transport such as public transport or bicycles (purchased at reduced cost through our Cycle Scheme).


  • Energy Consumption - we are committed to reducing our energy consumption as much as possible; for example, most of our office lights are motion-operated and so automatically turn off when rooms are unoccupied. When purchasing new products we take their energy efficiency ratings into account, and we monitor energy use and water consumption on a quarterly basis, with the aim of reducing it over time.


  • Resource Consumption - we seek to buy recycled products wherever possible. We carefully track paper use with the aim of keeping it to an absolute minimum.


  • Waste Management - we only use licensed and appropriate organisations to dispose of waste and we are committed to reusing and recycling all paper and other waste where possible; we have recycling bins throughout all our offices.

Giving Back to our Communities

At bfinance we recognise the importance of contributing both our time and money to give back to the communities in which we operate.

  • Volunteering - we encourage all employees to participate in volunteering activities which benefit our communities and, to this end, we offer paid leave to participate in such activities. Volunteering activities typically take the form of volunteering at food banks, help for the homeless and other charitable activities. Whilst such voluntary work may take part on an individual basis, we have previously organised whole-team volunteering activities.


  • Financial Contributions to Charity - bfinance makes financial contributions to charity in two main ways:


    1) We make regular and one-off donations to charity. For example, we are an ongoing supporter of the Diversity Project, which aims to accelerate progress towards a diverse and inclusive culture within the investment industry. Other examples include our donations to charities supporting groups impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and to the homelessness charity St. Mungo’s.

    2) Our Charitable Fundraising Matching Scheme enables us to contribute to the charitable endeavours of our employees. Through this scheme we match the sums of money employees raise through sponsorship for registered charities of their choice.

Supplier Standards

We treat our suppliers with respect and establish relationships characterised by open and honest two-way communication. We are committed to using locally sourced suppliers where possible and seek to forge partnerships with like-minded companies whose core values mirror those of our own. We seek to ensure our suppliers treat their employees with respect, demonstrate a commitment to reducing their environmental impact, and adhere to the highest ethical standards. To this end, we ask any prospective suppliers and our existing suppliers on an annual basis to complete our Supplier Questionnaire to:

  • Confirm their commitment to a positive working environment including their standards of diversity and inclusion and compliance with the Equality Act 2010.


  • Confirm they take appropriate measures to ensure their own operations are free from human trafficking and modern slavery.


  • Confirm they have an anti-bribery policy in place.


  • Confirm their commitment to reducing their environmental impact.


  • Confirm the procedures they have in place for assessing the above factors in relation to their onward supply chain.


  • Where applicable, confirm they hold the relevant licences to perform their operations.

CSR Governance

We have processes in place to measure and provide management oversight of our achievements in relation to Corporate Social Responsibility. Specifically, our commitments are embodied in our internal Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, and our activities to monitor progress are reported to the Responsible Investment Committee which meets on a regular basis and reports progress to the Senior Management Team and the Board.

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