2022 Shortlist: Positive Social and Sustainable Impact Award

We are delighted to share more details of each of the shortlisted nominees, with a reminder of the category overview.

COUTTS & CO

Thomas Coutts, who founded the bank, had a motto: ‘To be, rather than to seem’. Three hundred and thirty years on, the firm still strives ‘to be’, whether that’s to be a great bank, a good employer and a positive force for the economy, people and planet. The organisation’s core purpose as a business is to ‘champion potential’.

Becoming the first UK headquartered private bank to become B Corp Certified was noted by the team as one of its proudest moments – in a real sense, evidencing its purpose in action.

Coutts’ goal is to create a workplace where all are welcome. It’s a bank that seeks to help people thrive and values differences, regardless of background or beliefs. Its team believes that creating a great place to work and celebrating diversity is crucial to success. As such, the bank has a Culture Plan that facilitates Coutts being a workplace where all colleagues feel welcome, and all can thrive. While recognising that there is more work to do, the team is proud of the progress to date.

KPMG

KPMG’s values guide everything it does. These are courage, integrity, excellence, together and for better. The firm believes sustainable growth is the only way to build a successful business and have a lasting impact on the world.

Last year, KPMG published the “Our Impact Plan”, which allows people to see where the company is on its ESG journey, and measures the firm’s impact on the planet, on its mission to drive prosperity for its people, communities, and clients, as well as progress in setting best-practice governance. KPMG is committing to report against the Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council (IBC).

The launch of Our Impact also included the publication of KPMG’s socio-economic background pay gaps for the first time and making it one of the first organisations to do so. To achieve this, the team worked alongside experts in social equality at the Bridge Group and hope that the publication of the socio-economic background pay gaps and setting a socio-economic background representation target allows KPMG to empower employees and its communities, drive sustainable change and encourage other businesses to do the same.

Part of the work that has since followed the launch has involved setting new, far-reaching diversity and inclusion targets leading up to 2030 as part of the “Our KPMG: a fairer future for all” project, including social mobility targets.

NATIXIS INVESTMENT MANAGERS

Natixis Investment Managers’ commitment to having a positive social and sustainable impact is demonstrated in many ways. As an active investment manager, it looks ahead and aims to make thoughtful business decisions designed to create outcomes that endure – for its clients, business, and communities. The team believes that it’s a civic responsibility to help improve the quality of life in the communities where its employees live and work, and in the UK office we work with Inspire! and Providence Row to achieve this.

Fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace is, meanwhile, central to the organisation’s commitment to social impact and to the creation of a culture built on innovation and diversity of thought. This is underpinned by its 5 pillars of governance, data & measurement, cultural diversity, gender balance and education & training.

A key diversity and inclusion initiative to be singled out is its scholarship programme, which aims to assist first-generation students from low-income backgrounds in London in their pursuit of higher education studies and career development in business and related fields. Other initiatives include mentoring and training programmes, which are made specifically available for women and underrepresented groups through its employee resource groups, as well as through our various corporate partnerships, such as that with Women in Banking & Finance.