Stakeholder engagement.
We work closely with our stakeholders to understand and respond to any queries they
have about our business, and to maximise opportunities arising from changes in the
outside world.
Every quarter we provide an overview of the key opportunities and risks to the Group
CSR Committee based upon conversations we have had with our stakeholders.
This process helps us to identify our stakeholders. A summary for 2010 can be found
below
Stakeholder groups
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Key activities in 2010
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Future areas of development
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Customers
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- National Consumer Federation on latest consumer sentiment and trends.
- ABI Customer Impact Scheme to understand performance of our products against our
customers and peers.
- Customer research on making our products more understandable literature and improving
savings customers understanding of their investment holdings.
- Using Age UK’s expertise to bridge the generation gap between our employees
and customers in our Annuities Business.
- Using Macmillan’s expertise to improve our service to critically ill customers.
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Make sure that products continue to do their job of protecting people’s livelihoods. Spend
more time on understanding expectations at point of sale rather than just point
of delivery as the Retail Distribution Review changes the ways that customers buy
financial products. To continue to bring in experts from the Third Sector to improve
our service to customers in difficult and sensitive circumstances
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Suppliers
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- In 2010 we engaged 76% of our 40 Key Suppliers in 2010 on our sustainable procurement
policies. 100% showed compliance against them.
- We continue to validate and benchmark our supplier management approach with external
organisations such as:
- Financial Services Purchasing Forum.
- Our suppliers including Bureau Veritas, PaperCo and KPMG.
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We will increase the number of Key Suppliers who we hold to account against our
sustainable procurement policy from 40 to around 100. We need to understand how to
procure more effectively from the Third Sector.
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Environmental Commitments
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- Group Tax driven integration of Carbon Reduction Commitment tax system.
- External Audits of our ISO14001 Environmental Management System.
- Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index Platinum Rating.
- Carbon Disclosure Project.
- Climatewise HRH the Prince of Wales initiative on climate change.
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Continue to drive down core resources needed to run our business (CO2, waste and
paper) Integrate the Carbon Reduction Commitment tax system into our business processes.
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Employees
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- Over 2000 of our UK employees voted for their colleagues to recognise their abilities
to Make a Difference in their local communities.
- We have a relationship with the following organisation so we can benchmark ourselves
and to inform our decision-making on employee related issues:
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- Opportunity Now (gender).
- Employers Forum on Disability.
- Employee Relations Networking Forum (banks and building societies).
- Financial Sector Skills Council member.
- CII Life and Pensions Faculty.
- Corporate Leaders Council.
- 85% of our staff participated in the employee survey across the Group.
- Collective Consultation with our Union Unite and our Management Consultative Forum
(MCF).
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How do we improve the new psychological contract with employees to round out their
benefits package.
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Analysts
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We continue to use specialist analyst’s agencies to challenge our different
aspects and strategies on sustainability and to benchmark our performance and make
sure that we are performing against the issues that matter:
- Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index.
- OEKOM Prime Stock 2010FTSE4Good Inclusion - 93% Score for 2011.
- EPCI Investment Index Inclusion as a prime stock for sustainability.
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index.
- Business Commitment to Environment (BCE).
- Individual holders of Legal & General Group’s Stock.
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Although only a proxy, some of the investment led sustainability benchmarks and
external agencies provide us with an indication of whether we are getting the right
message across and campaigning on the right agenda. We will continue to use these
into 2011.
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Government
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- Over 60 responses to Government department proposals on areas that affect our business
including corporate governance, codes of stewardship, pension legislation, welfare
reform, retail distribution review and the development of the Green Investment Bank.
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We believe that we can play an important role in promoting private sector infrastructure
investment. We believe that there is the potential to channel long-term investment
to small and medium enterprises. This is particularly important given the current
difficulties for many in accessing capital.
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Campaign-related engagement
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Third Sector
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In line with our core campaigns we have worked with Key Third Sector Partners to
deliver on and understand Key issues in the marketplace.
Savings
- Money Money Money Educating 1,200 Year 10 pupils on in Schools to understand Gen
Y’s attitudes towards Saving.
- Credit Union Funding in South East for Marketing Campaigns to reach half a million
hard to reach consumers.
- Our Banks and Building Societies Division working with A4e in their Delivery of
Money Guidance Advice to 800,000 consumers in 5 years.
- Kings College/Angela Gould delivered Maths in Schools programmes to 27000, pupils
and teachers since the programme started.
- Consulting key organisations like Social Finance, Tridos and Alquity to understand
development of socially motivated finance markets and Social impact Bonds.
Health
- Macmillan Training on how to deal with Cancer Claims Better in front-line service
to our customers.
- British Heart Foundation – Joint workplace Health seminars to 800 major employers
across the UK encouraging workplace health.
- Climatewise collaboration linking Climate Change and Long-Term Health Risks.
- Understanding the long-term issues with palliative care funding with experts such
as Cicely Saunders Foundation.
- We established an Independent Claims Panel in our critical illness and life product
area, which is designed to review the decision not to pay out to customers for claims
before these decisions are communicated.
Housing
- British Charity Awards Finalist for our multi faceted campaign with Shelter on long-term housing provision.
- Suzy Lamplugh Personal Safety Day campaign reaching 27 million consumers highlighting the
issues that young people face when out on the streets.
- Digital Criminal and Next Door Stranger Campaigns reaching 46 million consumers highlighting
the role that social media plays in managing burglary risk and the importance of
local community support.
Pensioner poverty
- Elderly Accommodation Counsel, AGE UK and Grandparents Association views gathered
on Long Term Care.
- Age UK Training on bridging generational gaps between employees and customers in
our Annuities Operations.
- Elderly Accommodation Counsel Awards celebrating Housing Choice in retirement with
Nationwide reaching 3500 residents in retirement homes.
- Grandparents Association joint Lobby Day on Children’s Rights at Westminster.
- Mumbai Medicare van with IndiaFirst delivering 30,000 medical interventions per
annum.
- Age UK Handy Vans delivering 7,500 security checks in UK Homes.
- Leading the Longevity Swaps Market Place.
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We will continue to focus upon working with Third Sector partners to jointly issue
informed public affairs and policy campaigning on material issues 2011 will focus
on designing products, services and distribution partnerships that solve issues
or take advantage of opportunities in markets, with the Third Sector playing a role
in providing advice or influencing these developments.
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Investee Companies and the Investment Management Community
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- 170 ESG driven engagements in 2010 with UK Plc by LGIM.
- Worked with the UNPRI on the role that Passive Fund managers can play in the engagement
of companies.
- Business in the Community Research on the Value of Good Governance that has reached
an audience of 1.8 million influencers.
- Financial Reporting Council Combined Code on Corporate Governance.
- Increased combined engagements with other investors and NGO’s on Core issues
such as Deepwater Drilling and closing the climate investment gap.
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We have committed to engage with 200 companies on ESG issues (at least 20% of which
to include topics on Environmental and/or Social issues). We intend to strengthen
our research in identifying key medium to long-term ESG risks that our clients’
investments are exposed to and address them over time.
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Commercial Property
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- Engagement with Occupiers of Commercial Properties within Portfolio to reduce their
energy costs.
- Working with Better Buildings Partnership on key sustainability issues across the
sector.
- College of Estate Management on development of sustainability curriculum for the
industry.
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How do we further integrate sustainability principles into our Commercial Property
Portfolio.
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International Businesses
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- Private Benchmarking of Legal & General Subsidiaries in USA, France and Netherlands
via Business in the Community.
- Bureau Veritas Health Safety and Environmental Audits for overseas subsidiaries.
- Further disclosure of environmental, community and governance structure in 2010
reporting.
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For 2011 we have committed in our International business to further improve our
disclosure of these businesses in our yearly reporting cycle and improve BITC ratings
for these businesses by 2012 from the current average score of 30%.
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