2568.11 kb - Compass Group

23 Compass Group PLC Annual Report 2007As a major player in our industry, werecognise our responsibility to bring on andchampion culinary talent and expertise.The UK and Ireland business’ work withHoxton Apprentice, a highly successfulsocial enterprise restaurant in London,demonstrates our continued commitment.The venture provides in-work support andmentoring and is operated by Training forLife. Their aim is to provide training andsupport to individuals from the localcommunity who have been unemployed ona long-term basis and to provide them witha chance to re-enter society. We are proudto have received a re-accreditation of theprevious ‘Big Tick’ awarded for the restaurantat the 2007 BITC awards.In July 2007, our UK and Ireland ESS teaminitiative for the rehabilitation of femaleprisoners also won a BITC ‘Example ofExcellence’ award. The programme providestraining and support, including the chanceto gain National Vocational Qualificationcatering qualifications, training in customerservice, health and safety and basic foodpreparation. Barriers to employment areeffectively removed, helping ex-offendersfrom HM Prison Drake Hall find work andmake a fresh start following their release.Since 1994, our Chartwells team in theUS has been in partnership with PioneerHouse in Peabody, providing an advocacyand support network to members of thecommunity with mental health illnesses.The programme provides assistance withemployment, housing and education, withthe transitional and supported employmentprogrammes offered by Chartwells, helpingto give these members of the community astable and productive work experience.An innovative approach from our ESS teamin Bogota, Colombia, resulted in a significantand sustainable improvement to the lives ofthe inhabitants of the economically depressedsmall town of Pueblo Viejo, Colombia.By teaching best practice safety standardsand handling procedures, our team helpedmake the town’s fish-breeding programmemore productive, resulting in increased fishproduction and better overall fish quality forcommunity consumption and external sale.DonationsDuring the year to 30 September 2007charitable donations were £1,162,000.We are members of the PerCent Club andthrough our Compass In The Communityprogramme and the fund raising efforts ofour employees, we have donated a total of£1.25 million in monetary resource anddonations in kind.In addition, a payroll giving initiative in ourUK business has generated more than£140,000, supporting over 87 differentcharities during the last year.AchievementsLike many listed companies, Compass’CSR performance is rated by independentorganisations that assess the extent towhich companies effectively managesocial, environmental and ethical matters.In 2005, we became a member of the UK’sFTSE4Good Index Series following its PolicyCommittee’s decision that we had met thecriteria for inclusion in the Index. TheFTSE4Good Index aims to measure theperformance of companies that meet globallyrecognised CSR standards and to facilitateinvestment in those companies where suchissues are a deciding factor for investors.As a signatory to the United Nations GlobalCompact, we are also committed to takingaction to support and uphold each of theprinciples it describes in relation to businessintegrity, human rights and the environment.A further index, the Dow Jones SustainabilityIndex, assesses companies’ corporateresponsibility strategies in terms of corporategovernance, economic performance andimpact on the environment. In 2007, wescored a creditable 71% overall score forour approach to community investment(2006: 65%) against a sector maximum scoreaverage of 75%.Charitable donationsin the year to 30 September 2007:£1.16mPerCent Clubthrough Compass In The Community and thefund raising efforts of our employees, total donationsin monetary resource and donations in kind:£1.25mPayroll giving initiativeby the UK business in the last year to:87 charities20072007