COP reporting requirement

2013

Webhelp UNGC Report July 2013

Period covered by our Communication on Progress (COP)

From:     5 July 2012 To: 4 July 2013  Statement of continued support by The Chairman I am delighted to confirm that the Webhelp group is committed to supporting the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact. This is our first annual Communication on Progress, where we describe specific progress this year on the Environment and Human Rights.We are committed to integrating the United Nations Global Compact principles into our daily operations and to making progress every year on these principles, to sharing the philosophy with our stakeholders, and communicating the way we do it by publishing an annual report.    

    HUMAN RIGHTS

In context of a very fast development of the company, with 3 new countries openings last year (Madagascar, Belgium and UK), we wanted to ensure that we have a consistent social and environmental policy throughout the group.To do so we wrote down our CSR policy, shared by the Webhelp board and HR in each country.

Enclosed.

 

Principle N°1: Companies should support and respect the protection of international law on human rights within their sphere of influence

Principle N°2: to ensure that their own corporations are not complicit in human rights violations.

 ENVIRONMENTAL

Principles 7, 8 & 9 of the UN Global Compact are to apply a precautionary approach to environmental issues, undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility, and encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies. In the last year Webhelp have undertaken several new initiatives that demonstrate our environmental credentials and satisfy these 3 principles.

As an office based company, Webhelp’s 2 main environmental impacts are production of waste and CO2 emissions from consumption of electricity.

Our environmental policy states our commitment to reducing both of these, and also states our commitment to:- Comply with environmental legislation and best practise; Foster management commitment; Encourage similar standards from our stakeholders; Communicate issues to our staff through training and communication; Reduce & recycle materials; Prevent pollution by effective controls; Implement energy efficient measures. 

Principle N°7: Companies are encouraged to apply the precautionary approach to environmental issues.

Principle N°8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility

Principle N°9: to encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

 This last year we have implemented 3 big environmental projects :

In Kilmarnock we installed energy efficient lighting throughout our main call centre. Monitoring equipment showed that the new lighting was saving 60% in electricity consumption and should save £13,000 per year. This new LED lighting has improved LUX levels and reduced glare so should lessen eye strain.

In Greenock we installed new a new boiler management system. This system gives better control of the boilers by regulating and moderating when the boilers fire up. Energy savings have been shown to be 20% in gas consumption.

Webhelp retained Avob IT Energy Saver 5 tool for power management. The software is being installed gradually over 10,000 base stations across 8 sites in France and Morocco. This software has allowed Webhelp save 175,000 kWh in 10 months, the equivalent of 17 tonnes of CO2 and about 16 000 euros. When the project is completed, the savings will exceed 140,000 euros and 149 tonnes of CO2.After an audit of energy consumption made in December 2011 on a sample of 174 computer workstations, Energy Saver 5 was chosen for its ease of use and the Sleep Smart technology that automatically hibernates computers when employees leave the business and back on their arrival. This ensures Webhelp avoid unnecessary use of energy during the night.The profile of the energy savings policy was adapted to Webhelp: 7/7 activity from 7h00 to 22h00 with a standby overnight, while incorporating a daily reset to ensure that the updates of client applications are completed on time.Webhelp also installed a widget on each user workstation, allowing employees to monitor their energy consumption in real time.

 Changes planned for this year are to improve our recycling system. We intend to introduce bins for food waste to complement the existing arrangements and improve the percentage of waste we send to landfill. We also intend to purchase a new IT power management system, to allow power shutdown of all IT equipment, including computers, servers and desk phones. Our environmental management system is audited annually to ISO 14001:2004. This certification currently covers 7 of the Webhelp sites, with other sites set to be certified in due course.  

 

CONCLUSION

By this communication on progress, we reaffirm our desire and commitment to be a responsible participant.Webhelp recognizes that environmental, societal and business interests increasingly overlap, and that all stakeholders (employees, shareholders, social partners ...) must be aware of our CSR.  

Webhelp Groupe161, Rue de Courcelles

75017 Paris, FranceTél. : +33 (0) 1 44 40 33 40E-mail : contact@webhelp.fr