Governance and oversight

Download our impact report 2023 (17MB)

Governing our ESG responsibilities

Our impact framework is embedded in our strategy with regular Board oversight and scrutiny. The specific elements of our framework are reviewed through the standing ’Corporate Responsibility Committee’ of the plc Board.

Management oversight is delivered through the Group Executive Committee, which monitors compliance and progress against agreed KPIs and thresholds. An Executive Sponsor and subject matter expert are identified for and take a lead on each element of our framework. This structure is replicated in each Division with an ESG lead identified in each. Progress against Divisional strategies are reviewed by each Division’s senior management team.

Along with subject matter experts, Executive and Divisional sponsors form the ESG Oversight Group that maintains our impact framework, periodically reviews materiality following engagement with stakeholders, coordinates initiatives and monitors performance against agreed KPIs and thresholds.

Each element of our impact framework is embedded within how we manage our business, driven through the Serco Management System (SMS), our framework of policy statements, responsibilities and procedures.

How we govern each element of this framework is described below. For each element it defines what we mean and shows alignment to Group Policy, the SMS and Group principal risks.

People

Area	Safety	Health and wellbeing	Diversity and inclusion
What we mean	Our vision is Zero Harm. Our work is never so urgent or important that we cannot take time to do it safely.	We aim to have people who are healthy, offering them engaging and meaningful work opportunities that support positive mental health and personal wellbeing.	We aspire to have great people who are engaged and reflect the communities they serve.
Group Policy	Health and Safety Policy	People Policy	People Policy
Group procedures	Organisational HSE responsibilities Occupational health and safety risk assessment Zero harm engagement activity Incident and fraud reporting and management	Employee wellbeing	Employee lifecycle Recruitment Procurement of contractors and temporary workers
mycode	Staying safe, keeping well	Staying safe, keeping well	Respecting our differences
Strategic alignment	Safety strategy	Wellbeing strategy	Diversity and inclusion strategy
Group principal risk	Health, safety and wellbeing	Health, safety and wellbeing Failure to attract, engage and retain key staff	Failure to attract, engage and retain key staff
Executive sponsor	Chief People and Culture Officer	Chief People and Culture Officer	Chief People and Culture Officer
Group lead	Group Health, Safety and Wellbeing Director	Group Head of Health and Wellbeing	Group Director Talent and Organisational Capability
Divisional lead	Divisional HSE Lead	Divisional Chief HR / People and Culture Officer	Divisional Chief HR / People and Culture Officer
Board oversight	Corporate Responsibility Committee	Corporate Responsibility Committee	Corporate Responsibility Committee
Executive oversight	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group Health, Safety and Environment Oversight Committee	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group HR Centres of Expertise Global Wellbeing Oversight Group	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group HR Centres of Expertise Colleague Experience Centre of Expertise

Area	Human Rights	Skills and Development	Culture, ethics and values
What we mean	We aim to protect the human rights of all those we employ and others who use the services we provide.	We encourage everyone to develop the skills and gain the experiences to realise their full potential.	We are clear about what we believe in and the ethics and business standards and procedures we will operate to.
Group Policy	Human Rights Policy	People Policy	Business Conduct and Ethics Policy
Group procedures	Human rights assessment and management Modern slavery response and remediation Third party due diligence manual Speak Up issues handling Mandated Serco Essentials training	Employee lifecycle	Personal conflicts of interest Organisational conflicts of interest Gifts and hospitality Speak up issues handling Incident and fraud reporting and management Business lifecycle review team Mandated Serco Essentials training Third party due diligence
mycode	Respecting human rights and preventing modern slavery	Fair treatment	What we value
Strategic alignment	Ethics and Compliance Strategy	People strategy	Ethics and Compliance Strategy
Group principal risk	Failure to act with integrity	Failure to attract, engage and retain key staff	Failure to act with integrity
Executive sponsor	Group General Counsel	Chief People and Culture Officer	Group General Counsel
Group lead	Director Business Compliance and Ethics	Group Director Talent and Organisational Capability	Director Business Compliance and Ethics
Divisional lead	Divisional Ethics and Compliance Lead	Chief HR / People and Culture Officer	Divisional Ethics and Compliance Lead
Board oversight	Corporate Responsibility Committee	Corporate Responsibility Committee	Corporate Responsibility Committee
Executive oversight	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Ethics and Compliance Oversight Group Modern Slavery Oversight Group	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group HR Centres of Expertise Talent and Capability Centre of Expertise	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Ethics and Compliance Oversight Group

Place

Area	Service impact	Community impact	Sustainable procurement
What we mean	Our operations have a positive impact making a difference to the lives of millions of people around the world.	We support, respect and aim to have a positive impact on the communities we work among.	We generate benefits to Serco, society and the economy, and minimise environmental impact through sustainable procurement and the development of third-party relationships.
Group Policy	Customer and Contract Policy	People Policy	Procurement Policy
Group procedures	Contract Management App	Charitable Donations, Sponsorships and other Contributions	Sourcing Third party due diligence Supplier code of conduct
mycode	Working with others	Working with communities	Working with others
Strategic alignment	Business Strategy	Social impact strategy	Procurement strategy and Sustainable Procurement Charter
Group principal risk	Failure to grow profitably	Failure to act with integrity	Significant failure of the supply chain
Executive sponsor	Group Chief Strategy and Growth Officer	Group Chief Strategy and Growth Officer	Divisional CEO UK&E
Group lead	Impact Partnership Director	Impact Partnership Director	Risk and Sustainability Director - Procurement
Divisional lead	Divisional ESG Lead	Divisional ESG Lead	Divisional Procurement Lead
Board oversight	Corporate Responsibility Committee	Corporate Responsibility Committee	Corporate Responsibility Committee
Executive oversight	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team ESG Oversight Group	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team ESG Oversight Group	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group Procurement leadership team Divisional Procurement boards

Planet

Area	Net Zero	Resources	Protection
What we mean	Our ambition is Net Zero Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2050 with interim near-term targets in place aligning with the Science-Based Targets initiative.	Our ambition is to increase resource efficiency, contributing to the circular economy, reducing waste to landfill and supporting water conservation.	Our ambition is to protect the natural environment by preventing pollution, whilst supporting action on ecosystem restoration and delivering greenspace and biodiversity improvements.
Group Policy	Environment Policy
Group procedures	SMS Responsibilities - Environment	SMS Responsibilities - Environment	SMS Responsibilities - Environment
mycode	Looking after our environment and climate
Strategic alignment	Environment strategy, including carbon reduction (see TCFD report)
Group principal risk	Material legal and regulatory failure / Catastrophic incident / Health, Safety and Wellbeing
Executive sponsor	Group General Counsel
Group lead	Group Head of Environment, Energy and Sustainability
Divisional sponsor	Divisional HSE Lead
Board oversight	Corporate Responsibility Committee
Executive oversight	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group Health, Safety and Environment Oversight Committee TCFD Steering Group

Governance

Area	Data privacy and information security	Managed risk and effective controls
What we mean	We are committed to protecting the organisation and data subjects against attacks resulting in loss of service or a data breach (including personal or customer data).	We safeguard stakeholder interests while supporting strategic and business opportunities through maintaining a system of internal controls, risk management and internal audit.
Group Policy	Data Privacy Policy Security and Information Technology Policy	Risk Management and Insurance Policy
Group Procedures	Group Security Controls Manual Acceptable use of information systems Incident and fraud reporting and management Data protection Electronic searches	Risk management lifecycle Risk manager responsibilities and access Insurance Compliance assurance Investment Committee Delegated authorities
mycode	Keeping it safe	Doing it right
Strategic alignment	DPO and IT security strategies	Enterprise Risk Management strategy
Group principal risk	Major information security breach (including cyber-attack and data protection risk)	Supports all Group risks
Executive sponsor	Information Security – Group Chief Executive Data Privacy – Group General Counsel	Group Executive Committee (covering all areas)
Group lead	Information Technology – Group Chief Information Officer Information Security – Group Chief Information Security Officer Data Privacy – Data Protection Officer	Director Enterprise Risk MD, Group Operations Group Financial Controller
Divisional lead	Divisional DPO Divisional Chief Information Security Officer	Divisional General Counsel
Board oversight	Risk Committee	Audit Committee Risk Committee
Executive oversight	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Group Information Technology Leadership forum Group Security Leadership Forum Global Data Protection Governance Group	Group Executive Committee Divisional Executive Management Team Global Enterprise Risk Management quarterly review SMS Steering Group

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