Corporate & Social Responsibility Statement

Corporate & Social Responsibility Statement

Universal Asset Sciences (UAS) is a private limited company, incorporated in England and Wales with registered number 11066569 and our registered office is at 12 Easter Industrial Park, Ferry Lane South, Rainham, Essex, United Kingdom, RM13 9BP. UAS is the holding company and top level entity of all UAS group companies

Each company within the group, along with incubator companies of EyA Incubator Limited are expected to adhere to our CSR statement.

We acknowledge that running our business has an effect on society. In particular, we have a responsibility to our clients, our employees and contractors as well as the broader community in which we operate.

We are committed to taking responsibility for our actions and encourage a positive contribution towards improving standards for our clients and employees, minimising our impact on the environment and improving the quality of the local community.

By putting CSR into practice, we are committed, wherever possible, to:

  • Conducting ourselves responsibly and in an ethical manner
  • Creating a positive and supportive working environment
  • Supporting local communities
  • Improving service levels to clients
  • Acting fairly in our dealings with suppliers and other third parties
  • Minimising the impact on our environment.

Communication

We communicate this CSR statement to our staff, clients and other stakeholders by means of our website, publicity materials, and internal memos.

We provide our staff with training on our CSR strategy and seek to raise awareness of any negative impacts of our business and methods to reduce them.

Responsibility and review

UAS’s board of directors has overall responsibility for our CSR strategy.

All members of staff have a role to play in complying with our CSR objectives and are encouraged to make further suggestions in relation to initiatives we could undertake. If anyone has a suggestion, they should contact the Head of Compliance.

We are fully committed to the highest possible standards of openness, honesty and accountability. In line with that commitment, in accordance with our Whistleblowing Policy, we actively encourage all staff members who have serious concerns about any real or perceived departure from the high ethical standard that we set to voice those concerns openly. Our Whistleblowing Policy can be found in our Staff Handbook.

We are committed to ensuring our CSR strategy remains effective. As part of our ongoing commitment, our CSR strategy is reviewed by UAS’s board of directors at least annually to verify its effective operation.

Our CSR principles Our conduct

In addition to complying with applicable laws and regulations, we aim to adopt the highest professional standards and not to act in such a way as to compromise UAS’s integrity.

We actively promote respect between our staff members in their dealings with each other and with clients and other third parties.

Our working environment

We recognise that our staff are our most important resource. We actively seek to offer our staff a positive and healthy working environment and ensure that they have rewarding careers and job satisfaction.

We maintain a Staff Handbook, which sets out the rights and expectations of all members of staff.

We seek to ensure that all staff have access to the training they need both for their own professional and personal development and to enable them to deliver a high-quality service. Our procedures in relation to training and development can be found within our Staff Handbook.

We consider all staff members to be equal and we aim to create a working environment which is free of unlawful discrimination. In this regard, we maintain an Equality and Diversity Policy.

Partnering

We partner with companies that share the same philosophy and commitment to acting responsibly and ethically, and to serving the larger community in general.

We will not knowingly partner with organisations whose activities include practices which directly pose a risk of serious harm to individuals or groups, or whose activities are inconsistent with the mission and values of UAS. We ensure our partner team always incorporates environmental, social and governance considerations during the due diligence phase of potential investments.

We engage with senior management of our partner companies, both formally and informally, on a regular basis and when questions or issues may arise, through our representation on their respective boards. In all of these interactions, we have an open and constructive dialogue in order to ensure that we have a proper understanding of how the management teams of our partner companies manage corporate social responsibility in a manner consistent with UAS’s core values.

Suppliers

We are committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination and to promoting equality and diversity in our professional dealings with suppliers and other third parties.

We endeavour to enter into clear and fair contracts with our suppliers. We commit to the timely settlement of suppliers’ invoices.

Environment

We are committed to behaving responsibly and to minimising any negative impact(s) on the environment. We aim to minimise our impact on the environment by, amongst other things:

  • Minimising waste and adopting sensible recycling policies in respect of our paper and food consumption
  • Providing safe and comfortable working conditions
  • Encouraging staff to walk or cycle to work
  • Ensuring that electrical equipment and lights are off when not in use
  • Ensuring that heating is turned off or down outside office hours

Compliance

Legality

Our company will:

  • Respect the law
  • Honor its internal policies
  • Ensure that all its business operations are legitimate
  • Keep every partnership and collaboration open and transparent

Proactiveness

Donations and aid

Our company may preserve a budget to make monetary donations. These donations will aim to:

  • Advance the arts, education and community events.
  • Alleviate those in need.

Volunteering

Our company will encourage its employees to volunteer. They can volunteer through programs organized internally or externally. Our company may sponsor volunteering events from other organizations.