Our Corporate Social Responsibility strategy
As a leading provider of education, we recognise the role we play in our communities and the value of conducting business in a responsible manner. We have adopted values and expected behaviours that inspire how we act as a company and our corporate responsibility strategy aligns with these values, built around four key areas.
1. We aim to make a positive social contribution to the communities in which we operate
We recognise that every staff member has considerable professional and practical skills that are valuable to the communities we operate in. We encourage and empower our employees to engage with their local communities through volunteering opportunities. We support and promote fundraising activities and we work in our communities to raise educational aspirations. Some examples include:
BPP Employee Volunteering Scheme, offering working hours to engage in volunteering in the community including as governors and trustees to demonstrate leading by example’
A partnership with Leadership Through Sport & Business offering their participants free courses, skills development workshops and other training opportunities with our staff.
Engagement with Rise Initiative, recruiting staff to prepare and deliver skills sessions to schools in lower socio economic areas.
Staff volunteering with our own Public Legal Education sessions and Community Outreach sessions in the community.
Delivering the BPP Reverse Mentoring Scheme with external professional services firm promoting ED&I initiatives.
We also have a long established and award-winning Social Impact team. The team runs projects providing legal assistance over the telephone, through Microsoft Teams and in person and on several areas of law including employment, family, housing and debt advice. Some of our ongoing projects include:
Streetlaw sessions; delivering interactive legal education sessions to the homeless, in schools and in prisons, to over 10,000 members of the public in the last five years.
The delivery of the BPP Experience Project by our Apprentices and their firms to school aged children 14-16 about pathways into professional services careers and taster workshops.
The delivery of housing, family, welfare rights, consumer law, environmental law and enterprise advice in BPP’s own Legal Advice Clinics to over 400 clients annually.
2. We aim to find, support and develop great people throughout their BPP journey
We strive to ensure we have an inclusive environment where all colleagues enjoy their work and have opportunities to develop their expertise. We are building careers through education for our employees and students and are proud to provide our students with the very best education possible. We invest in continuous development and promote and celebrate the diversity of our workforce.
All employees can study any BPP qualification free of charge – allowing them to develop themselves and take the same path as our learners and clients. We have a range of leadership and management training courses to ensure that our managers are doing a great job. We have a future focussed Performance and Career Development approach to ensure that our employees have an opportunity to develop their careers whilst working at BPP.
\We are also proud to declare that we are an accredited Living Wage Employer. We voluntarily choose to pay the real Living Wage because we believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. This commitment applies to not only directly employed staff but also to our third party contracted staff. BPP have a plan in place to ensure that all our third-party vendors who supply people directly to BPP are paid the real Living Wage.
For our students, we recognise the financial barrier for many who would like to pursue a career in one of our professions and offer over £1m of Scholarships to high achievers who might not have the finances to go to university, but do have the ability, commitment and dedication.
3. We aim to minimise the impact of our business on the environment
Through efficient and mindful use of resources, we manage our impact on the environment in a responsible and ethical manner. We have a continuing commitment to comply with all environmental laws and regulations, and to achieve environmental excellence. By embracing technology and innovation, we find solutions that make our buildings, equipment and processes more efficient.
This includes:
Establishing a staff “Sustainability Champions” network across our centres, who take responsibility for driving progress and highlighting ways in which we can improve.
Embracing digital technologies – such as online conference rooms - that allow us to cut down on unnecessary travel.
Encouraging greener commutes through cycle to work schemes and transport season ticket loans, and when business travel is unavoidable, partnering with a specialist travel agency to ensure that public transport is the default option.
Discouraging single-use plastic – removing all plastic cups at all our centres.
Improving energy efficiency in our buildings; from LED lightbulbs to complex Building Management Systems, investing in modern air conditioning and heating systems that conserve energy.
Improving recycling provision; recycling all our paper, electrical equipment and batteries and committing to 0% landfill for all the London buildings we own.
Working with suppliers committed to sustainable products and practices, including the supply of Fairtrade produce, and utilising print suppliers who use recycled or sustainably sourced paper and water-based inks when producing printed books and learning materials.
4. We work with suppliers to run our businesses responsibly
We believe in the value of running a business responsibly and aim to do business with suppliers that share similar values, committing to applying standards of best practice throughout the goods and services supply chain and have robust due diligence processes in place.
This includes:
Centralised procurement systems so that we can exercise control of systems and incentives for suppliers to be sustainable, bringing environmental considerations in-to our procurement process.
Seeking transparency from suppliers on their own environmental policies and showing preference for the purchase of long-lasting items providing maximum value for money and minimum waste.