Our annual performance review

An overview of our performance and key indicators.

OUR ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW

We are delighted with the progress we have made in the last year – especially in terms of the strategic direction for sustainability – and we take immense pride in our accomplishments. We have used recognised frameworks and feedback from external assessments to improve policies and processes, which has earned us recognition from various stakeholders, including customers, industry bodies and sustainability experts such as EcoVadis.

We are grateful for the acknowledgement of our efforts; it motivates us to continue to expand our endeavours towards sustainability. As responsible corporate citizens, we believe it is our duty to maximise our positive impacts and contribute to a better future for all.

ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE

Measurement & Targets

We adjusted our CO2 reporting period to be in line with financial reporting of our parent company, Navan Group, from 1 February – 31 January.
We performed a gap analysis of emissions data to identify the categories where data needs to be improved in our current global footprint, plus which material Scope 3 categories will be added in 2023.
In 2022 we submitted our first response to Carbon Disclosure Project’s climate questionnaire and look forward to doing our first scored submission in 2023. We are committed to being transparent and collaborative on our journey to sustainability. The feedback from CDP, along with EcoVadis, UNGC and ISO14001, will help us to continually improve in line with globally recognised best practice.

Our main internal focus towards improving our own environmental performance, in the last year, has been to review our existing data, initiatives and commitments, identify improvements and amendments needed and define our future strategy.

We are very proud that, in September 2022, we committed to set near- and long-term company-wide emission reduction targets to be net zero by 2050 with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). With this firm commitment, Reed & Mackay has responded to the SBTi’s urgent call for corporate climate action by committing to align with 1.5°C and net zero through the Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign. We have 24 months to develop and submit our targets to SBTi for validation, which we will do following completion of our global footprint. As a part of this commitment, our previous target of 50% kgCO2e/FTE by 2035, at the latest, has been retired and will be replaced with our Science Based Targets once approved.

Also in September, Reed & Mackay invested in a subscription for SWEEP, a SaaS carbon management platform that will allow us to have high-quality auditable data in our GHG inventory across our global business. Once we have onboarded with existing data it will enable us to widen the range of Scope 3 categories we capture. The platform also provides tools to model and track reduction initiatives and develop viable SBTi-aligned targets.

Net Zero

Net zero refers to minimising the GHG emissions being produced and then achieving a balance between the remaining volume of emissions and the volume of GHGs being removed from the atmosphere. A company that has net-zero targets must reduce its existing emissions and actively remove GHGs already in the atmosphere. According to Science Based Targets initiative guidance, by 2050 an organisation should have reduced its total emissions by 90-95% from its baseline year and can use high-quality carbon credits from carbon avoidance or removals projects to mitigate for the remaining 5-10% of unavoidable emissions.

SCOPE 1

Emissions come from a small number of company cars. We have now met our goal for all company cars to be Hybrid Electric Vehicles and look forward to the continued improvement in technology and infrastructure that will allow these to be transitioned to battery electric vehicles in the next five to 10 years.

SCOPE 2

Indirect emissions from purchased electricity. As an office-based professional services company, which leases property, we have limited control over our Scope 2 emissions. Primarily, we are working on influencing our landlords energy suppliers. Our head office property management company is a BCorp who supply us with 100% renewable electricity. In the last year, our Head Office in London has received a D7 Energy Performance Rating, indicating we have an energy efficient building with good energy performance, good insulation and efficient heating and cooling systems.

SCOPE 3

Indirect GHG emissions. As a result of business activities from upstream and downstream sources, not owned or controlled by the company.

Operations

Our emissions from operations, and overall Scope 3 emissions, are dominated by our business travel; in this reporting year 2022-2023 business travel emissions were four times that of the previous year. They now account for 94.5% of Reed & Mackay’s carbon footprint.

We committed to not exceed the 2019 base level for absolute emissions from business travel, and are still below that threshold, at 88% of 2019 total for this category.

Our People

Across the last year the corporate travel industry bounced back more quickly than originally forecast and we have been recruiting and inducting new staff on a weekly basis. Our staff numbers have more than tripled across the global business, which has presented challenges in some areas. We have not yet added employee homeworking and commutes to our footprint, so this remain as a target for 2023 along with the accompanying programme of education and metrics to track impact.

Our Suppliers

In 2022, our Head Office received the WELL Accreditation, which is a certification programme that evaluates and recognises buildings and organisations prioritising the health and wellbeing of its occupants.

Our Building Management Company at our Head Office improved recycling processes even further with the introduction of three new waste streams in 2022; food, glass and battery waste.

INCREASING ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REED & MACKAY

The Sustainability & GRC teams joined a UN Global Compact programme: Climate Ambition Accelerator. This is an initiative aimed at helping companies set and achieve ambitious climate goals aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. It provides them with a framework, tools and resources.

It offers a comprehensive and collaborative programme to help set ambitious targets, develop a plan to achieve them, then implement and report on their progress. A range of resources and support, including peer-to-peer learning, expert guidance and access to best practices, were provided.

Events team members participated in ‘Complete Sustainable Events’ Training run by ISLA. ISLA is an independent industry body working to accelerate the event industry’s transition to a sustainable future. The training undertaken by members of our events team contextualises sustainability with project planning, using ISLA’s universal best-practice framework for the event industry.

INFLUENCING OUR CLIENTS

Although our clients' business travel emissions are not part of our own Scope 3, they are nevertheless one of the areas in which our business has the opportunity to make a positive impact. We remain dedicated to supporting our clients along the different stages of their sustainability journeys through our products and services and sharing knowledge to educate and upskill.

We have continued to create a range of bespoke reporting dashboards, custom-designed in collaboration with our clients to suit their specific requirements. These dashboards allow clients to incorporate and track their progress towards CO2 reduction targets or to easily model and analyse potential CO2 savings opportunities. Our partnership with SQUAKE will further enhance the level of control and depth of analyse that clients can gain using these dashboards.

This year we have achieved a strong level of engagement with clients through these channels:

Webinars: Reed & Mackay’s Get Started With Building A More Sustainable Travel Programme, Business Travel News Europe’s In the Know Webinar, Navan (formerly TripActions) Sustainability Webinar
In person events: Sustainable Aviation Fuel educational breakfast event with Neste
Thought leadership: educational white papers
Sustainable travel blogs
Sustainability quarterly newsletter to clients
Sustainability consultation meetings with clients
Client roundtable on sustainability

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION OUTSIDE THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY

Reed & Mackay is proud to partner with 4ocean as a certified Ocean Clean-up Partner. Oceans cover more than 70% of our planet’s surface and helps to connect us all with a united focus. We’re partnering with 4ocean and pledging to work alongside the organisation throughout 2023, committing to removing more than 12,000 lbs (5,400kgs) of plastic from the ocean by the end of the year. We are also supporting our employees to join local clear-up projects on beaches close to their homes, utilising Reed & Mackay’s day-for-a-day scheme (swapping a day in the office for a day’s volunteering).

PERFORMANCE AGAINST 2022 ENVIRONMENTAL AGENDA

Development work on our technology products is progressing following our partnership with SQUAKE. SQUAKE will provide us with granular CO2 data across all travel products and a portfolio of carbon compensation projects.
Regular sustainability awareness updates have been delivered across the business. Sustainability partners have delivered training on the voluntary carbon market and Sustainable Aviation Fuel to relevant teams, also made available to all employees. Trade partners have also delivered educational training sessions to staff on the roadmap towards sustainable aviation. Discipline-specific external sustainability training programmes have been completed by HR, Sustainability and Meetings & Events teams.

3. We have launched 'R&M Champions', a global employee engagement group to champion and launch environmental and social initiatives. See the Real People's Voices section in the Inside Track chapter to hear from our Champions.

4. Our processes for onboarding suppliers have been reviewed. However, more resources and development are required during 2023.

5. We are currently expanding and uploading our global carbon footprint on SWEEP, due for completion mid-2023.

6. Our emissions-reduction strategy and formalised science-based targets will follow completion of our global carbon footprint.

SOCIAL PERFORMANCE

The biggest area of our social impact is within our business. It begins with the goal of a diverse workforce that reflects the world around us and continues in the way we support and develop our people. This ensures equal opportunities for advancement to all individuals. As we rebuilt the business following the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year, the unprecedented and continual high pace of recruitment has presented challenges, but also great opportunities. We are very happy with the developments we have taken advantage of.

Human Rights

Diversity and inclusion will be a main focus for our HR department in 2023, having recently identified several key objectives that will help us improve in this area. We will ensure we can report on diversity by tracking minority group statistics and gender balance throughout the business. Targets and KPIs are currently under consideration, but plans have already been made for the delivery of discrimination and harassment awareness training to everyone.

As a result of targeted leadership development training, we saw the percentage of women in top executive positions increase by 7% from 2020 to 2021; they remained at this level in 2022. Our latest UK Gender Pay Gap 2021-22 Report shows women earn 82p for every £1 men earn, comparing median hourly pay in the UK business. We're dedicated to equal opportunities and aim to minimise this gap over time. Our current gender pay gap can be attributed, in part, to a higher proportion of males in Head of Department and Executive Team positions.

POSITIVE IMPROVEMENTS AT REED & MACKAY

Talent Development & Opportunity

Launched our Global Aspire Leadership Academy in July 2022. This is a blended learning programme for new and aspiring team leaders that builds knowledge and skills through individual and group learning activities, as well as confidence and capability through mentoring and internal coaching. To date, we have had 55 enrolments in our Academy and 20 completions
We launched our new onboarding programme in September 2022, where we include new comprehensive online learning modules on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion. Our current NPS score at the end of Week 4 is 81
We launched two new Apprenticeships at the beginning of 2023 and currently have eight apprentices
76 internal promotions in 2022, 63% of these were female

Wellbeing

Extended our Mental Health First Aiders across the globe
Birthday leave offered, giving each employee their birthday (or nearest working day) as another day off in addition to annual leave
Thrive app: employees can use the app to manage their mood, better understand their stressors and find out whether they need support with their mental health
Increased awareness of flexible working opportunities with 100% approved or a suitable alternative agreed
Launched a Menopause policy
Regular wellbeing campaigns highlighting a range of issue and the support available to employees

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Working with Get 2 Talent recruitment, which specialises in sourcing diverse candidates
Reviewed the recruitment agencies on our preferred supplier list to ensure they are sourcing a diverse range of candidates
Launched mandatory Diversity, Equity & Inclusion training to all employees globally in November 2022
Launched a new Recruitment Policy focusing on providing equitable opportunities to all candidates
Witnessed an increase in those disclosing to be from a minority ethnic background by 6% globally
Targeted Gender Equality UNGC accelerated programme 2022-23 to help set and achieve ambitious targets for women’s representation and leadership
We are members of the UNGC Diversity, Equity & Inclusion working group in which members from the UK Network meet each quarter to focus on different DEI topics, share best practice and identify concrete actions to make progress on diversity, equity & inclusion. This supports our contribution to SDGs 5 and 10.

Internal Engagement

Weekly People Newsletter, including any people-related initiatives and introducing new employees
Monthly global business update
Monthly employee recognition scheme where employees can nominate their colleagues. Four runners up and one winner are picked each month and announced at the business update
My Voice employee survey launched in February 2023
Global company OKRs launched in February 2023 so everyone is clear on the company goals for the coming year and know how they can contribute
Safecall helpline launched November 2022. This is a confidential global Whistleblowing reporting line

Engaging With Global Social Issues

As a global business we also strive to be a responsible, ethical and engaged participant in the communities where we are located, in national conversations and in global social issues. We aim to use our voice and influence to improve economic development, quality of life and social connections in all of these settings.

We offer a Day-for-a-Day policy, which encourages every employee globally to take one working day per year to volunteer in their community.

2022 Walking with Ukraine: a step challenge that brought colleagues around the globe together to walk as many steps as possible throughout the month of April to raise money for charities supporting Ukraine. In April 2022 we raised £1,630 for the International Red Cross Ukraine Appeal.

In April 2023 we will be Walking with Turkey & Syria to raise money for the DEC Turkey-Syria Appeal.

R&M CHAMPIONS

We have created a new global employee engagement group, ‘R&M Champions’, designed to launch, amplify and feedback on, environmental and social initiatives.

This includes not only initiatives within the work environment but also those designed to empower our people towards make positive impacts in their personal lives. There are 30 volunteer members across seven countries in the initial group, which plans to meet monthly in 2023.

See 'Real People's Voices' to hear from our Champions

GOVERNANCE

ISO Management System Audits

All ISO Management Systems are audited annually by a UKAS-accredited auditing body. In the Summer 2022 surveillance audit, we received no non-conformances and retained all four ISO certifications.

EcoVadis

In 2022, we were awarded a 'Gold' medal with a score of 68, which puts us in the 94th percentile. This means we scored higher, or equal to, 94% of all companies rated by EcoVadis.

Internal Audits & Process Results / Improvements

In 2022-23, due diligence was performed on all suppliers onboarded by Reed & Mackay. All onboarded suppliers were required to complete our Corporate Governance & Quality due diligence, covering:

Corporate Social Responsibility
Sustainability
Ethical practices
Whistleblowing processes
Sanctions
Conflicts of interest
Court judgements and active lawsuits
Due diligence performed on their supply chain
Quality control functions

100% of onboarded suppliers align to our Supplier Operating Principles.

17% of onboarded suppliers in 2022-23 were deemed to have a significant environmental impact and were therefore required to complete Reed & Mackay's environmental specific due diligence questionnaire. All suppliers met Reed & Mackay's environmental requirements.

In last year's EcoVadis assessment, Reed & Mackay was in the top 1% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the travel agency, tour operator, reservation services and related activities industry.

In 2023-24, Reed & Mackay will be reviewing the criteria for supplier due diligence and the scope of sustainability in procurement processes.

Ethics

Due both to our strong policies on ethical matters and our extraordinary people in the section 'Key Sustainability Policies & Mandatory Training', we continue to have an exceptional record with relation to Ethical Related Attempts or Incidents and intend to continue this success into 2023 and beyond.

Policy Reviews & Additions

#1 Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Policy

Our commitment to equity, diversity & inclusion is at the core of Reed & Mackay’s values. We believe everyone is entitled to equal opportunity and our diversity enriches the communities in which we operate. We seek to promote an inclusive, supportive and respectful environment, which appreciates and values the experiences, perspectives and skills that we all bring. Reed & Mackay has a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination and harassment and is committed to confront and eliminate all instances.

We have chosen to move from ‘equality’ to ‘equity’, which is a subtle, but important, difference. When we treat everyone equally, we treat everyone the same, but when we treat everyone equitably, we focus on individual needs. In a diverse workplace, differences exist, and people require support in different ways. Equity asks us to acknowledge everyone has different needs, experiences and opportunities. 

#2 Labour and Human Rights Policy

Reed & Mackay is committed to employee engagement, human rights and employee health and wellbeing. As a signatory to the UN Global Compact (UNGC), we have pledged to incorporate the 10 principles of the UNGC into our strategy, operations and decision making and this policy helps to reinforce that commitment. This policy ensures we comply all relevant regulatory and legislative requirements regarding Labour & Human Rights, as well as providing information and guidance for those working with Reed & Mackay on how to identify and deal with Labour & Human Rights issues.

#3 Whistleblowing Policy

Reed & Mackay has always maintained a robust whistleblowing procedure. To further demonstrate our commitment to creating a culture of transparency, accountability and ethical behaviour, we introduced an official documented Whistleblowing Policy in 2022. The policy provides concise guidance on Reed & Mackay’s clear and confidential process for reporting concerns without retaliation, retribution, or criticism, including details of an anonymous whistleblowing hotline service engaged by Reed & Mackay in 2022. This is accessible to all employees across the business.

#4 Menopause Policy

Reed & Mackay is dedicated to providing a supportive and inclusive working environment for everyone. We recognise that women who experience the menopause, whether it be before, during or after this time of hormonal change and the associated symptoms, may need additional consideration, support and adjustments. Reed & Mackay also recognises menopausal symptoms can affect transgender and non-binary people.

We are committed to developing a workplace culture that supports workers experiencing the menopause so they feel confident to raise issues about their symptoms and ask for reasonable adjustments at work. Reed & Mackay is dedicated to providing a supportive and inclusive working environment for everyone. This policy is also part of Reed & Mackay’s commitment to ensuring the wellbeing and the health and safety of everyone in the workforce. It will also ensure the workplace does not make the menopausal symptoms and experience of employees worse.

#5 Cloud Security Policy

Reed & Mackay recognises the significance of securing Cloud Services and Cloud Solutions for maintaining the highest standard of Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (CIA) of information processed in the cloud. The policy’s purpose is to establish the key security principles Reed & Mackay must follow to protect its infrastructure and data in the Cloud.

It covers Reed & Mackay’s use of any private, community or public cloud, as well as 3rd-party cloud services in which Reed & Mackay data is processed, transmitted or stored. This includes, but is not limited to, cloud-based email, file storage, file sharing, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), etc. The policy also extends to collaborative cloud solutions used by Reed & Mackay, which may or may not store Reed & Mackay data.

Information Security

Expanded the Information Security Function from two to seven members, including dedicated resource for Information Security Compliance & Assurance and Security Operations, including Cloud and Enterprise Security
Implemented Netskope Secure Web Gateway, replacing legacy web security gateway Symantec
Retention of ISO 27001 and PCI-DSS certification
Implemented KnowBe4 Information Security awareness platform & content
Established a phishing simulation programme using KnowBe4
Implemented Abnormal Security – AI-based phishing prevention using machine learning to identify and auto remediate suspicious email patterns
Rolled out Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Number Matching to reduce risk of human error (MFA fatigue)
Established a Cloud Security Programme (dedicated resource, cloud security white paper, cloud security policy and cloud security posture management)
Established a revised Access Rights Review Programme

Data Privacy

Organised and ran a global training and drop-in 'Lunch and Learn' session in connection with World Privacy Day, to raise awareness about data privacy and provide guidance on best practices for protecting personal data
Updated all client contracts to include new Standard Contractual Clauses, which are designed to protect personal data when it is transferred outside the European Union
Developed client and sub-processor contract templates to specify data protection requirements
Streamlined the process for individuals to exercise their data protection rights, such as the right to access their personal data or have it deleted
Established a mechanism for reviewing Reed & Mackay's GSSC (Global Shared Services Centre) processes to ensure compliance with data protection and other compliance regulations
Refreshed Reed & Mackay's client-facing Privacy Policy to reflect current data protection practices and legal requirements
Implemented a new process for managing Client Data Access and 3rd-Party Release requests