Purpose and scope
Social value measures the benefits organisations create for their local communities and wider UK society as a result of how they operate. Hempsons is committed to creating positive social value and environmental impact. This policy sets out the values and principles that guide our efforts to contribute to a sustainable future. Our social value policy applies to all our operations and stakeholders, including partners and all staff members, customers, suppliers, and communities.
Our mission, vision and values
Our mission is to provide outstanding legal services that deliver the best possible client outcomes. Our vision is:
- to be our clients’ trusted advisors
- to be a great place to work
- to be a profitable firm
- to have an outstanding reputation in the legal and other professions
Our values illustrate what our clients can expect from us, and what we can expect from ourselves:
- Expert
- Insightful
- Commercial
- Trustworthy
- We care
Environmental impact
We recognise that our operations have an impact on the environment. Therefore, through the ISO14001 programme we commit to ensuring that our environmental management system:
- minimises waste and toxic emissions
- actively promotes recycling or re-use
- minimise the firm’s environmental impact
- measures our impact on the environment and sets targets for ongoing improvement
- identifies opportunities for continual improvement
Social impact
We recognise our responsibility to contribute positively to society. Therefore, we commit to creating social value through delivering programmes which:
- tackle economic inequality
- provide equal employment opportunities
- improve the health and wellbeing of our staff and communities
Living our values
Alongside these themes we run a “living our values” programme, which provides a forum for staff to suggest ideas and activities to be supported and delivered on the themes of community engagement, the environment, health and wellbeing, and health and wellbeing.
Governance
The management board is responsible for overseeing the implementation of our social value policy. Each theme of our social value programme is led by either a senior equity partner or a member of the senior management team, who is responsible for developing and implementing the programme and reporting on progress. All members of staff are responsible for complying with the policy.
Monitoring and reporting
We will monitor and report on our social and environmental impact regularly. We will measure our progress towards achieving our goals and objectives and share our results openly in an annual social value report that tells the story and evidence behind our social value numbers.
Stakeholder engagement
We will engage with all staff and other stakeholders regularly to ensure that their needs and perspectives are considered in the development and implementation of our social value policy. We will listen to feedback and incorporate it into our decision-making.
Continuous improvement
We will continuously review and improve our social and environmental impact. We will regularly update our social value policy and set new goals and objectives annually to ensure that we remain committed to creating social value.