Accountability and sustainability
Social and ethics committee report
In line with the requirements relating to social and ethics committees as set out in the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No.71 of 2008), King III and the criteria of the JSE’s Socially Responsibility Investing Index, the group has established a Social and Ethics Committee. The committee acts on behalf of the board and is responsible for evaluating social and ethical responsibilities and making recommendations to the board thereon. The committee has all the functions and responsibilities provided for in the Companies Act. The committee members are set out in corporate governance, and attendance at meetings is set out here.
Terms of reference
The duties and responsibilities of the committee are set out in a formal terms of reference which have been approved by the committee and the board of directors.
The main duties of the committee include:
1. | Social and economic development including Stor-Age’s standing in terms of the goals and purposes of |
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2. | Good corporate citizenship, including |
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3. | The environment, health and public safety, including the impact of Stor-Age’s activities and services, monitoring of and implementing recycling practices, reducing Stor-Age’s carbon footprint, consumption of electricity, consumption of water and disposal of waste. |
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4. | Customer relationships, including Stor-Age’s public relations and compliance with consumer protection laws |
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5. | Labour and employment including |
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The committee is further tasked with:
- Reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of the company’s engagement and interaction with its stakeholders;
- Considering substantive national and international regulatory developments as well as practice in the fields of social and ethics management;
- Reviewing and approving the company’s CSI policy; and
- Determining clearly articulated ethical standards (the Code of Ethics) and ensuring that the company takes measures to adhere to them in all aspects of the business, thus achieving a sustainable corporate culture in the group.
Reporting on the committee’s areas of focus is set out in acting sustainably.
Mechanisms to encourage ethical behaviour such as the Code of Ethics and corporate citizenship policies were confirmed as adequate by the committee in the period under review.
Graham Blackshaw
Social and Ethics Committee Chairman
13 June 2016
STOR-AGE DURBANVILLE
Stor-Age Durbanville was the first self storage property in South Africa to be fitted complete with a solar photovoltaic system for the generation of its 3 phase power requirements. The technology went live in September 2013 and in late 2015, after the introduction of net metering by the City of Cape Town, the property was enrolled in the city’s programme.
The results of the installation have proven to enhance consumption savings by almost 80% on a like-for-like property basis.
Driven by our Core Value of Sustainability, we believe that every single decision or action that we take today, has a direct impact on all decisions or actions which can be taken tomorrow.
It means not always taking the shortest route and not always being focused on a short-term time horizon. Rather, it means that we acknowledge that what we do today, will have a direct influence on what we can do tomorrow.
We encourage the sharing of new ideas. We believe in preparing for tomorrow, today. We know that to remain the market leader in South Africa we have to continue to nurture and encourage a culture of innovation from within and find more efficient ways to do things.
We aim to build an organisation that is resilient, which can endure and adapt through multiple generations of leadership as well as multiple product life cycles.
A sustainable
organisation is
bigger
than the
sum of its parts.