The SkillGate ESG Policy provides a framework for our Environmental, Social and Governance goals and achievements.

We will review this policy annually to ensure that we are continuing to uphold its contents, and to update and review with any new initiatives.

Environmental

In 2023 we made a company-wide commitment to improve the sustainability practices of our business. As such we developed a sustainability mission for the business with input sought from all members of the team to ensure buy in from all the staff.

Mission statement for our green business practices is as follows:

Go Green Wherever Possible.

In response to this, so far, we have introduced:

• Recycling bins in every room with signage to encourage staff to use them
• We have invested in energy-efficient computers and use energy-efficient lightbulbs throughout the building and outside
• We have introduced a car-pooling scheme to reduce the number of cars driving to and from the office and encourage hybrid working so that staff don't have to drive to the office every day.

We are seeking ISO 14001 certification.

Social

We promote diversity, equality and inclusion.

• All staff are required to complete Equality, Diversity and Inclusion training on joining the business and every year thereafter.

We support a healthy work life balance.

• We offer flexible working to staff where this is feasible
• We have a 'family friendly policy' for staff with young children regarding flexible and remote working
• We give our staff space to connect and socialise with regular team lunches and socials
• In the summer months we run outdoor mindfulness sessions and organise team walks
• We encourage staff to leave their laptops in the office out of hours (unless working remotely) and do not provide them with mobile devices so that when they are not at work, they can switch off from work entirely.

We support local businesses and charities by offering our product, account management and maintenance at reduced rates or free of charge where appropriate.

We have chosen 3 local charities that we support with regular contributions and event sponsorships. We are also actively involved with our local community and participate, attend and support locally run events.

Governance

We are dedicated to ensuring governance across the company and have the following in place:

• We comply with regulatory standards and procedures in terms of employment and health and safety.
• We have extremely robust security and data protection measures in place and are ISO 27001 certified.
• We provide relevant compliance training to employees.