A new Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) function for the Ideal Standard group was established earlier this year. In July, Chris Barrett’s appointment as Vice-President ESG/Health and Safety was announced.
Since then, Chris has been busy laying the foundations of our ESG strategy and agreeing what should be within its scope with the company’s board. Over the next four editions of The Bubble, we will be introducing ESG as a concept, focussing on each of its three strands and discussing what it means to colleagues.
Chris said: “We, like all businesses, are recognising and buying into the criticality of sustainability in our business and making Ideal Standard a meaningful steward in the topic of sustainability within our industry.
“We have seen some good work out there by other companies but we have also seen some areas where we think we can lead.”
He added: “What does ESG mean in the bathrooms sector? We have spent a lot of time doing some soul searching and understanding what that feels like to our business.
“We have concluded that if we want to be successful in this field there are certain things that are ‘must-haves’ and we are developing our plans in these areas.”
So why is ESG important and what does it actually mean? Like other businesses, we are becoming increasingly aware of our effect on the planet and its people, and we want to run our company in a responsible way that has a positive impact. Businesses are also now using factors like carbon output and social value in their decision making, meaning they want to work with other companies who are aligned with these values.
Chris said: “ESG is all about our business, how we do business and how we want to do business going forward.
“Since starting this journey, I’ve been so impressed and humbled by the enthusiasm of people at all levels and across the business to be part of this.”
The next edition of The Bubble, on 19 November, will look in detail at the environmental strand of ESG, including decarbonisation, recycling and innovation.