ESG

BE.Spoke, as part of the BE Offices group of companies, is committed to responsible business practice through the careful consideration of the impact of our operational actions, processes and initiatives on our workforce, clients, suppliers, communities and the environment. Corporate social responsibility has long been among the core values of our organisation and is it central to the way in which we conduct ourselves as a business.

We are currently enrolled in the assessment process to become a Certified B Corporation and have committed to the SME Climate Pledge, Business for Clean Air and Business Declares.

We’ve aligned our CSR activities to the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda which outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals to guide companies in advancing broader societal goals. The goals are interconnected and address poverty, the environment and human rights.

Environmental

Our parent company, BE Offices, founded its Green Group in 2009, long before most businesses were putting sustainability on their agendas. The group measures and challenges every process in the business that has an environmental impact, to make every one of those processes greener, more energy efficient and better for the environment. The group monitors KPIs and reports monthly on recycling performance, waste management and energy consumption at every location in our portfolio. 

We are proud of our achievements so far which include switching 100% of our portfolio to renewably sourced electricity, our long-standing zero waste to landfill policy, carbon-neutral server hosting, motion sensor lighting, chemical free cleaning products and much more.

BE Offices also provides regular funds to an ongoing tree-planting scheme supporting reforestation projects in South America, Africa and Asia.

Social

Charitable giving is extremely important to us and to date BE Offices has donated over £1.5m to various charities. We support various causes throughout the year including annual fixtures such as the Paddington Dragon Boat Race in aid of COSMIC (Children of St. Mary’s Intensive Care), the Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning, the Standard Chartered Great City Race (this year supporting Futuremakers, a global initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion for young people in our communities), and our ongoing support for Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity for which, in 2019, we were recognised with the Community Engagement Award from the Flexible Space Association.

Our social impact extends to how we treat our staff, who as well as being supported with generous benefits and a comprehensive set of HR policies, are also provided with multiple health and wellbeing initiatives which include:

  • Height adjustable desks
  • Biophilic installations
  • Team socials
  • Fresh fruit 
  • Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
  • Mental Health First Aiders
  • Free gym access

Staff are encouraged to utilise their three paid volunteering leave days every year to support a cause of their choosing. From volunteering at a food bank to lending careers advice to students, working in community gardens to supporting SMEs with their own responsible business practice, we donate hundreds of volunteering hours every year.

In addition, all staff are invited to apply for our annual two-week, all expenses paid, overseas volunteering trip for two employees. Previously volunteers have worked at an orphanage in Cambodia, worked with street children and girls rescued from human-trafficking in Nepal, cared for animals and elephants at a sanctuary in Thailand, worked on a reef conservation project in Belize and at a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica.

Governance

We have a comprehensive set of policies in place to support our staff, clients and the people and businesses within our supply chain as detailed in our Social Performance Policies document. These include:

  • Anti-Corruption and Anti-Bribery Policy
  • Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy
  • Data Protection Policy
  • Disability in Employment Policy
  • Diversity and Inclusion Policy
  • Equal Opportunities Policy
  • Harassment and Bullying Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Public Interest Disclosure (Whistleblowing) Policy
  • Recruitment and Selection Policy
  • Safety, Welfare and Hygiene Policy
  • Supporting Positive Mental Health Policy

Sustainable Development Goals

The health and wellbeing of our staff is of critical importance to us. To this end we provide:

  • Free onsite gyms (at most centres) –   Corporate healthcare
  • Corporate dental care –   Cycle to work scheme
  • Mental health policy –   Mental health first aiders
  • Employee Assistance Programme –   Eyecare scheme
  • Quit smoking scheme

At our new Belfast location, Custom House, we are currently pursuing Platinum WELL Certification, a standard by which buildings provide the ultimate occupier experience, enhancing occupier health and wellbeing.

We are an equal opportunities employer with a female/male staff ratio of 51/49%

We champion gender diversity and are committed to further increasing the number of women in leadership positions across the business.

95% of our portfolio is powered by renewably sourced energy and we are currently working with our landlord on switching the last remaining building not yet to have converted.

Staff are supported via policies relating to anti-corruption, anti-bribery, anti-slavery and human trafficking, data protection, disability in employment, diversity and inclusion, equal opportunities, harassment and bullying, health and safety, information security, mental health, recruitment and selection, worker welfare, and whistleblowing.

We support The Youth Group’s Mentor Me programme to help young people in to employment. We have also provided them with free office space and meeting rooms. 

We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for staff and clients, where everyone is welcome.

Our support for The Youth Group seeks to help to address global youth employment inequalities to improve the odds for young people regardless of their background, education, gender or ethnicity.

We are committed to supporting projects and causes that bring benefits to our local communities via our volunteer programme which provides staff members with three days paid volunteering leave per year to volunteer for a local charity of their choice. 

We provide a volunteer ambassador to a City of London charity (Heart of the City) which supports SME’s with their responsible business practice. 

We provide a volunteer air quality ambassador to a City of London/Cross River Partnership scheme to combat air pollution.

We support our CSR Manager in her role as Co-Chair of the Culture Mile Sustainable Environment Steering Group in the City of London.

We’ve operated a zero waste to landfill policy since 2015.

95% of our portfolio is powered by renewably sourced energy.

We’ve made a £1m+ commitment to replacing lightbulbs with LEDs with 96% of the portfolio converted (as of August 2022).

We’ve installed motion sensor lighting and building management systems to reduce energy consumption.

We operate on carbon-neutral server hosting.

We took part in the Mayor of London’s pilot Business Climate Challenge to decarbonise London by 2030.

We’ve set ourselves an ambitious target to be carbon neutral by 2025. 

In 2018 we funded a two-week two-person volunteer trip to a reef conservation project in Belize operated by Reef Conservation International. 

In 2019 we funded a two-week two-person volunteer trip to a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica operated by Turtle Trax.

We’ve committed teams to regular beach cleaning activities along the River Thames.

In 2017 we funded a two-week two-person volunteering trip to Thailand to an elephant rescue and animal sanctuary.

Our ongoing tree planting scheme is currently supporting reforestation projects in 12 countries from Peru to Indonesia. 

We work and have worked with multiple partners who contribute to the SDGs and assist with the resilience and sustainability of our business.

  • Better Bankside –   Brook Green 
  • Camden Climate Change Alliance –   City of London Corporation
  • COSMIC –   Cross River Partnership
  • Culture Mile –   First Mile
  • Futuremakers –   Good Energy
  • Heart of the City –   Investors in People
  • Lord Mayor’s Appeal –   Macmillan Cancer Support
  • Mayor of London –   Pod Volunteer
  • Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity –   Reef Conservation International
  • The Youth Group –   TreeApp
  • Turtle Trax