We strive to be a responsible business that continually looks for new and improved ways to value its workforce, strengthen communities, and operate sustainably. We don’t just want to do our bit to achieve environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact; we also want to support our customers and suppliers to play their own part in making the world stronger for longer.

In early 2021, our parent company, LeasePlan Corporation, established a new ESG Action Group to identify gaps and opportunities in our existing ESG activities and to formulate a ‘Zero means zero’ sustainability strategy update. This followed an exhaustive review of our current policies and oversight, which was conducted in 2020 alongside a detailed survey of stakeholder needs and expectations.

The full ‘Zero means zero’ sustainability strategy update will be published later this year, and will address stakeholders’ material concerns while outlining a clear roadmap for how we will achieve net zero (scope 1, 2 and 3) emissions across LeasePlan by 2030. The update and its related KPIs will also be outlined in an annual, standalone sustainability report, to be published towards the end of the year.

Here in the UK, the strategy will be coordinated by our Environmental Management Committee, which comprises members of our Executive team as well as representatives from key parts of the business, including facilities and procurement. It is also be complemented by the work of our other ESG leads, whose roles range from community engagement to diversity and inclusion.

We’re always looking for new and improved ways to diminish the impact we have on the planet. We’ve already successfully reduced to zero the volume of waste that enters landfill from our headquarters in Slough. But our programmes don’t stop there. So far this year, we’ve:

• Embarked on an environmentally-focused office refurbishment, key features of which include: eco-friendly LED lighting; more energy-efficient lifts; flooring made from recycled materials; and British-made desking from an ISO 14001:2015 certified supplier, purposely selected to reduce import emissions. (Click here for case study) To ensure robust governance, we’re also introducing a new building monitoring system, which will oversee energy consumption and identify opportunities for savings.
• Either taken receipt of, or placed orders for, 98% of the vehicles in our fully-electric company car scheme. The remaining 2% of eligible drivers are new to LeasePlan UK and are in the process of finalising their EV orders.
• Initiated an in-house EV Salary Sacrifice scheme for all employees that don’t qualify for a company car, giving them affordable access to emissions-busting EVs.

We’re committed to helping our clients and their drivers to reduce their carbon footprint by promoting alternative-fuelled vehicles, particularly 100% electric cars and vans.

Some of the ways we’re supporting customers to go electric are through our:

• New EV Salary Sacrifice product, which helps fleet decision-makers and drivers meet their sustainability goals while capitalising on CO₂-based benefit-in-kind (BiK) taxation changes.
• Unveiling of LeasePlan Flexible as an EV-focused product.
• Creation of a dedicated EV portal, packed with easy-read guides, podcasts and EV reviews. We’ve even included a driver assessment tool and run-cost calculator, designed to help customers assess the viability of making the switch to EV.
• New EV helpdesk, manned by seven subject matter experts across LeasePlan UK.
• Delivery of EV training to every single LeasePlan UK employee, giving them the skills to support customers regardless of which channel they come through.
• Appointment of 40 EV champions throughout the business to provide additional support as and when required.
• Partnership with multiple charging solution providers, to improve access to workplace, in-transit and home charging options.
• Founding membership of climate change initiatives, including the Business Clean Air Taskforce (B4CA).

These UK-based activities are consolidated by LeasePlan Corporation’s actions on a global scale, which include its:

• Ground-breaking move into renewable energy; LeasePlan Energy is an innovative green, smart-charging initiative designed to reduce reliance on grey energy.
• Issue of two Green Bonds, which help tackle climate change because they’re used exclusively to finance and refinance battery EVs.
• Commitment to provide all customers, Europe-wide, with home, workplace and public charging solutions.
• Partnerships with innovative alternative-fuel vehicle manufacturers, including Polestar and Lightyear, as well as carbon offsetting initiatives, such as the reforestation enterprise Land Life Company.
• Founding membership of global climate change initiatives such as the EV100.
• In-depth analysis; recent publications include the EV Readiness Index 2021.

Going green isn’t simply about partnering with EV manufacturers to reduce tailpipe emissions; we’re also working hard to increase sustainability in other parts of the supply chain. Key initiatives include:

• Regular engagement with our supply chain manufacturers to understand what initiatives they’re bringing to market to improve sustainability and evolve their existing disposal practices. To use the critical category of tyres as an example, we now regularly talk with manufacturers about their plans to use more environmentally-friendly substitutes for natural rubber, the mass farming of which has had a detrimental effect on the rainforests of Southeast Asia. We also routinely scrutinise their policies around tyre re-treading, re-use, energy recovery and recycling.
• A new pilot procurement project for 2021, focused on our tyre fitter network, which requests much more in-depth information on their ESG credentials, as well as greater transparency around their long-term sustainability goals. Once successfully deployed in this area, we plan to create a benchmark, and will update our Supplier Code of Conduct to reflect this for all key commodities and risk categories going forward.

We’re currently six months in to one of the biggest transformation projects in LeasePlan UK’s history – a complete digital overhaul that will not only move the vast majority of our processes and systems online, but one that will ultimately increase the environmental sustainability of our business.

Specifically, introducing next generation digital architecture will allow us to:

• Better promote sustainable leasing options to our customers by making those products and services more visible on our online tools. For example, our new quote and order systems will be designed to highlight more eco-friendly vehicles. They’ll also allow customers to filter by alternative fuel type, and will feature items to help them make more informed decisions – including links to our new EV cost calculator.
• Help make paper waste a thing of the past by moving to an e-invoicing system and giving our customers access to invoices online anytime.
• Improve traceability within our supply chains, helping us verify the sustainability credentials of the partners we work with, as well as the products and services they provide.
• Train our brokers, suppliers and franchisees online, while also doing more of our business with other LeasePlan entities via this channel, in order to minimise travel-related emissions.
• Reduce our environmental footprint further by partnering with clean cloud technology companies that offer efficient, carbon-neutral platform hosting services.

Engagement is exceptionally high here at LeasePlan UK, as illustrated by our recent record employee net promoter score (eNPS) of +40.3. Initiatives that have fed into this achievement – as well as our 2020 accreditation with an Investors in People’s Health & Wellbeing Award – include:

• The mental health and wellbeing support we’ve provided throughout the pandemic. Using resources and toolkits from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Mind, and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, we’ve developed a raft of tools including: mental health and stress awareness training for frontline managers; regular Together Apart newsletters (daily during lockdown-1, now weekly); resilience workshops; and specific content for key events, including Mental Health Awareness Week, Stress Awareness Month, and World Bipolar Day.
• Our recruitment and training of a team of 10 volunteer mental health first aiders from across the business.
• Healthy eating and mood-enhancing menu options in our onsite bistro.
• The ongoing development of additional employee resources and training addressing topics such as bereavement, the menopause and miscarriage.
• Pre-Covid onsite personal health checks with a qualified nurse.

One key reason we’ve retained our Gold-standard Investors in People accreditation since 2010 – and were reaccredited against the new, tougher standard in 2019 – is because of the personal and professional development opportunities we offer to our employees. We’re committed to creating an environment in which all individuals can access the training they need to reach their full potential, which is why – in addition to the health and wellbeing-related development opportunities outlined above – we also offer:

• Workday Learning through our central learning platform. This is available in multiple formats including (pre-Covid) classroom courses, webinars, e-learning, and on-the-job assignments.
• LinkedIn Learning – an on-demand, video-based learning programme, providing access to 13,000+ courses covering business, creative and technology topics.
• SHINE – our 12-month leadership development programme, now in its fifth cohort. Having pivoted to offer the programme exclusively online in light of the pandemic, we’ve also introduced fresh topics for 2021, including psychological safety within a team.
• Aspire – a personal development programme designed to help high-potential employees progress into more senior roles. Half of our inaugural cohort from 2019 have already either been promoted or secured new roles elsewhere within the business.
• Essential Leadership Skills – a seven-month course that helps people managers become truly effective leaders, the most recent cohort of which commenced May 2021.

We want to build a culture where everyone can be themselves and where everybody gets an equal chance to make their journey count – regardless of race, ethnicity, ability, gender, sexual orientation, age or life experience.

We believe a truly inclusive organisation helps us attract and retain talented people. It also allows us to better understand our stakeholders’ needs, and enables us to develop an international mindset, thereby contributing to a highly effective global organisation.

To ensure our Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Policy is applied in a strong and consistent way, we promote best practice sharing, nominate role models, and set appropriate metrics to help guide us on the D&I journey.

Click here for access to our latest Gender Pay Gap Report.

Our focus on mental health and wellbeing doesn’t extend only to the LeasePlan UK workforce. We also aim to reach the wider community through our support of the mental health charity, Mind, which became our official charity partner in 2020 and for whom we’ve already raised over £22.5k.

In addition to fundraising for Mind, we:

• Have continued to support BEN – the UK’s only dedicated charity for automotive industry workers and their dependents. By making a cash donation for every LeasePlan UK vehicle disposed of at auction, we expect to net BEN upwards of £40k in 2021.
• Aim to resume our volunteer programme with the Slough Business Community Partnership (SBCP), post-pandemic. In 2019, we provided nearly 800 hours of volunteer time to the organisation – which supports community groups and projects in and around the town where our headquarters are based – and were subsequently named SBCP's Company of the Year.
• Regularly donate high-spec, end-of-contract vehicles to voluntary organisations. Recent recipients include the Southwick Park Co-Responder team at South Central Ambulance Service, and Thames Valley Air Ambulance, which has been using its van to operate a vital blood delivery and collection service. With our support, Thames Valley Air Ambulance has already been able to transport 16,512 units of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma, benefitting 102 patients. It has also used the van throughout the pandemic to collect PPE donations, helping ensure its crews have remained protected while working on the frontline saving lives.

We recognise that good corporate governance is vital to business success, which is why we adhere to the highest quality, financial, ethical and environmental standards. We are:

• Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
• A member of both the British Vehicle and Rental Leasing Association, and the Finance & Leasing Association.
• An Investors in People Gold Standard bearer (2019).
• Recent recipients of an Investors in People’s Health & Wellbeing Award (2020).
• LeasePlan holds the following ISO certifications: ISO 9001: 2015 (quality); ISO 27001 (LPIS information technology – security techniques); and ISO 14001:2015 (environmental management).

Our Executive teams and parent company, LeasePlan Corporation, are committed to upholding optimal corporate governance practices. You can access information on these principles and practices via the links below.

Code of ConductSupplier Code of ConductModern Slavery StatementGlobal Privacy StatementLeasePlan Complaints CodeResponsible DisclosureGender Pay Gap Report