The Good Business Charter (GBC)

The Good Business Charter (GBC) is an accreditation in recognition of achieving commitments towards responsible business practice.

The 10 components cover employee conditions, the environment and the treatment of clients and suppliers. We have committed to achieving all 10 components of the charter to gain accreditation as part of our commitment to responsible business growth. The GBC aligns with our values and inspiration for future growth plans. Having been in business for over 40 years, we have built strong relationships with our people, our clients, our suppliers and our communities. We are dedicated to providing a safe, inclusive environment for our workforce that will support them in personal growth and success.

Doing business responsibly is important to us. We have a dedicated internal team that consider our environmental impact and how we can implement measures to become a more responsible business. You can check out our commitments here, view our dedication to the UN SDGs here or download our 2024 Responsible Impact Report by clicking on the image below.

The Good Business Charter commitments are:

Employee Well-being
The GBC requires clear, fair and transparent policies that support and encourage employee well-being. We have trained Mental Health First Aiders at each of our offices, find out more here. 

Real Living Wage
The GBC requires all employers to pay directly employed staff and regularly contracted staff the real living wage as set out by the Living Wage Foundation. We are an accredited Living Wage Employer.

Environmental Responsibility
The GBC requires businesses to commit to an environmental policy to demonstrate they are committed to reducing their environmental impact and continually improving their environmental performance. The GBC requires businesses to commit to an environmental policy to demonstrate they are committed to reducing their environmental impact and continually improving their environmental performance.

You can find details of our commitment to responsible business practice and our Impact Report here.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
The GBC requires organisations to evidence how they analyse and monitor their EDI data against a baseline, using it to address disadvantage and discrimination. We regularly train our teams on EDI to ensure we provide and inclusive and safe space for everyone. We are also part of Access Accountancy, a charity whose vision is for the profession to be more representative of the socio-economic demographic of our wider society. Their mission is to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of accessing, and progression within, the accountancy profession based on merit, not background.

Commitment to Customers
The GBC requires businesses to publish their commitment to their customers on their website, monitoring customer feedback and report the results to the partnership.

Prompt Payment to Suppliers
The GBC requires businesses to sign the government’s Prompt Payment Code. Read more about this here. 

Employee Representation
The GBC requires all employers to engage with worker representatives and to ensure there is a voice that represents employees around the boardroom table. We have an Employee Forum that facilitates this and enables listening and feedback at all levels.

Ethical Sourcing
The GBC requires businesses to commit to the standards set out in the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code for sourcing through a process of continuous due diligence.

Fairer Hours and Contracts
The GBC requires a fair approach to contracts, including fair shift scheduling and cancellation policy, and proper consideration given to contracts with guaranteed hours.

Pay Fair Tax
The GBC requires businesses to commit to paying their taxes, not engage in tax avoidance and commit to be transparent in their relationship with HMRC.

To find out more about our responsible business drive, click here.

Read our latest blog on sustainability here. 

To contact a member of the team to discuss our GBC commitments, click here.