Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is embedded across many elements of our business, from corporate fundraising to responsible retailing. Our CSR strategy seeks to involve our employees and Partners in making our business, and in turn, their businesses, more ethical and environmentally friendly.
Key CSR Achievements:
- We’ve donated over £36,700 in the last three years to a wide range of local causes through our Punch Community Promise initiative.
- Our employees support a huge range of national charities and those close to their hearts from Children In Need, Comic Relief, Marie Curie Cancer to Macmillan.
- Our Partners raise hundreds of thousands for worthy causes across the UK and are one of the biggest contributors to Pub Aid.
- Over 700 Partners have attended our Responsible Retailing training in the last eighteen months.
- We’re working towards a position of zero general waste at our Burton-upon-Trent Support Centre.
Environmental Impacts
With a portfolio of 4,300 pubs as well as our offices, and a nationwide distribution and delivery system involving hundreds of vehicles, we recognise that the carbon footprint of our business represents a major environmental impact. We are tackling our environmental impacts through carbon management, waste reduction and sustainable procurement.
Carbon management
We are absolutely committed to reducing our carbon footprint. At our Burton based Support Centre we recycle a wide range of items and carefully monitor our energy usage to minimise wastage. We provide priority parking spaces for members of our office car share scheme, incentivizing those that can, to travel to work together.
We also have a regular programme of internal communication designed to encourage team members to think about their energy usage and reminding them of our key aim to reduce our carbon footprint.
Effective carbon management and the importance of CSR also forms part of the professional training our Partnership Development Managers undertake. They in turn relay these messages to our network of Partners. We also provide downloadable materials for Partners on effective carbon management and waste reduction.
Waste reduction
We have recently made changes to the way we manage our general waste and dramatically increased the amount we recycle at our Burton based Support Centre. Ultimately we’re aiming to reach a position of zero general waste where everything is recycled and nothing goes to land fill.
We are also committed to helping our Partners reduce their waste where possible. We work closely with SITA UK – a recycling and resource management company who in turn work with a number of our Partners. SITA deliver solutions to help their clients reduce the impact of their waste on the environment through a network of recycling, composting, energy-from-waste and landfill facilities.
Our Punch Buying Club, which has over 3,200 regular users, allows Partners to place their orders online which allows ordering ‘just in time’ and ‘just enough’ thus avoiding unnecessary waste. Our Buying Club Partners also benefit from ‘green’ online accounting.
Sustainable procurement
We have a nationwide team of Catering Development Managers who work closely with our Partners to help them introduce and enhance their food offers. We are passionate about local providence and, where appropriate, the team will encourage Partners to source their produce from local sources and reduce their food miles.
Punch is also able to leverage its supply chain from two key major suppliers – Brakes and 3663 – to ensure sustainable production and sources.
Social Impacts
Punch Taverns is committed to ensuring that the social impact of our business is a positive one. This means being driven by the principles of responsible retailing of alcohol, supporting good causes and supporting local communities.
Responsible retailing
We have a dedicated Risk Management team in place to ensure that our pubs operate responsibly and to the highest standards. We strive to ensure that our pubs are not operating irresponsible drinks promotions, or serving underage drinkers or those under the influence of alcohol.
The Punch Buying Club also has a section on Risk Management providing Partners with a wide range of downloadable educational tools, advice and pub friendly materials which can also be used by pub managers and team members.
As Portman Group signatories and supporters of Drinkaware Punch does not condone the irresponsible promotion of alcohol, and has actively supported the ‘Why let good times go bad?’ campaign to tackle binge drinking amongst 18 to 25 year olds.
Responsible retailing forms a key part of our Partner training, and in the last eighteen months over 700 Partners completed our responsible retailing training. We also provide a clear guidance on current legislation and best practice to our Partners, backed up by the support of our Risk Management Team.
We have produced a ‘Licensing Box’ to help our Scottish Partners navigate the legislation specific to their region. The box contains materials ranging from incident/accident books to necessary signage relating to weights and measures. We are supporters of the BBPA’s Customer Unit Awareness Campaign, part of the Association’s contribution to the Government’s Alcohol Responsibility Deal by making information publicity available to our Partners.
Good causes
The Punch Community Promise is an initiative based on donating time and money to local causes. To qualify, charities or causes must be located within a 15-mile radius of our offices in Burton on Trent. We will also give priority to requests from our employees. To qualify for support from the Punch Community Promise, projects or proposals must be:
- A local cause (national causes with a local focus may be considered)
- Not third party fundraising
- For capital costs, not running costs
- Not individual sponsorship
For an application form, click here and email punchcommunitypromise@punchtaverns.com.
This initiative follows the success of the Punch Community Spirit Project (PCSP) established in August 2007, which supported young people within the region via local charities.
We’ve donated over £36,700 in the last three years to a wide range of local causes, from local Scout and football clubs, to funding a new minibus for PHAB (a charity working with physically handicapped and able bodied youngsters) and the Hawthorns Resource Centre League of Friends, which provides short breaks for children with severe learning disabilities and their families.
Punch also makes an annual donation of almost £20,000 to Licensed Trade Support & Care, part of the Licensed Trade Charity, which provides support to people in crisis who are working in or retired from the licensed drinks trade. Our donation enables the charity to run a national Volunteer Visitor programme.
Local communities
As well as the commitment to local charities outlined above, we encourage all our Partners nationwide to consider the role their pub business can play in the local community. Many pubs, especially those in rural areas, have diversified to provide a wider community service, perhaps hosting the post office or local shop, providing web access and meeting spaces for local clubs and societies.
The local pub is also the obvious place to coordinate fundraising for local sports teams and community groups, and our Partners raise impressive sums in this way every year. Collectively our Partners are also major contributors to PubAid which has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds since its launch in 2009. We welcome Pub is the Hub which was initiated by HRH the Prince of Wales in 2001. Pub is the Hub encourages rural pub owners, licensees and local communities to work together to support, retain and locate services within the pub, which can often improve the viability of the business itself. Punch Taverns supports Pub is the Hub through an annual donation of £25,000, and senior members of our team actively participate in its Regional Advisory Hubs.
Our Economic Impacts
With over 400 members of staff and over 4,300 Partners, who in turn employ thousands of people in our pubs, Punch Taverns has a significant economic impact as a responsible employer on a local, regional and national scale. We operate in a highly regulated sector of the economy, where we are helping to develop best practice through active industry engagement and dialogue with government and regulators. Our shareholders, employees, Partners and the public also expect us to operate as an ethical business, with strong corporate governance.
Responsible employer
Punch Taverns is committed to being a great place to work. In order to attract and retain the highest calibre team, we offer competitive rewards and high quality training and development opportunities, as well as strong values and policies on inclusion, equality, health and safety. See our Work For Us section for more details.
We are committed to regular, two-way communication between the Board and employees, with strong structures and channels in place for consultation and feedback. Our leadership team deliver regular Business Briefs to employees on the company’s performance and priorities and we have a quarterly Information Consultation Group (ICG), made up of representatives from all our teams, including members of the field team. The ICG is a two way feedback process for the company and our employees.
While our Partners are not directly employed by Punch Taverns (they operate their own businesses in our pubs), we recognise that our expertise as an employer is invaluable in supporting their businesses. We therefore help them to set the highest standards within their pubs, through our Partner training programmes and support services. This includes helping them and their staff to obtain qualifications in food hygiene, Health and Safety and other skills. Within the first few days of taking on their pubs, our Partners receive a comprehensive ‘Safe, Legal and Compliant’ pack which has been produced to ensure they are clear on the various legal requirements affecting their business, ranging from general advice and guidance to top tips and templates, such as Fire Assessments or Health and Safety Policies that can be tailored for their businesses.
Industry engagement
Punch continues to play a full role in the pub sector through membership of the British Beer Pub Association (BBPA) and support for the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) and the Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations (FLVA). Pubs play a vital role in the economy providing local employment particularly for young people and we continue to engage with Government on the need for investment in the sector as a key part of the wider growth agenda for the UK economy. We believe the economic case for reduction in VAT in the hospitality sector is compelling with the potential to create thousands of new jobs and have given our full support to the VAT Club campaign led by Jacques Borel.
Ethical business
We strive to be clear, open and transparent in all of our dealings. Our BIIBAS accredited Code of Practice outlines our ways of working and goes beyond the requirements of the industry standard BBPA framework code. It sets out clearly the commitments and responsibilities of both Punch Taverns and our Partners. Our company PROUD Values set out the way our people should behave, our approach to each other and to our everyday work. The Company is also committed to high standards of corporate governance, for which the Board is responsible to the Company’s shareholders. For details, click here.
