Last updated: 28th September 20

‍Carbon reduction plan

Environmental

Accora Ltd Senior Leadership Team is committed to minimising the environmental impacts of our business operations and maintaining the company’s resilience to environmental risks and impacts.

Through our design, third party manufacture, sales, service and distribution activities of healthcare products, Accora UK Ltd is mindful of our potential impact on the environment.

To this end, Accora has implemented the environmental requirements and gained certification to ISO 14001 and continues to maintain certification through internal initiatives.

To achieve our environmental goals, we will:

·       Minimise waste by reduction, re-use, and recycling methods.

·       Consider the impact of our choices on the environment when designing and manufacturing our products.

·       Be committed to the protection of the environment including prevention of pollution.

·       Agree environmental objectives and devise meaningful measures and targets to improve the aspects and impacts.

·       Regularly track, analyse, and review measurements and monitor them against agreed targets.

·       Fulfil our compliance obligations including relevant environmental legislation / regulation.

·       Be committed to continual improvement in our environmental performance, through the implementation of our Environmental Management System (EMS) and objectives.

·       Aim to have our carbon footprint defined based on current data and continue to improve our Company’s environmental performance.

·       Hold the Accora supply chain responsible to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. Work with suppliers to reduce their carbon footprint.

To meet our commitments[RS|A1] [AD|A2] , we aim to:

·       Identify and provide appropriate training, advice, and information for staff and encourage them to develop new ideas and initiatives.

·       Monitor key objectives and targets for managing our environmental performance at least annually.

·       Maximise the life span of our products through our manufacturing choices.

·       Design for recycling / disposal of products into our manufacturing choices.

·       Minimise and effectively manage waste.

·       Carry out regular audits on suppliers to monitor their environmental performance.

Social Value

Accora is committed to making a positive impact in the communities we operate in and the people in our supply chain.

We expect suppliers to:

·       Operate within the International Labour Organisation rules.

·       Abide by the Accora Slavery Human Trafficking Policy.

·       Abide by the Accora Ethical Trading Policy.

·       Respect equality, diversity, and inclusion in their workforce.

Accora will work with suppliers to improve their performance in these areas.

Below are some of the specific social value projects Accora have experience in delivering. [RS|A3] [RS|A4] [AD|A5] In addition to these offerings, Accora actively engages with its customer base to identify and support new local social value projects.

Work placements

A typical work placement day would be travelling with one of Accora’s Product Specialists conducting joint visits with Occupational Therapists and other allied Health Professionals to trial specialist seating and beds. This will help the individual develop the following skills:

• Interpersonal skills
• Communication skills
• Moving & handling skills
• Business acumen
• Time management

Prior to the placement, Accora will develop clear candidate requirements and learning outcomes, to facilitate the best candidate match for this placement. The individual will receive an induction and briefing on their first morning before following a structured timetable of activity/on-the-job coaching/development. The placement is extendable depending on the individual. We will provide a statement regarding the individual's period on placement for use as a reference.

Career events

Accora can deliver a career event to school students. Content could be customised to the specific requirements of the audience.

As a manufacturer of medical devices, Accora employ a broad, diverse group of staff in various interesting professions including:

• Occupational Therapy
• Nursing
• Engineering
• Sales & Marketing

The event will draw on experiences of staff to provide insight into these professions, skills/experience required, opportunities available, how to progress a career in these fields.  

Content may include presentation on a typical day, video, Q&A, demonstrations, participation activity e.g. designing a product, developing a product sales pitch, quiz, information pack.

The sessions would be designed for a group of minimum 10 individuals delivered face-to-face or remotely. Clear learning outcomes shared prior to the event will be reflected on at the close to ensure learning has been imparted effectively. A feedback form will be shared to help inform/improve future sessions.

Befriending service

Accora has engaged with Age UK to offer a telephone befriending service in Cambridgeshire and can be extended to any other area of the country.

Our befriending programme makes best use of Accora telephone-based staff, who have specialist skills in telephone techniques and proven abilities to communicate well.

We began the programme with our local Cambridge team, using an allocated percentage of their time to conduct outbound telephone calls to elderly people in the area identified by Age UK. This initiative is working well and proving rewarding, both for our staff and for the local residents they are now chatting with on a regular basis.

Business mentoring

Accora offers a business mentoring service to local SMEs/charities/non-profit organisations. These sessions will provide ideas and support to help businesses grow and develop.

Three of Accora's Directors are trained business consultants who have supported a wide variety of businesses in many different sectors. These consultants are passionate about imparting knowledge and helping businesses to succeed.

Areas covered in these sessions will be tailored to the individual organisation depending on their focus and nature/current status of their business, and can include:

• Market positioning and product offering – how to identify and leverage opportunities and enter new markets.
• Mission, vision, and values – how to build a solid corporate foundation.
• Business growth – how to find and take advantage of new opportunities and achieve financial growth.
• Financial literacy – understanding profit and loss statement, balance sheets and cash flow (useful for new micro-businesses).
• Human resources – hiring, retention, and development of talent.
• Sales and marketing – how to communicate your value to the marketplace and help potential customers navigate the buying journey.

Voluntary work

Accora staff are encouraged to volunteer spare time to help local initiatives. Where appropriate, Accora will make a gift to the organisation benefitting from the voluntary work.

Governance

The Accora Board of Directors are overall responsible for the governance of the business which includes the Environmental and Social values. Members of the board of directors approve codes of conduct and policies which sets out the framework for business ethics within Accora and these are monitored and reviewed in the Management Review.

Policies set by the board include Equality, Diversity, Inclusion, Ethical Trading, Human Trafficking, Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Value. The Accora Management Team is responsible for the implementation of the policies and codes of conduct.

The board are tasked with safeguarding that Accora carries out business at the highest ethical level and adheres to the laws, regulatory frameworks and standards applicable in each jurisdiction that we operate.

All suppliers and business partners are required to work within the Accora codes of conduct and regular reviews and supplier audits maintain vigilance on these requirements.

Regulatory requirements within the medical device industry are met by following our processes and procedures which cover all the markets we sell into, including CE MDR in Europe, UKCA MDR in UK, FDA in USA and MDEL in Canada.

Our quality and environmental management system is certified to ISO9001:2015 and ISO14001:2015 standards but we also meet ISO13485:2016 and 21 CFR 820.

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