We see sustainability as the only way to do business. That’s why we invest in the communities we work in, bridging gaps and creating economic value. It’s our way of improving the world we’ll live in tomorrow . The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are more than words on a page to us at Sprout Group. They reflect the needs of our people, and the communities they live in, from social, environmental and governance perspectives. Working together we can make a real difference to the world we live in, both for today and tomorrow.

At Sprout this is what sustainability has always been about – getting it right for people. Which means getting it right for the environment, for society and for the economy.

Sustainability Principles

Environmental, Social responsibility, Work and Product Safety and Chain of Custody principles

Sprout Group is committed to managing and developing its business in a sustainable manner in matters concerning the economy, environment, people and society. We adhere to our values and principles in all countries we operate in. We comply with and, when necessary, go beyond the requirements of our customers and national legislation and regulations.
Responsibility in all of our operations and striving for continuous improvement are our key operating principles. Targets are set for business, environmental, work and product safety as well as wellbeing of the personnel, goals and their realisation to our stakeholders. We expect our suppliers and partners to comply with our policies and principles related to sustainability and product safety.

Economic responsibility

The foundation for responsibility is profitable business. We want to be a reliable employer, supplier and co-operation partner. Our impact as a local employer is significant.

Environmental, Chain of Custody management and Product safety responsibility

To minimize our impact on the environment, we apply a life-cycle approach and use applicable environmental technologies. We strive to save natural resources by using raw materials, energy and other resources efficiently. Our most important raw materials are renewable bio-based raw materials, which we use to produce high-quality products primarily for the construction, laminate and packaging industries. Our products are safe to use and they fulfill the legislation regarding their intended use, also concerning the environmental and safety impacts of the chemicals used in
production. Our products are recyclable or reusable, or they extend the life-cycle of the intended end use products. We commit to use GMP (good manufacturing practice) and defined in-house controlling verified by third party in our production of food contact materials.

We support sustainable forest management and we use Chain of Custody tracing systems for raw materials to ensure that all of the wood raw material and pulp originates for legal and approved sources. We also require that our raw material suppliers commit to the requirements of our Chain of Custody (CoC) management systems.

Work Safety and Social responsibility

In all of our operations, we adhere to ethical business practices and we create a healthy and safe workplace for our employees. We respect human rights through equality in our operations and by developing working conditions. We strive to systematically prevent accidents and hazardous situations as well as illnesses caused by work or working conditions. We have also prepared to operate in the situations of emergency as well.

Management and governance

Sustainability and safety issues are part of management and the related responsibilities are defined at all organizational levels. We require that our personnel acknowledge their responsibilities and adhere to the commitments and obligations concerning their work. We strive to ensure the personnel’s awareness of the requirements through communication and training. The management team assigns the required resources and
participates in the operations by carrying out regular safety audits, by setting targets and by regularly reviewing the success in reaching the targets and the sufficiency of resources.

Diversity

Our enduring success relies on generating new and different ideas and perspective. At Sprout Group, we want our business to be representative of our people and their communities. To us, diversity and inclusion means embracing variety in our workforce, valuing different perspectives, building a flexible organisation and respecting stakeholder diversity. Good work can be achieved in many ways. We’re making great strides equipping our manpower with the skills to lead an inclusive, flexible workplace.

Innovation

Business sustainability is essential, both for us and our customers. As we evolve responsibly, we always look for smarter and better ways of doing things. It’s this attitude – and our willingness to roll our sleeves up and give anything a go – that has taken us from humble beginnings to progressive, proactive industry leaders, open to new ideas and new ways of doing
things.

Corporate Social Responsibility

We’re proud to play a part in making our communities better and we feel privileged that they allow us to do so. We invest heavily to encourage wellbeing, diversity, environment, education and innovation. This sees us:

• Employing women and young people
• Offering a range of training or traineeships designed to champion engineering
• Building community partnerships through sponsorship of key initiatives with our people donating time, money and services to local causes
• Maximising social procurement opportunities to create positive social change
• Partnering with local & International groups to ensure their involvement in our good work.

Our environmental focus areas are:

• Resources and Materials
  • To conserve natural resources and make sustainable choices
• Climate Action
  • Adapt to and do our part to mitigate climate change
• Nature and Pollution
  • To protect and restore the natural environment

Sprout Group aspires to be an organisation that has a lasting positive environmental impact. We are committed to disclosing our exposure and resilience to climate change through the lenses of governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. Wherever possible we support innovative solutions that minimise or eliminate the environmental impact of our operations and recognise the need for collaborative partnerships with our peers and stakeholders to achieve this goal.

Our social focus areas are:

• Economic Prosperity
  • To generate prosperity for the communities we impact
• Community Inclusion
  • create thriving communities rich with culture, equity and resilience
• Wellbeing
  • To support and enhance people’s physical and mental wellbeing

Sprout Group aims to leave a positive and lasting impact on the communities and stakeholder that we interact with. This may be through activities such as providing learning, skilling, and workforce participation opportunities, supporting just and fair employment, and promoting local procurement on our projects. Climate change will not just impact our physical assets, it will also affect our communities, and especially the most vulnerable within them. By creating places that are resilient to the impacts of future climate change we are enabling the communities that use them to
be resilient as well. We aspire to create places that are accessible and safe for the people who use them and strive to improve the wellbeing of our
people, our subcontractors and the communities where we have a presence.
Sustainability is a key driver of our competitive advantage and helps to generate long-term value for many of our stakeholders, including our shareholders. Our sustainability commitments and ambition help to position us as a partner of choice for our customers, attract and retain talent in the organisation, which helps to drive innovative and resilient solutions across our business. Our evidence-based approach also helps us to proactively respond to the increasing expectation and scrutiny of investors and capital partners.