RBS 2013 Annual Report Download - page 35

For further information
visit rbs.com/sustainable
Diversity at RBS
We believe it is important that everyone
in RBS feels valued and supported. We
appreciate the unique perspective and skills
that individual staff can bring to the business.
Inclusion is more important to RBS than it’s
ever been. Through 2013, we’ve taken time
to refresh our focus, step back and think
about how we support all our colleagues to
reach their full potential and better serve our
customers. This is delivering a more ‘joined
up’ approach to influencing key organisational
processes and practices, achieving better
balance and sustainable development. We’ve
continued to progress diversity and inclusion
initiatives (including Sexual Orientation,
Disability, Race and Gender). Our inclusion
policy standard applies to all employees, in
every part of the business, in every part of the
world and is published online. The strategy for
diversity and inclusion sits with the Board and
Executive Committee.
As at 31 December 2013, of our global
population of 118,079 employees, 54,370
(46%) were male and 63,709 (54%) female. We
had 1,071 senior managers (of which 915
(85%) were male and 156 (15%) were female),
which encompasses our executive employee
population and individuals who are directors
of our subsidiaries. The Company’s Board of
Directors has 11 members, comprising eight
male and three female directors.
Our approach to Human Rights
We recognise our corporate responsibility to
respect and uphold human rights, regularly
review our policies and procedures to ensure
that we avoid infringing on the human rights
of others, both in our own operations and
throughout our sphere of influence. In 2013,
we contributed to the Thun discussion paper
on the implications of UN Guiding Principles
16-21 for banks and are committed to the
implementation of the Guiding Principles
within our operations.
We have adopted and contributed to a
number of internationally accepted codes,
notably the Equator Principles and the UN
Global Compact, which specifically address
the management of human rights issues. The
RBS Group Code of Conduct sets out the
standards we expect our people to work to,
including a clear commitment to respecting
human rights. We listen to our people in a
variety of ways, including through an annual
employee survey, enabling our people to raise
issues regarding their working environment.
We also have in place an independent
whistleblowing facility for employees to
raise concerns, without fear of adverse
consequence.
Our Sustainable Procurement Code sets out
our expectations of the companies that we
work with. It clearly states that our suppliers
should not engage in breaches of human
rights or labour rights, or in discrimination.
We are also committed to equal opportunities
for suppliers, and we recognise that diversity
strengthens our supply chain.
Our ESE risk policies include sector-specific
human rights risk screenings and are
regularly reviewed and updated to ensure
best practice. We conduct due diligence on
clients relating to human rights standards, and
expect our clients to share our commitment
to respecting human rights within their
operations.
RBS in the Community
We run a number of targeted
programmes focused on
providing support to the
communities where we operate.
In addition to this, we have
a well established employee
volunteering and giving
programme in RBS. As well as
matching employee donations
and fundraising, we also support
volunteering during work time.
For more information on our
community investment please
visit rbs.com/sustainable.
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Sustainability