The Trustee-Manager, its Board and the management team remain committed to the highest standards of sustainable long-term value creation for our stakeholders.
This commitment is based on the Trustee-Manager taking a long-term view of its business activities and acknowledging the importance of good custodianship to the communities in which it operates. This commitment is underpinned by:
- A clear expectation of ethical behaviour from all staff, which has been adopted by the Board and which is set out in the Trustee-Manager's Code of Conduct and TBC's Employee Working Rules; and
- A robust framework of policies including those relevant to environmental, social and governance responsibilities.
Staff may also contribute their time, expertise and/or finances to community organisations facilitated by the Trustee-Manager and TBC.
Policies adopted by APTT
APTT is committed to operating within the laws of any jurisdiction in which it does business and rejects absolutely the use of any form of bribery or corruption either directly or indirectly on its behalf to advance its business interests or those of its associates. The Trustee-Manager has adopted a Code of Conduct, which includes anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering policies, intended to help Directors and staff to understand their responsibilities, to uphold the goals and values to which the Trustee-Manager aspires and to conduct business in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
In addition, APTT recognises that its investment in and development and management of operating businesses may have environmental and social impacts. APTT acknowledges that many people are impacted by the activities of its business operations and will work to ensure its operations are conducted in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
The Trustee-Manager has adopted policies and procedures to manage these ESG risks, which reflect the risk specifically associated with APTT's portfolio and the management thereof.
APTT's sustainability reporting framework is applied throughout its investment and portfolio management process as follows:
- Asset selection – environmental and social issues are reviewed as part of the acquisition due diligence process;
- Ongoing portfolio management – the environmental and social risk management framework of assets and businesses in APTT's portfolio is assessed to ensure it is appropriate to the level of environmental and social risks. APTT's ability to control or influence such a framework will be determined through its level of ownership/control. Regular reporting to the Board enables compliance with environmental requirements to be monitored and environmental and social responsibility issues to be identified; and
- Stakeholder reporting – policies, social and environmental initiatives and compliance performance are reported internally and, where appropriate, externally.
To ensure holistic integration of ESG considerations into our business strategy and operations, APTT's sustainability governance structure is spearheaded by the Board and is aligned with our risk management processes. The Board sets APTT's sustainability directions, including determining, managing and monitoring APTT's material ESG factors. Following the directions established by the Board, APTT's SSC, which is chaired by Mr Somnath Adak, Chief Executive Officer of the Trustee-Manager, and consists of representatives from both the Trustee-Manager's and TBC's senior management team, develops sustainability strategy and targets. The SSC meets and reports to the Audit and Risk Committee at least quarterly or more as required on APTT's sustainability progress.
The SSC is supported by the STF, which comprises TBC's heads of departments across different functions, and is responsible for implementing sustainability initiatives and action plans across the organisation.