eg recognises that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is about managing a business to achieve both commercial and social benefits. The eg team makes sure that the Group’s CSR policy is fully integrated into the company’s operations management activities throughout the world.

eg is committed to managing its business in a socially responsible manner. The CSR policy has been produced in collaboration with employees and reflects the areas which eg feels are more closely aligned to its business operations.

eg’s CSR policy is split into four areas:

Employees – it is eg’s intention to listen to and involve employees – employee feedback is an important way of ensuring the continuous improvement of the business and can help improve staff satisfaction. Employees are fully supported by the company should they choose to undertake further study and training.

Environment - it is company policy that all waste materials are recycled. Wherever possible eg uses FSC – certified paper products and sustainable suppliers. Ethical Christmas cards were introduced in 2008 and a digital card for employees to reduce waste.

Company Charity – due to its involvement in South Africa since launching a subsidiary in Johannesburg in 2007, eg has chosen the Doornkop Needy Children’s Centre as its company charity. The centre provides safety and shelter for orphaned or fostered children aged 1 to 5 years old, some of whom are HIV positive. Staff across the Group’s operations raise money and support this charity in whatever way they can.

South Africa – the South African government has introduced a comprehensive system to help integrate black people into society, post apartheid, and therefore encourage and assist the transition of economic empowerment. Companies operating in South Africa have to achieve Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) accredited status in support of these objectives. Businesses are classified by their size and measured in terms of how successfully they comply with a range of seven measures.

We have adopted a restricted scorecard based on four of the modules, as appropriate for our size of business and were accredited a level 3 contributor (the levels range from 1-10, with 1 being the highest accreditation). Our BBBEE activities fall into the following categories:

• Employment Equity
• Skills Development
• Enterprise Development
• Socio-Economic Development