Corporate social responsibility
We seek to operate sustainably in our investments, as an employer, in the community and in our own operations.
At LGT Capital Partners, our commitment to operating sustainably extends to our role as an employer, our support for the community, our relationship with business partners and to our own operations. We have structured this commitment around four pillars: People, Community, Suppliers and Buildings.
Our commitment to being a responsible employer includes learning and development, as well as employee health and wellbeing. The LGT Capital Partners training program offers staff members the opportunity to complete courses on topics like presentation skills, foreign languages, information technology, legal/compliance issues and investment management. Team members are also given paid study time to pursue offsite studies, such as executive MBA, CFA, CAIA and other relevant qualifications.
Staff members also have the option of attending LGT Academy, a week-long, residential training course that provides a holistic experience focused on developing interpersonal skills. Experts from various fields of health, wellness and the social sciences lead participants in interactive learning sessions on a wide range topics, helping them to grow both personally and professionally. Traditional learning is complemented with opportunities for artistic expression and physical activity, such as rowing, yoga and Tai Chi. Staff members return from the experience rejuvenated, often having discovered new ways of living a healthier, more balanced life.
We support the communities where we work and live, as well as those far away, through a combination of charitable donations, employee volunteering and industry partnerships and memberships.
Support for charities
We allocate 10% of our annual dividend to LGT Venture Philanthropy. This organization supports a number of partner organizations that implement effective and scalable solutions with a focus on education, healthcare and the environment in Africa, Asia and Latin America. We also donate funds to selected charitable organizations that support the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals, and we provide funding to aid organizations, including Caritas, Helvetas, Médecins sans Frontières, the Swiss Red Cross and UNICEF.
Employee volunteering
Volunteering forms an integral part of our commitment to society and to helping drive sustainable outcomes in the world. We encourage our employees to make a personal contribution to help less advantaged people by volunteering with a range of organizations. We believe that by serving our local communities, we can also foster a strong team spirit within our organization and reinforce our own corporate culture, as well as increasing the sense of purpose of our team members.
Our work with the local charity HOPE in New York is one example of our ongoing volunteering efforts. HOPE seeks to improve the career paths of people who face significant barriers due to health issues or social challenges. At our Swiss headquarters, we partner with Procap, which aims to enhance the IT skills of people with disabilities through one-on-one training with employee volunteers.
We are committed to working with responsible suppliers that have sustainable business practices in place, respect human rights and comply with sanctions and international agreements. Our Supplier Code of Conduct is designed to ensure that these key values are considered when selecting business partners. The Code sets out the standards that we expect suppliers to adhere to, and we monitor compliance among our supplier base on an ongoing basis. Suppliers are also expected to take appropriate measures to continuously improve their sustainability performance.
We have been committed to responsible environmental and operational management for many years and have already reached some important milestones. Since 2022, for example, 100% of the electricity used at our Swiss headquarters has originated from renewable sources, mainly hydropower. Since 2010, we have purchased CO2 certificates to offset 100% of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from our global operations, and we will continue to do so on an annual basis. We also regularly assess carbon markets to ensure the quality and integrity of the carbon credits we purchase.
As part of our ambition to further reduce our environmental footprint, we continue to measure the impact of our operations based on multiple metrics, such as water and energy consumption as well as waste production. Reducing GHG from our own operations is a key part of this ambition. At the same time, we are raising awareness across the firm of the contribution that all employees can make to help protect the environment and climate among our employees.