ESG Plan - Portico Guest Services

Portico’s Second Nature

Our Second Nature ESG policy guides our direction of travel over the next three years in continuing to provide a positive workspace for our people, a welcoming space for guests, and a flourishing partnership with our clients, all while minimising our impact on the environment. Crucially, it emphasises concrete and measurable actions as well as outlining principles and strategy.

Portico’s Second Nature strategy comprises a framework of four pillars:

This pillar sets out a framework for building inclusive workplaces where everyone can thrive, with diversity and inclusion represented at all levels. There are specific targets for improving gender and ethnic diversity in leadership, as well as local employment, employee engagement and the establishment of demographic-specific representative bodies, policies and networks. Targets include increasing marginalised gender representation in leadership roles to 40% by 2026 and maintaining the company’s already strong female representation in leadership roles.

Encompassing Portico’s commitment to help its people grow and succeed, this pillar focuses on recruitment, learning opportunities and further strengthening Portico as an employer of choice within the hospitality sector. Portico champions an entrepreneurial spirit, training and developing talent and sharing passion for excellent hospitality. The company connects its people to some of the best role models and leaders across its different brands.

Key goals include providing learning and development opportunities for all employees. Targets include 100% team members receiving regular career development and performance reviews and 40% management positions being filled internally. Portico is very proud to have become a Living Wage Foundation Recognised Service Provider status in 2023. With a gender pay gap of only 4%, the company is celebrating its achievements while recognising its ongoing commitment to further closing the gap.

Forming strong partnerships across Portico’s supply chain that drive positive change is a key component of the strategy. Portico’s first supplier code of conduct will be launched by the end of 2024, and Portico commits to always ensuring fair terms and working conditions across the supply chain.

Portico aims to continually raise the bar on sourcing standards especially around purchasing and recycling uniforms and flower displays, with a commitment to only sourcing materials from areas with no risk of deforestation. By 2024 Portico will source all cotton for its uniforms from sustainable sources and recycle or donate all used uniforms by the end of 2024, including to employment charity Suited and Booted.

This is an environment-focused pillar, covering critical aspects such as such as impact from goods and services, energy saving and recycling, to reduce the company’s effect on climate and nature. A ‘Second Nature’ best practice guide has been created, supported by training modules. Other targets include embedding a cycle to work scheme, zero waste to landfill, as well as reducing commuter travel with hybrid working practices for support functions, with the overarching target to achieve net zero across the entire value chain by 2040 compared with a baseline of 2019.

Giving Back

We see our commitment to giving back as a moral and social responsibility. We want to do our bit to help our community, so an important part of our business is finding ways to help charities and people. We offer all our team members one day paid leave to dedicate to a charity work of their choice.

At Portico, we firmly believe in the importance of giving back to our community as both a moral obligation and a social responsibility. We are dedicated to making a positive impact beyond our business operations by supporting charities and individuals in need. Within our teams, we have a dedicated focus group called Giving Back, comprising voluntary work, social mobility and fundraising.

Over the past decade, we have collaborated with various charities, creating transformative success stories.