Name of the company
Accolade
Name of the president or managing director
Milan Kratina
The company ESG reporting mode (short description)
The company’s Board of Directors established an ESG expert committee in 2020. The committee has five members and regularly reports to the Board. It monitors compliance with ESG principles and addresses employees' requests and suggestions. Once a year, it produces an externally audited report.
Accolade has been monitoring the carbon footprint of its service organizations since 2020.
The introduction of SFDR compliance is under implementation; an external review is under way (in Q2 and Q3 2022). The target is to comply with the requirements of article 9 of SFDR for financial products with a sustainability objective (‘dark green’).
Scope of SFDR compliance report
1. ESG baselining and gap analysis
2. Development of ESG investment strategy in
accordance with SFDR (incl. investments aligned with
EU's Taxonomy Regulation)
3. Preparation process and guidance for ESG
rating/certification
4. Development of ESG reporting
Green certificates obtained for the investments developed or purchased by your company
Accolade strives to have all of its new construction projects rated as BREEAM Excellent or Outstanding. It is adapting its approximately 100 buildings across the portfolio to also aspire to the highest level. Our flagship project in Cheb received the Outstanding rating in 2021.
The company activities in environmental protection
Our principal goals and comittments include:
- Restoration of neglected brownfields
- BREEAM certification
- Construction materials and technology consistent with the highest environmental protection standards (LED lighting, light sensors, retention basins, flushing systems)
- Carbon footprint reduction
- Reducing the consumption of potable water, support for renewable energy
- Promotion of biodiversity (preservation of greenery, insect hotels, reptile refuges, apiaries)
- Preservation and restoration of water-related ecosystems
At Accolade, the preservation of natural areas surrounding our industrial parks is also very important to us. We go far beyond the minimum required by installing insect hotels, reptile refuges, apiaries and wildflower meadows for butterflies.
The restoration of neglected industrial sites with a long-standing tradition represents an important part of our corporate philosophy.
We also take part in projects addressing issues that concern all of society, such as water scarcity. Specifically, we support the association Mokřady z.s., which focuses on water retention in the landscape and water regime improvement. We support the organisation by directly providing finances as well as by our employees' voluntary fieldwork.
The company activities in social responsibility
Our principal goals and comittments include:
- Equal opportunities for men and women
- Employment in accordance with the legislation and ethical standards
- Engagement of people with disabilities
- New jobs in regions where we operate
- Charitable projects in the areas of science, culture and sports at both the national and regional level
In addition to providing support for people with disabilities, we invest in culture, sports, science and education. We cooperate with local governments and support community facilities and local development wherever we operate. Our aim is to be a responsible partner and a good neighbor, and to generally make the areas where we operate a better place to live. At Accolade, it is also important for us to create appropriate working conditions, facilitate equal opportunities, motivate our employees and promote their personal development.
We have been supporting the MELA o.p.s. organisation, which helps people with a mental disability or a chronic mental illness to regain self-reliance . We are also a proud partner of the Veronika Kašáková Endowment Fund, which accompanies young people from children’s homes on their journey towards grown-up life. The fund assigns a so-called buddy (mentor) to every young person who asks for assistance, helping them handle practical issues and, most importantly, providing mental support during their big life transition.
The company activities in the corporate governance issue
Our principal goals and comittments include:
- Care for the physical and mental wellbeing of our employees
- Employee training and motivation, incl. involvement in social responsibility projects
- Zero-tolerance of corruption
- Fair and transparent business practices (Criminal Compliance Programme)
- Compliance with rules and regulations in the markets where we operate
At Accolade, we take pride in working solely with trusted business partners and vendors. We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to corruption, bribery and any other similar practices. We comply with all applicable anticorruption laws, regulations and standards, as well as national and international anti-bribery and money laundering regulations. We promote fair competition. We comply with the applicable competition and antitrust legislation. Our tenders include supplier declarations of compliance with ESG principles. We expect all our employees to comply with fair business practices, which is why we organize a training every year on issues our employees may encounter at work, such as corruption, bribery or collusion. The rules of employee conduct are embedded in our Criminal Compliance Programme, which consists of a criminal compliance code and a code of ethics.
