Corporate social responsibility

Introduction

Herd is committed to operating in a responsible and ethical manner and aims to have a positive impact on the environment through its operations, products and services, and through its interaction with key stakeholders such as employees, suppliers, clients, and communities.

The 4 cornerstones of the of the Herd corporate social responsibility policy include:

  1. Environment
  2. Community & philanthropy
  3. Ethics
  4. Health & safety

1. Environment

We will safeguard our eco-systems and resources for future generations. We do this through our procedures used to develop websites and by using products which reduce carbon emissions, use green energy sources, and reduce overall energy consumption.

We intend to minimise the resources used to conduct our day to day business and promote green energy where possible. Our efforts and plans for improvement in this area include:

  1. We installed solar panels to generate our own green electricity
  2. We use LED lighting to reduce energy consumption at Herd HQ
  3. We encourage the use of EVs – our longer term plans include installation of EV charging points to offer subsidised charging for all staff at Herd HQ
  4. We adopt carbon reducing methods in our design for new websites such as 'dark mode theme' design options which save electricity because less of the screen is illuminated on dark mode theme websites. This also means battery life will be extended for users browsing on mobile devices, leading to less charging frequency requirements
  5. We use local suppliers wherever possible to reduce Herd's carbon footprint by shortening our supply chain, and therefore reducing carbon emissions related to transportation of goods

2. Community & philanthropy

Herd will be a good neighbour to the local community by supporting good causes, initiatives, and events where possible, including:

  1. Support for educational establishments through work experience training, apprenticeships, graduate internships, and mentorship
  2. We will grow the business in a sustainable manner in order to provide high quality long term employment in performance marketing, website development, and associated roles
  3. Herd operate an employee volunteering scheme, encouraging staff to take time off to support local charity work to benefit the community and our environment
  4. We support different charities and fundraising events such as Macmillan Cancer Support & Viking FM Cash for kids
  5. We make regular donations to the local Hessle & Anlaby Foodbank
  6. We sponsor the annual Hessle Feast community event by providing performance marketing support, social media management, and offline promotion
  7. We support the 'Plant a Tree Today' (PATT) foundation charity and their Humber Releaf Project - our aim is to plant a tree for every website we launch

3. Ethics

Herd will pursue ethical excellence by:

  1. Maintaining the highest standards of business practice in the marketplace when developing, purchasing, selling, and marketing our products and services
  2. We will avoid any kind of corruption within our supply chain, and be an equal opportunities employer

4. Health & safety

  1. Herd will create a safe working environment where personal and employment rights are upheld and health and safety is assured
  2. Herd will consult with stakeholders to ensure their needs are understood and met. Herd will comply with H&S regulation, applying high standards at all times, and expect the same of our supply chain.

Changes to this CSR Policy

We keep our CSR Policy under regular review and will update the version and record as appropriate.