What does corporate responsibility mean at RSM?
RSM believe it's our responsibility to positively impact our society and the environment. That’s why our values weigh heavily in the decisions we make as a business and the interactions we have with all our people, clients, suppliers, and communities.
Click below to learn more about our involvement:
RSM’s commitment
Having our people engaged and involved with our initiatives gives us the best chance of making a real impact. To make sure our workforce remains a continual part of the discussion, our dedicated national corporate responsibility team is led by the group’s Executive Chairman, Kevin O’Connor. Throughout the year representatives in each of our regional offices feed back the views and values of a diverse range of people from across our business.
We have three pillars of corporate responsibility: environment, charity, and community. Together, these encompass the ways in which we want to support society.
Environment
The need for action on the climate crisis is more pressing than ever. It’s a central issue which will affect all our clients and people and we feel a duty to do our utmost to positively contribute.
In 2021, RSM’s committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2030. We are doing this in response to:
- the climate emergency;
- the Paris Accord and the COP 26 recommendations;
- the UK Government’s 2050 net-zero target;
- the business environment’s move to becoming more carbon centric; and
- because morally it’s the right thing to do.
We will achieve this by significantly reducing our carbon emissions, only then will we offset residual emissions with accredited carbon offset providers who are transparent, knowledgeable, and committed to making lasting impact.
Our move to a hybrid working model and investments in technology will support us in reducing emissions.
Further details of the group’s initiatives with respect to the environment can be seen in our Carbon Reduction plan.
Our environmental policy helps guide all our decisions when managing our business. This takes into consideration efficient use of resources including reducing waste, reusing what we can and recycling what we can’t.
Our emissions targets
To achieve our goal, we have set the following emissions targets based on our 2020 baseline figures:
- zero gas in our offices;
- electricity usage reduced by 50 per cent;
- 100 per cent electricity from renewable sources;
- business travel reduced by 45 per cent;
- paper spend down by 75 per cent; and
- zero waste to landfill.
Charity
We believe in contributing to society by giving back to those less fortunate and this is reflected in RSM’s core values: respect and stewardship. We act on these values by supporting charities through our corporate foundation, The RSM UK Foundation.
Our partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award supports young people in gaining the skills they need to succeed in life and the workplace. In the financial year to March 2022 we helped 20,000 young people start their Duke of Edinburgh journey. These young people will contribute over 184,000 hours of volunteering to their local communities over the next three years.
Anthony Nolan makes lifesaving connections between people with blood cancer and the incredible strangers ready to donate their stem cells. For someone with blood cancer, a stem cell transplant could be a chance of survival. In the year to March 2022 our partnership funded 294 families with much needed grants and 1166 life-saving stem cell courier journeys.
Trees for Cities is an environmental charity that aims to inspire people to plant and respect trees in cities globally. Involving local residents, schools and community groups the charity's work is targeted towards some of the worlds most deprived urban areas, from East London to Addis Ababa. In the year to March 2022 our partnership resulted in 2,500 trees being planted.
Leadership Through Sport & Business is a social mobility charity that works with bright young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring they find skilled careers. In the year to March 2022 our partnership helped 52 young people take a first step towards achieving meaningful employment.
EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association) aims to help people with a disability to take part in sport. In the year to March 2022, we enabled 99 individuals with a disability to have their first experience of golf and supported 16 of the world's best golfers with a disability to compete in high-profile events.
Our local communities are major benefactors of our charitable giving. Through our match funding initiative which allows up to £250 per individual, we support local causes, from Lerwick in the north to Eastleigh in the South. We also offer a payroll giving scheme, enabling employees to donate to charities in a tax efficient way.
Beyond our work with national charities, RSM supports one-off campaigns for compelling causes.
In 2022, we fundraised for UNICEF UK’s humanitarian campaign in Ukraine. With employee’s donations match-funded by the RSM Foundation, we donated over £250,000 to support the displaced children of Ukraine The money enabled the charity to set up Blue Dot centres for displaced people on key evacuation routes from Ukraine across six countries. Each centre provided health and other support services for up to 5,000 children and their parents and ensured a safe space for separated and orphaned children.
