Bearsted 01.06.2023 – Automotive Transformation Group, a leading provider of omnichannel retailing solutions to the automotive sector, has identified and established an operational roadmap in line with the United Nations 2023 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The purpose of the Automotive Transformation Group roadmap is to facilitate key environmental, social and governance responsibilities and ultimately achieve a sustainable operational future by holding itself accountable.
The achievement of the 2030 Agenda is a global initiative and requires a wide range of industries to get involved across both developed and developing districts. Effective immediately, Automotive Transformation Group will become one of the first among its competitors to commit to achieving a sustainable future.
This announcement follows a range of ESG initiatives shared by the Group as it continues to deliver omnichannel retailing solutions to the automotive sector. The 2023 initiatives shared so far include Automotive Transformation Group’s Charities of Choice, detailing its fundraising efforts for both national and local non-profit organisations. As well as, announcing its CEO, Tim Smith as the latest member of the Automotive 30% Club, demonstrating their commitment to ensuring 30% of key leadership positions are filled by diverse women by 2030.
As part of the company’s contributions to sustainable development, Automotive Transformation Group has identified the following areas from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that it believes will allow for the greatest positive impact to be realised. In doing so, Automotive Transformation Group has outlined strategies and surfaced pre-existing policies that demonstrate its determination to achieve these targets.
Good Health and Well-being
With over 300 employees, Automotive Transformation Group is committed and focused to promoting the health and well-being of all members of staff. The company has appointed mental health ambassadors and resources are located in a central place. Part of the role of the mental health ambassadors is to empower employees to establish an effective and balanced working structure that best suits the needs of each individual colleague. This includes establishing an effective working arrangement suitable for the individual and maintaining a flexible working policy across the organisation as a result of employee engagement surveys. The mental health ambassadors balance this with the encouragement of face-to-face contact and champion healthy living initiatives such as the ‘STEPtember’ campaign, which aims to inspire an active lifestyle.
Quality Education
Automotive Transformation Group has partnered with an e-learning and development industry leader to deliver quality educational-based activities and initiatives across the organisation. Development topics include information security; compliance; health and safety; and leadership, allowing colleagues to expand their skills, develop their careers and ensure the security of data is prioritised across the Group. The company also partners with a specialist e-learning platform to provide enhanced technical training. Automotive Transformation Group delivers thorough and detail-driven onboarding and company induction, as well as line management training. During regular company update meetings, colleagues are able to share the latest industry context, allowing employees to impart this knowledge to customers.
Climate Action
Transport accounts for one-fifth of global CO2 emissions, and around 75% of that is specifically related to road travel. In this respect, Automotive Transformation Group’s Electric Vehicle scheme (made available to colleagues in 2022) and Cycle-to-Work scheme (available since inception) are extremely popular. Automotive Transformation Group continues to create technology solutions that are designed to surface the benefits of electric vehicles, like its Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculator launched in November 2022. Most of The Group’s offices around the globe use renewable energy sources, many of which follow a recycling programme both for everyday waste, IT, and hardware equipment.
Decent Work and Economic Growth
Automotive Transformation Group exist to help Retailers, OEMs, Financiers and Fleet Suppliers across the globe optimise vehicle sales and maximise return on investment. By promoting full and productive employment, Automotive Transformation Group can ensure economic growth for both customers and employees. Alongside possessing a group-wide bonus scheme, Automotive Transformation Group made a cost-of-living contribution to all eligible employees in 2023. The company also offers enhanced parental leave, pensions, and employs a remuneration committee to ensure regulation of compensation across the senior leadership team. It also recently carried out a salary benchmarking exercise across the organisation.
When asked about what these goals mean for The Group, Chief Operating Officer, Simon Upton, stated: ‘It is a privilege to be one of the first in the UK automotive sector to publicly outline our ESG initiatives, and we take great pride in being able to hold ourselves accountable in this way. The values of ESG couldn’t be more important to Automotive Transformation Group and by showing our employees that we take these objectives seriously; we believe altruistic qualities will filter through the organisation and in turn translate to our community. The more entities that commit themselves to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals the better, and during such times of rapid evolution, it’s key we do what we can to optimise sustainable growth.”
CEO, Tim Smith added “When it comes to delivering omnichannel retailing solutions that our customers can rely on, we put a high price on ESG. Whether it’s how we prioritise data governance to ensure the protection of consumer data, or how we value employee diversity and inclusion in order to propel our product innovation through varying perspectives, it really is critical to the way we operate. I take great pride in being at the forefront of this initiative, and hope that in doing so, we can make a positive impact on the industry and achieve optimal sustainability.”
