Our Culture

CSR

As a Firm we made the decision in 2015 to change our approach to fundraising after consulting with our staff. Instead of appointing a ‘Charity of the Year’; we recognise that our staff all have personal reasons for supporting their favourite charities. This has allowed BHP to support those charities which our staff care passionately about and this has proved successful. In 2023/24 alone, our staff collectively raised more than £21,000 to more than 30 charities across the UK. You can read our CSR Review of the year here.

During 2020, BHP undertook a Carbon Footprint Assessment and is actively monitoring its impact on the environment.

Staff Volunteering and Fundraising Day

We encourage our people to make a positive contribution to the communities we live and work in. As well as the numerous fundraising activities we get involved in, everyone has the opportunity to take a day and a half paid leave to carry out voluntary or fundraising work for any charitable organisation they want to assist.

In 2023, we held eight separate events across the Yorkshire region, completing a total of 840 hours’ voluntary work with 119 members of staff taking part. Read more about our volunteering here.

Plant a tree initiative

From 1 October 2023, we were pleased to announce our commitment to planting four trees for every new client we take on. This is part of our ongoing pledge to pursue sustainable business practices. Since we started, we have planted over 1,400 trees around the globe. Take a look at our dashboard here.

Reducing our emissions

As a firm, we have undertaken an annual assessment for a number of years to enable us to understand our carbon footprint. This has led to a reduction in our emissions and the introduction of a number of initiatives to encourage our employees to be more aware of their own carbon footprint. Some examples of how we’ve worked towards reducing our emissions over the last few years include:

• Encouraging virtual meetings where possible
• Offering employees a cycle-to-work scheme
• Encouraging car sharing wherever possible
• Setting printers to print double-sided as default
• Reducing the number of printers in our offices
• Encouraging electronic sharing of information/documents rather than printing
• Introducing Adobe Sign for the approval of documents electronically
• Sending electronic delegate packs for seminars rather than paper copies
• When replacing light fittings, replace with LEDs and motion sensors
• Introducing recycling bins in our kitchens
• Buying responsibly sourced coffee and tea, and ensure that our tea bags do not contain plastic

Giving back to the charity sector

Trustee training seminars – As part of our commitment to the charity sector, we have trained over 1,000 trustees over the last five years with our free of charge trustee training seminars. These seminars cover the financial and governance responsibilities of trustees as well as providing a network for trustees to share information with others and develop new insights into the running of charities.

Charity Conference

Our free charity conference is now in its eleventh year and provides updates on a variety of current issues affecting the sector as well as invaluable networking opportunities. The conference is presented by internal presenters and external speakers who are specialists in their field. In 2023, we welcomed over 100 guests from charities across the North of England to the conference in Sheffield. Click here to view a short highlights video about the BHP charity conference.