LRQA launches Our Planet, Our Plan sustainability strategy outlining our ESG commitments over the next seven years.
LRQA advises on, audits and certifies the ESG performances of global industries and their supply chains, from manufacturing and apparel to healthcare, food and drink. Our Planet, Our Plan is designed as a best practice example, demonstrating the importance of verifiable third-party data to substantiating sustainability claims, made transparent and accountable by an online dashboard that publicly tracks our own performance.
Informed by more than 1,500 LRQA colleagues in more than 160 countries worldwide, Our Planet, Our Plan is rooted in seven core commitments aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals - governance, community, environment, equity, safety, inclusivity and education, each with their own performance metrics.
Within the environment commitment for example, LRQA aims to be net zero on carbon by 2030, with clear plans to digitise services and reduce travel associated with field work such as audits, delivering efficiencies and positive impact for clients, colleagues, communities, stakeholders and the planet.
Our Planet Our Plan is a seven-year action plan that will help shape a better future for the next seven generations and beyond.
Ian Spaulding, CEO of LRQA, said:
“I’m thrilled to share this next phase in LRQA’s growth journey. But this is not just about us, Our Planet, Our Plan is a seven-year action plan that will help shape a better future for the next seven generations and beyond. As a company that drives transparency and transforms sustainability commitments into robust, measurable outcomes for our clients, we also hold ourselves accountable to the highest ESG standards. Beyond words, we will deliver meaningful action and will be as scrupulous with ourselves as we are when supporting our clients by designing their programmes or validating their sustainability commitments.
“Third-party verification of sustainability data and claims, such as compliance and materiality assessments, will continue to grow in importance as more data-empowered legislation frameworks are implemented worldwide. We will measure, score and externally verify every indicator in our own sustainability strategy, publishing our progress with full honesty and transparency, including when we fall short.”
To accompany the programme, LRQA is launching an eight-episode podcast series to explore each of the seven commitments within Our Planet, Our Plan, offering personal and professional insights per topic, as well as practical guidance for listeners in addressing, monitoring and verifying sustainability progress.
The first episode, ‘The power of transparency in business’, sees Ben Western, LRQA’s Head of Sustainability, introducing Our Planet, Our Plan and exploring how the programme was developed, the evolution of ESG in business, and how other organisations can embrace its principles.
On the launch of Our Planet, Our Plan, Ben Western, LRQA Head of Sustainability said:
“There is growing recognition of the global challenges faced by society, and crucially, the impact of these challenges is bigger than one country, one government, or one company. Motives for addressing ESG issues may vary between organisations, but whether it’s in response to global warming, social inequality or safety in the workplace, there is rightfully a greater expectation on how companies should manage, direct and govern their every decision. Financial institutions and governments have also introduced new regulations and legislation on ESG performance disclosure, that require companies to proactively take responsibility for themselves and their supply chains.
“By engaging with ESG principles and data, they can build trust through being transparent with stakeholders and, ultimately, ensure that their company is recognised as taking responsibility for their impact on their customers, communities, employees and the planet.”
Visit LRQA’s Spotify channel to listen to the first podcast episode of Our Planet, Our Plan.
