In the summer of 2024, Kbrw announced a major new initiative: our Sustainability Manifesto - part of Kbrw’s overall CSR strategy, through which we aim to integrate environmental responsibility, social equity, and strong governance into our business model.
By way of a recap, the manifesto articulated our commitment to adopting and promoting sustainability principles throughout both our own operations and the operations of our suppliers and partners. We also aim to support sustainability principles adopted by our customers.
Our commitments to sustainability, and the initiatives needed to achieve those commitments, are driven by a team of “sustainability champions” drawn from throughout Kbrw. After just over nine months of work by this team, here is an update on our progress so far along our CSR strategy, and the targets that we’re aiming to achieve in the foreseeable future.
Pillar One - Environment: Sustainable Pathway
Environmental considerations are a core part of our "Sustainable Pathway". To this end, we have in the last few months (re-)committed to the following company-wide initiatives:
- adoption of a responsible procurement policy,
- implementation a comprehensive company decarbonization strategy to reduce our emissions,
- enforcement of waste management practices, including adopting a zero-waste policy.
And we have set ourselves some demanding KPIs to measure our progress. These are:
- >80% compliance with responsible procurement policies by the end of 2025,
- a reduction of CO₂ emissions from employee travel compared to 2023 (something that necessitates the careful documentation of emissions associated with all employee travel, which required us to introduce new processes),
- full adoption and implementation of a zero-waste policy.
Pillar Two - Social: Kbrw Forward
This pillar relates to how we, the team at Kbrw, respect each other and those we work with, whether customer, supplier or partner. To this end, we have launched the following initiatives:
- Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives across all teams,
- targeted programs to enhance employee well-being,
- a requirement to strengthen Kbrw’s engagement in local community projects.
And, of course, we have set ourselves some demanding KPIs for this pillar too. These are:
- to enter partnerships with at least five inclusive associations by 2025 (and abide by the requirements of those associations),
- to achieve high satisfaction scores for employee well-being initiatives. We are aiming for continued recognition of Kbrw as a “Great Place to Work”, like we’ve been for the past few years,
- to ensure company-wide participation in at least five solidarity actions during 2025, such as Pink October campaigns.
Pillar Three - Governance: Leadership for Impact
To maintain the highest possible standards of governance, we have set the following objectives:
- to maintain transparency and clarity in our communications; and
- to strengthen collaboration with stakeholders, so that sustainability becomes baked into company decision-making.
The KPIs we have set here are:
- to publish KBRW’s first CSR report aligned with CSRD standards by Q4 2025, achieving an Ecovadis score >60 and thereby earning certification in the form of an Ecovadis Sustainability Rating, after being certified a “Committed” company in 2024.
- to formally present the CSR manifesto to our top 10 clients and host the first Kbrw CSR Day.
Outcomes and the future
So, what will the measurable impact be? Well, by the end of 2025, we are aiming for our KPIs to show significant reductions in our carbon emissions, as well as the effective adoption of zero-waste policies, and responsible procurement. We’re aiming to prove higher levels of employee satisfaction, with clear evidence of strengthened diversity. And, in respect of governance, we aim to align Kbrw with, or exceed, global sustainability standards.
Although we are only a few months into our Sustainable Pathway, Kbrw Forward and Leadership for Impact initiatives, we’ve quickly taken steps to ensure a greener, more inclusive, and transparent future. And, we hope you agree, we will be making a positive change in the SaaS sector and beyond.
But we also recognize that we are merely at the start of this particular journey. Watch out for future updates as we make progress with our current objectives and set new ones. Meanwhile, further information on our CSR initiatives is available here.
