Corporate responsibility
From supporting the local community to minimising our environmental impact, our aim is to ensure our actions have an increasingly positive impact. We have four pillars that help us remain and improve as a responsible business.
Our members
We look after our members to ensure they’re empowered financially. By embedding a member-centric culture, we make sure they remain at the heart of everything we do. Our purpose of making it easy for people to save and invest for a better future aims to encourage members to take control of their financial future: 5 to Thrive – Our guide to the 5 building blocks for financial resilience, making it easy for members to tackle their financial goals in manageable chunks.
Savings and Resilience Barometer – To understand personal financial resilience, we’ve established a Savings and Resilience Barometer, based on the 5 key areas of our 5 to Thrive campaign produced every 6 months with Oxford Economics.
Financially Fearless – A campaign that tackles money inequality, helping women to gain financial independence. Members can join the community to build their financial knowledge, get money boosting tools and break down the taboo of talking about money.
Our people (HL employees)
We make sure we create an inclusive, diverse and healthy workforce with equal opportunities for all.
Inclusive and diverse workforce – Our strategy focuses on a detailed action plan to ensure we attract, hire, progress, engage and retain diverse talent and build upon the progress we’ve made.
Graduate and apprenticeship schemes – We have graduate schemes, two types of apprenticeships for those who’ve just left school or college and those with a degree. We also offer 12-month placements for undergraduates looking to gain experience in the industry.
Mentor programme – The HL Mentor Scheme matches colleagues across areas of the business to coach and support development and future career goals.
Career development – Our employees have the opportunity to progress internally as well as the option of undertaking external qualifications.
Our community
We play a positive, supportive and leading role in our local community. Volunteering – We work with local schools through Envision and Reading Partners projects, as well as working with charities like FareShare at food banks. Each employee is allocated 15 hours a year to devote to volunteering. HL Foundation – In 2016 we launched our HL Foundation, the charitable arm of HL. The foundation aims to provide a centralised focus for fundraising efforts, improve support and increase the money raised for charitable causes, and improve links with our local communities and national charitable groups. All of the legal and administration costs of the HL Foundation are met by the HL Group so 100% of the money raised goes to charities. For more information, go to our HL Foundation page. Strive Internship – We offer paid internship opportunities to Black, Asian and minority ethnic students living or studying in Bristol.
Sustainability
Our aim is to be a sustainable business that takes responsibility for how we manage the impact we have on the environment and climate change. We’re working hard to do better and are rolling out various emission reduction initiatives such as reducing paper and plastic, installing LED lights and providing incentives for greener travel. Responsible Investment – We provide information on funds on our platform that have a positive impact on the environment and society. Volunteering – Including beach cleans, planting trees and rewilding projects. Working to UN Sustainable Development Goals – The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provides a focus for how businesses, governments and civil society can tackle challenges in order to promote a more sustainable future for all. They have helped to inform our thinking about where we can play a role, and we currently contribute to 13 out of the 17 goals. Bristol Green Capital Partnership – We’re a member of the Bristol Green Capital Partnership working towards making Bristol a sustainable city with a high-quality life for all, in addition to being involved in the Bristol City Council ‘Cleaner Streets’ initiative.