Our Commitment to Sustainability
We are committed to acting responsibly across all activities we undertake and in all the decisions we make.
We want to build a sustainable business which understands the impact it has, from the global issues facing our planet to the local issues facing the communities we serve.
To reinforce this commitment, we look to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) through integrating sustainability in the way we operate our business; supporting the underserved borrower, nurturing a diverse and committed workforce and ensuring we make a positive contribution to society.
In 2022 a review of the UN SDGs identified those where we believe we can make a difference and have the most positive impact. In line with recommended practice, we selected three goals which align with our strategy and have set aspirations and targets.
ESG Vision and Approach
Our ESG Strategy consists of a simple Vision aligning to 4 Pillars, which take into account the interests and priorities of our stakeholders:
Customers: Support customers to achieve their housing and financial objectives and help when times are challenging.
Colleagues: Provide an enabling and supportive workplace where colleagues enjoy working at Vida.
Company: Operate transparently and responsibly in all that we do.
Community: Have a positive impact on the wider community and environment.
We approach our ESG responsibilities through a focus on 8 Priorities where we can have most impact and will be able to actively drive positive change, whilst building on our existing values:
Customers
1. Being a socially responsible business: Understand our impact across society and take action to minimise harms and maximise benefits for all our stakeholders.
2. Ensuring good customer outcomes: Help customers to make informed decisions which enable them to be financially resilient, supporting them throughout their journey with Vida.
Colleagues
3. Supporting personal growth: Create an environment where colleagues develop, thrive and feel valued.
4. Creating an inclusive workplace: Promote a culture of trust and openness where all colleagues feel empowered to make a difference.
Company
5. Effecting responsible decision making: Establish responsive and effective governance that supports our purpose and achieves our strategic aims.
6. Being diverse: Enable customers and colleagues to have confidence that we value each other’s differences and represent the full diversity of today’s society.
Community
7. Partnering with the community: Engage with our stakeholders and community partners so that we can make a real difference.
8. Achieving net zero operations: Cut emissions from our own operations from the 2019 baseline and offset all our own emissions to net zero.
Community Involvement
We encourage our people to volunteer by giving one day of paid leave to everyone to enable them to volunteer during work hours. Employees can choose to use their volunteering time to support a charity or community group of their own choice and the firm aims for at least 20% of employees to take up the volunteering day.
We have partnered up with the charity Crisis and committed to donate £150k over a 3 year period and over and above fundraising, we are raising awareness of homelessness and support Crisis in achieving their ambitions to end homelessness.
We also continue to support local community around our office in Egham through our connection with MidasPlus. MidasPlus supports individuals with physical or learning difficulties who are suffering financial hardship and demonstrate a need that cannot be fulfilled elsewhere.