Environmental, Social and Governance

We lead with a strong social purpose and aim to pioneer the conversation on positive ageing. We will continue to curate purposeful and sustainable products and services that create connection, confidence and experience.

A menopause friendly employer

Over the last two years, we have taken active steps to move forward the conversation regarding menopause, upskilling our leaders and role-modelling a more accepting and open culture. We worked closely with industry experts, Henpicked, to create the tools and resources to support our colleagues in the best way and were delighted to receive The Menopause Friendly Accreditation.

 

We commit to evaluating our environmental impact and taking responsibility for our actions. We will work to address our negative footprint on the oceans and natural world whilst striving towards achieving net zero.

Reporting our environmental impact

For our latest emissions reporting, please refer to our 2023 Annual Report and Accounts.

Our reported GHG emissions and energy consumption are verified annually by Accenture to the ISO 14064-3 standard, and we have adopted a materiality threshold of 5% for GHG reporting purposes. You can read the full report here. A breakdown of GHG emissions by type and verification can also be found in our 2023 Annual Report and Accounts.

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

Saga made the decision, in 2015, to respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) climate change questionnaire to help manage our climate-related impacts, risks and opportunities. In 2022, we scored ‘B’ which is classified as management level, demonstrating that we are taking co-ordinated action on climate issues. 

Marine mammal monitoring

We support the research programme undertaken by whale and dolphin conservation charity, ORCA Foundation, by making cabins available for its survey teams to sail onboard our ships on a regular basis. In a typical year, a team of four volunteers would sail on 10 cruises. The team raise awareness of their research by encouraging our guests to join them in monitoring wildlife and through onboard presentations.

ISO 14001

CustomerKNECT, our in-house mailing and printing business, located in Seaham, has been ISO 14001 accredited since 2015. The accreditation covers the provision of the direct mailing services including printing, packing, data handling and arrangement of delivery. 

Waste management

Waste produced from our offices is separated into two main waste streams, general waste and mixed recycling, both of which are summarised in the table below. General waste is incinerated to produce energy which is fed back to the electrical grid. The remainder of our office waste is shown as total recycled waste material in a variety of forms, with zero waste going to landfill.

Period	Total incinerated waste (tonnes)	Total recycled waste (tonnes)	Total waste generated (tonnes)
2018	59.8	443.6	503.4
2019	57.6	277.9	335.5
2020	34.1	78.3	112.4
2021	21.2	79.3	100.5
2022	22.5	16.3	38.8

Saga specialises in providing products and services specific to people aged over 50. We are not a manufacturer of goods or products and therefore do not use raw materials in the creation of our products or undertake any product lifecycle analysis.

Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

In accordance with Listing Rule 9.8.6 (8), we are disclosing our alignment with TCFD recommendations. We are continually improving and aligning our internal processes and public disclosures with the TCFD. Our 2023 TCFD report can be found here and our 2022 report here.

We recognise that driving a positive culture and engagement for our colleagues is key to building a sustainable business. We know that we must get it right, so that they are enabled to deliver the exceptional experiences that our customers expect every day.

Our core values represent who we are and how we work, which are brought to life every day by our colleagues. We believe that every interaction, in whatever form that takes, should reflect these values:

At Saga, our colleagues feel welcome and can always be themselves as they are part of a supportive and empathetic team. Colleagues know how, and have the tools, to speak up and be heard.

We enable colleagues to do the best work of their lives, focusing on the things that really matter. Our colleagues take ownership and make things happen, knowing they will be fairly rewarded for their contribution.

It is this culture that allows us to attract talent and build the capabilities we need to continuously innovate and evolve, being a driver of positive change for colleagues, customers and the communities we serve.

Rewards and benefits

We think it’s only right that when we do well, our colleagues do too. That’s why we share our business success by awarding all eligible colleagues free Saga shares. We also pride ourselves on ensuring our pay and benefits are competitive and fair as we continue to embed our reward principles. For all colleagues, we maintain a 20p uplift between minimum pay levels and the National Living Wage.

At the Employee Benefits Awards 2022, Saga won, ‘Best Benefits to Support Employees Post-Pandemic’ and was received Highly Commended in the ‘Best Benefits to Support Work-Life Balance’ category.

                                                      

Wellbeing

We continue to focus on colleague wellbeing through a suite of products and services, including private medical insurance and the mental health app, Unmind. We strengthened our colleague commitment by appointing a Head of Wellbeing to develop our longer-term strategy and commitment in this space.

Our vision for wellbeing at Saga is to be known for a culture of high care and high trust that delivers high performance. We take care of ourselves and each other, giving us the energy to perform and be our best. To support this vision, in October 2022, we launched our new wellbeing brand and proposition, Be Well, which is made up of three core pillars; Work Well, Live Well and Think Well.

Community

We believe volunteering is critical, enabling our colleagues to share their skills and time to benefit the communities in which they live and work. During 2022, Saga colleagues volunteered over 7,500 hours, a 120% increase from the previous year.

Saga is the main sponsor of the Folkestone 10k, an annual event that attracts participants from across Kent and beyond. A Saga team of 60 colleagues entered the 2023 race as well as a virtual race for our crew and guests onboard Spirit of Discovery and Spirit of Adventure. Saga has committed to sponsoring this event until 2024.

As well as promoting Saga’s preferred charities, we also support our colleagues who are fundraising for other charities through our matched funding scheme. Each month, colleagues have the opportunity to tell us about their fundraising activities and apply for matched funding.

We also administer a Saga Workplace Lottery, giving colleagues the opportunity to win a monthly prize while raising funds for good causes. The proceeds are distributed quarterly, determined by a colleague vote.

Saga is proud to be a silver signatory of the Armed Forces Covenant, a recognition scheme that rewards the efforts of organisations that provide support to this community. At Saga, we do this in several ways:

• Seeking to support the employment of veterans, young and old.
• Through our Reservist Policy which provides support to colleagues who choose to be members of the Reserve Forces.
• Offering flexibility in granting leave for service spouses and partners.
• Making donations to Armed Forces charities. 

We have extended our long running scheme, which provides educational bursaries for the children and siblings of our Filipino crew members. 443 children of our Filipino crew received an educational bursary during the 2022/23 academic year.

Labour standards

The landscape of employment is changing fast. There is a broad mix of full-time, part-time and ‘gig economy’ contracts in use across a number of industries today. Increasing automation and digitisation affects the demand for workers and types of employment. The disruption by the pandemic has also led to new perspectives in the world of work. In a future sustainable society, people have access to health, participatory processes, education, and justice. There are many ways labour standards and human rights are part of the day-to-day at Saga plc. You can read our Labour Standards Policy here.

At Saga, we are committed to creating a truly inclusive culture, where all colleagues can bring their full and authentic selves to work. Our ambition is that our colleagues are able to do the best work of their lives when they’re with us. This is irrespective of the wonderful differences that make us all unique, including age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, ability and all other characteristics that make us who we are.   

We are also a committed member of the UK Government’s Disability Confident scheme, supporting the employment and advancement of disabled people in the UK.

We have an ambitious diversity, equity and inclusion strategy which we will deliver through five key focus areas; Culture, Talent, #BeYou, Champions of age and Data and insights:

We support the UK Government’s ambition to address the gender pay gap and are delighted that our gender pay gap reduced in 2022. Our report detailing our gender pay commitments can be found here.

Championing diversity is important to us; we’re passionate about creating a culture where every colleague feels like they belong. We’re proud to partner with leaders in this space: Saga's Equal Opportunities Policy covers bullying and harassment and provides colleagues with information on how to raise concerns, including to their managers, the People Team, or through Saga’s Speak Up process. Details of how to proceed with these concerns are also included in Saga’s Grievance Policy, where managers are supported by the People Team to investigate concerns. The organisation’s Speak Up process provides all colleagues, including managers, with a channel to report concerns anonymously and a dedicated team is then assigned to investigate. We are committed to ensuring that our attraction, recruitment, promotion and development practises are barrier-free, fair, objective and inclusive to all with a focus on continuous learning, we actively encourage all colleagues to access our training and development tools to support their careers.

Fines and penalties

Our cruise vessels have a strong safety and environmental performance record. No environmental fines or penalties have been imposed and we are not aware of any ongoing investigations or proceedings which could result in the issue of any such penalty. 

Anti-corruption

The Group values its reputation for financial probity and integrity and recognises that it has a primary duty to protect its customers from all financial crime, including bribery and corruption. The Group takes a zero-tolerance approach to incidents involving bribery and corruption and supports the organisational policy which lays out clear guidance for the appropriate assessment of any risk of bribery and corruption across all business functions. All colleagues are trained annually to ensure their understanding of the risks and appropriate action if they encounter any activity of concern.

Risk management

Our risk management framework has been designed in conjunction with external risk expertise to bring together best practice risk management standards and draw upon a number of risk standards and professional body guidance, including the Institute of Risk Management, the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations, ISO 31000:2018 and Basel risk classification guidelines. These standards, frameworks and guidelines support specific design considerations of our risk framework, whilst ensuring the final result is fit for Saga and reflective of its risk maturity.  

Saga expects its colleagues, managers and leaders to carry out their business and perform their duties to the highest ethical standards and in compliance with all relevant laws. This is reflected in our Personal Standards and Ethics Policy. These standards of behaviour apply to Saga’s dealings with all stakeholders including customers, regulators, colleagues, suppliers and investors. The Board reviews the Group Personal Standards and Ethics Policy, and compliance with it, on a regular basis and will take prompt action should it discover any behaviour that isn't aligned to this. Where appropriate, adherence to standards is assessed through the risk management framework and assurance work undertaken across the three lines of defence. Any areas of non-conformity are reported through the established governance framework to Executive Committees and the Board as appropriate. Policies are reviewed periodically to ensure that they remain effective.  

In addition to reporting labour-related incidents to the Board, the business works closely with all its regulators and, in the event a non-conformity or reportable incident is identified, this would be disclosed to the relevant body. Where the business has a responsibility to submit calendar-based disclosure reporting claims or incidents of non-compliance, these are submitted in accordance with the schedule set by the regulator.

Under Saga’s Modern Slavery Policy, each business area is required to risk assess all new suppliers before operating with them. It is also a policy requirement to carry out follow-up risk assessments with existing suppliers every three years to assess the potential of any residing risk. 

Due diligence is conducted on our suppliers to help determine our future relationship with that supplier. It is policy for all new agreements with suppliers to be in writing and contractually oblige the supplier to comply with the Modern Slavery Act.

It is the responsibility of each business area to attest continued compliance with Saga’s Modern Slavery Policy annually. Any areas of non-compliance are reported through the governance framework to the appropriate executive committee and Board, where appropriate.   

ESG and climate risk feature in the Group's principal risks and uncertainties included within our Annual Report and Accounts and are tracked by the Executive Leadership Team and Board to ensure the risks are being managed effectively. ESG and climate form part of our risk framework.

Whistleblowing (Speak Up)

The Company’s robust Whistleblowing and Open-Door Policy is known within Saga as the Speak Up Policy. The Audit Committee are responsible for reviewing the adequacy and security of the Company’s arrangements for its colleagues and contractors to raise concerns, in confidence, about possible wrongdoing in financial reporting or other matters. The Committee shall ensure that these arrangements allow proportionate and independent investigation of such matters and appropriate follow up action.

External auditors

Our current external auditors were appointed in 2016 following a competitive tender process. We completed the rotation of our audit partner in 2022. 

Supplier Code of Conduct

Central to the success of our operations are the suppliers we work with. Corporate integrity, responsible sourcing and the safety and wellbeing of workers in the countries where we do business are of paramount importance to Saga. These core principles are reflected in our Supplier Code of Conduct - Expected Behaviours, which establishes the behaviours Saga expects from any entity that supplies products or services to the Saga Group. Suppliers must notify us immediately upon becoming aware of any actual or suspected non-compliance by it, or it's own, supply chain.