Responsible business practices
We are committed to good corporate governance and sound risk management practices – the foundation of a sustainable organisation. Being member-owned, we are mindful that our actions should meet the standards members expect.
Avant is committed to maintaining high standards of governance and regulatory compliance. We have an effective management system to monitor and regulate environmental, social and governance risks for the businesses. We have policies are in place to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations that govern our businesses, and foster an open an honest culture with a membership-first ethos.
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals are used to guide us in delivering responsible business practices
Over the last year, we have expanded our business risk management team to strengthen processes that protect the business, members’ interests and improve quality. Our Risk Management Framework and its implementation is raising risk maturity across the business.
Avant acts in the member’s best interests to protect their personal and sensitive data. We continue to strengthen our cyber security practices, including reinforcing our data protection safeguards, with tighter controls introduced on how data is used, shared and stored.
To provide transparency to members and stakeholders, each year we publish our Financial Report, Tax Transparency Report and annual report on our website. All members are invited to the annual general meeting and encouraged to put questions to the board on Avant’s activities.
Avant is committed to identifying and addressing modern slavery in its business and supply chains, as required by the Modern Slavery Act 2018. Our Modern Slavery Statement describes the steps Avant has taken to address modern slavery risks across the Group and our supply chains.
There is compulsory training for employees on: consumer protection and unfair business practices; bribery and corruption; discrimination, bullying and harassment; fraud awareness and management; and work health and safety. Staff are also assessed against our values that define how we interact with colleagues and members.
Avant’s Responsible Investment Policy governs our response to complex environmental, social and governance issues that arise from investing in companies. As a responsible investor, Avant favours active ownership to improve a company’s behaviour and management of these issues, but have taken an exclusionary approach to tobacco investments.