ESG

We integrate sustainability into all our business practices, promoting social responsibility and transparent governance, all while striving to create a positive impact on society and the environment.

We consider ESG as intrinsic to our approach.We also recognise the importance of ESG for our clients and stakeholders as it fosters sustainable development, enhances property value, and attracts socially conscious investors.

We recognise that the products of our designs will have far more environmental impact than our own operations. Therefore, we are committed to exercising our professional skills in such a way as to minimise environmental impact by raising awareness about sustainability and environmental protection, helping the members of the Design Team to develop a shared vision of environmental aspirations.

We are committed to providing a quality service in a manner that ensures a safe and healthy workplace for our employees and visitors and minimise our potential impact on the environment.

We are ISO 14001 accredited and to that end have implemented an Environmental Management System to continuously improve our environmental performance.

Through our work we aim for positive social impact by addressing social issues such as placemaking, wellbeing, community, health and wellbeing.

We also believe that social mobility is key to a fair and equitable society and understand that it represents equality of opportunity for all.

This belief forms the basis for our social value strategies:

• We are an accredited Living Wage employer and commit to paying all of our direct and contracted workforce a Living Wage.
• We partner with various organisations to provide opportunities for employment for those with less opportunity, most recently with GoodWork a non-profit that supports high-potential young people who face systemic barriers to entering the workforce
• We actively participate in community engagement via our projects
• We have developed an extensive outreach programme that offers work experience opportunities and CV and portfolio workshops, assisting aspiring pupils to gain essential experience other-wise inaccessible to help them in their future careers.
• In 2025 we will be launching Cowen+Futures the aim of which will be to create and support focused initiatives designed to support the next generation, particularly those from less advantaged backgrounds, to enter the architecture profession and, in partnership with others, the wider built environment sector.

We recognise that quality, health & safety, and environmental management are integral to our management function. The company views these as a primary responsibility and the key to good business in adopting appropriate quality standards.

As a business we hold ourselves to the highest standards and have the following policies in place to achieve this:

• Quality Policy (ISO 9001)
• Environmental Policy (ISO 14001)
• Anti-Corruption & Bribery Policy
• Anti-Harassment & Bullying Policy
• Anti-Modern Slavery Policy
• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Policy
• Whistleblowing Policy
• Health & Safety Statement
• Business Continuity Policy

Should you wish to learn more about our ESG strategy, initiatives or policies please contact
info@cowenandpartners.com