28 May 2021

To our stakeholders:

I am pleased to confirm that Alpha CRC Ltd. reaffirms its support of the Ten Principles of the United Nations Global Compact in the areas of Human Rights, Labour, Environment and Anti-Corruption.

In this annual Communication on Progress, we describe our actions to continually improve the integration of the Global Compact and its principles into our business strategy, culture and daily operations. We also commit to sharing this information with our stakeholders using our primary channels of communication.

Sincerely yours,

Dr. Peter Nash
Managing Director

Alpha supports the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and any initiative that reflects the values included therein.

Alpha defined its code of conduct to ensure we follow this Declaration. We want our employees to work in a professional environment free from discrimination, harassment and bullying, and that employees, job applicants, customers, business partners and suppliers should be treated fairly regardless of:
• Race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins
• Gender, sexual orientation, marital or family status
• Religious or political beliefs or affiliations
• Disability, impairment or age

Our objective is to provide full and fair consideration to applications for employment from people with disabilities and other under-represented groups. We also wish to make sure that that all employees have access to the same training, development and job opportunities.

We make every effort to retrain and support employees who suffer from disabilities during their employment, including the provision of flexible working to assist their return to work.

In the coming year, we will continue to underline our commitment to Human Rights and ensure that our workplace provides a supportive environment for all employees.

Employees have the possibility to raise any issue related to human rights with the HR officer who will submit any complaint to the Board.

Human Rights issues are included in Alpha's yearly survey of Social Responsibility, sponsored by the Alpha Board. We have nominated a representative to monitor any related issues.

Alpha supports the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, including freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining, the elimination of forced or compulsory labour, the abolition of child labour and the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation. Alpha does not tolerate any form of discrimination at the work place.

Alpha explicitly supports employees who seek membership of a trade union. We have a health and safety policy that is based on our significant safety record and our aim is to continue to provide a healthy work environment. It is the policy of Alpha that no individual should be required to work in any way that is clearly detrimental to his/her health and well-being. No member of staff should behave in a way liable to place his or her colleagues at similar risk.All staff have a duty to report any hazard or risk at the workplace. No individual should deliberately or knowingly put him or herself at risk in the course of their work.
Persistent or deliberate failure to comply with Alpha’s Health and Safety policy constitutes grounds for dismissal.

Our aim for the next year is to formalise our Labour Rights policy and require suppliers and partners to adhere to the Global Compact Labour principles.

Alpha has appointed a Safety Officer to whom any incidents, hazards, risks, accidents or suggestions relating to Health and Safety should be reported.
Implementation of corrective action on the basis of reported need shall be the joint responsibility of the HR Director and Managing Director, acting on the report of the Safety Officer. It is the duty of all staff to report any related matter to the Safety Officer or in their absence to the HR Director. The Safety Officer is also responsible for monitoring conformance to the Health & Safety policy within the company.

This Health and Safety policy statement is issued to all staff and forms the basis for implementation of Health and Safety-related issues.
Incidents and statistics derived from regular monitoring shall be recorded in an Accident/Incident Book and a Health and Safety Log, respectively.
The Safety Officer shall be responsible for monitoring whether corrective action has been taken to rectify specific hazards and risks.

All Alpha offices are non-smoking.

Senior management reviews health & safety and any other labour related issues on a yearly basis, in liaison with the Health & Safety and HR officers.

Statistics are collected on workplace injuries and gender equality.

WORKPLACE INJURIES
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Number of workplace injuries 0 0 0 0 0
Number of sick days per employee 3.3 3.6 3.2 2.4 2.4

EMPLOYEES BREAKDOWN
By gender 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Female 257 248 250 251 256
Male 141 129 123 119 126
Total 398 377 373 370 382

Alpha CRC recognises that as a company our work may have a direct or indirect impact on the local, regional and global environment. We are committed to minimising our negative impacts and acting in a sustainable way, meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Of all our activities we are aware that our energy is one area with the greatest environmental impacts, and we have taken steps to reduce these impacts and encourage our beneficiaries to do so as well.

We are therefore committed to reduce environmental impact by purchasing energy efficient equipment, using low energy services and implementing alternative, energy efficient solutions.

EQUIPMENT POLICY

PCs & Laptops
• Remove active screensavers - A monitor left running with an active screen saver uses the same amount of energy as when the screen is in full use. The PC may also be consuming needless power in sustaining the screensaver.
• Switch monitors to standby after 5 minutes of inactivity (no active screensaver) - prevents a longer period of wasted power. It may be possible to use the PC standby trigger to automatically switch the monitor to standby at the same time.
• Shut down PCs after office hours - All users must switch off their PC’s at the end of the working day, with the exception of machines being accessed remotely. All IT Updates are done during the PCs uptime hours.
• Enable active power management on desktops (standby / hibernate after a defined period of inactivity) - Having active power management enabled will more closely match the consumption of energy with use, reducing wasted energy. Ensure this is implemented though group policy.
• Specify low-power consumption CPUs and high-efficiency Power Supply Units (80% conversion or better) - The richer the functionality on a device the more mains power is drawn – a high powered machine suitable for high graphic gaming is not needed in the organisation. Power supply units convert mains AC power to the DC power needed by computers. More efficient units minimise the loss of energy from this conversion in the form of heat. Decision on purchasing ICT equipment must be done with this in mind.

Printers
• Encourage users to avoid printing on paper
• Set default green printing including duplex and grey scale by default
• Optimise power-saving sleep mode on printer to reduce the sleep time in less busier offices.
• Printer consolidation - Reducing the number of printers and replacing those left with networked multifunction devices (MFDs).
• Device consolidation - Where possible the IT Department should reduce the number of electronic devices an individual has to reduce in-direct energy requirements.

Others

• Apply timer switches to non-networked technology and printers - Not all ICT equipment can be networked and/or automatically shut down or put into standby mode – typically printers and even legacy computers aren’t networked. Neither do all such devices have automatic facilities to switch to a standby mode after a re-set time. Timer switches can be used to turn off such equipment automatically outside office hours saving up to 2/3rds of its daily energy consumption if currently left on 24hours a day. Those devices that are networked must be configured to shutdown out of office hours if they are non-business critical.
• Use SIP soft phones - This will cut down the number of physical phone units, thus reducing energy consumption.

Data centre
• Server Optimisation - Implement storage virtualisation & capacity management; Convert existing physical servers to “virtual servers” – utilise Hyper-V technologies to consolidate all of the organisation’s servers. When designing & provisioning new services, create “virtual servers” instead of procuring physical new servers. Reduce cooling in the server rooms to appropriate levels and increase the ambient room
• Identify servers and data disks in the data centre that are running but not providing any services - Decommission where necessary with approval from the Head of
IT
• Do not over specify system requirements during procurement. The higher the specification the more mains power is drawn, a business case must be presented to the Head of IT to take in to required specifications with Green ICT in mind.
• Ensure re-use of equipment that is no longer required but is still serviceable - Where re-use is not possible within the organisation; seeking re-use elsewhere is the organisation’s preferred policy.
• Data centre audit must be performed annually - This will determine the current physical layout and the layout that would maximise the effectiveness of cooling.

RECYCLING POLICY
• Ensure re-use of equipment that is no longer required but is still serviceable. If re-use is not possible recycle or ensure green disposal. The majority of energy in the life of a PC or laptop is consumed in its manufacture, delivery and disposal. Extending its use or seeking its re-use elsewhere will save energy and materials (manufacturing stage) as well as purchase and disposal costs. Ensure the necessary security procedures are carried out prior to re-use, recycling or disposal.
• Recycle Toners and Paper - All Toner cartridges and Paper must be recycled. Facilities are available at all of the organisation’s sites.
• Recycle glass and plastics - Encourage staff to place recycable items in specific recycling bins.

PURCHASING
Alpha CRC favours the purchase of “green” and power efficient IT equipment. All purchases need to be approved by the Alpha CRC Group IT manager with regard to their environmental specifications.

SERVICES
All third party outsourced services providers must demonstrate that they have implemented a Green IT policy.

GOALS FOR NEXT 12 MONTHS
• Formalise environmental policy for business partners
• Track recycling use of toners
• Track energy consumption
• Initiate environmental review by senior management

• Include environmental topics in training of new employees, in particular in the IT department
• Systematically ask suppliers for their environmental footprint when requesting quotes

Alpha currently monitors recycling rates for paper, plastic and glass. We will add toners to these statistics.
For 2022, we will also introduce an environmental review by senior management.

RECYCLING RATES
2019 2020 2021 (YTD)
Recycling % - Paper 81% 86% 87%
Recycling % - Plastic 61% 66% 69%
Recycling % - Glass 0 0 75%

At Alpha we appreciate the importance of ethical behaviour with regard to our relations with stakeholders and we pride ourselves on our high ethical standards. Still, we cannot be complacent about the threat of bribery and corruption in our business.

We aim to ensure integrity in corporate conduct which commits us to implement anti-corruption policies and procedures. Our second goal is to ensure that openness and transparency commit us to never engage in bribery, any form of unethical inducement or payment including facilitation payments and ‘kickbacks’.

This policy reflects our two commitments as defined above. It sets out the responsibilities of Alpha staff and entities worldwide in preventing bribery and corruption and how we will implement adequate procedures to do so. Our policy makes reference to Transparency International’s ‘Business Principles for Countering Bribery’.

1. Definition
For the purposes of this policy, bribery occurs when one person offers, pays, seeks or accepts a payment, gift, favour, or a financial or other advantage from another to influence a business outcome improperly, or to induce or reward improper conduct.

Bribery and corruption – whether involving government officials, or commercial entities – can be direct or indirect through third parties such as agents or consultants. It includes facilitation payments, even though in some countries facilitation payments are legal.

2. Scope
This policy applies to every employee, contractor, director and officer in every wholly-owned Alpha company and in every joint venture company under Alpha control.
Contractors, consultants or suppliers who are our agents or who are working on our behalf or in our name, through outsourcing of services, processes or any business activity, will be required to act consistently with this policy when acting on our behalf.
Independent contractors, consultants or suppliers will be made aware of this policy as it applies to our people in their dealings with them.
 
3. Policy
Alpha does not tolerate any form of bribery or corruption.
You must not offer, pay, make, seek or accept a personal payment, gift or favour in return for favourable treatment or to gain any business advantage. You must follow the anti-bribery and corruption laws to which you and Alpha are subject wherever you are operating.
You are liable to disciplinary action, dismissal, legal proceedings and possibly imprisonment if you are involved in bribery and corruption.
You must ensure people who work for and with you understand bribery and corruption is unacceptable.
You must comply with Alpha’s procedures for the prevention of bribery and corruption.

4. Adequate procedures
Alpha shall regularly and systematically identify bribery and corruption risks in its business and implement adequate risk-based procedures aimed at preventing bribery and corruption occurring including:
• Communication – We will communicate this policy and relevant guidance to staff across the Group, through our established internal communication channels. We will also communicate this policy to our suppliers, contractors and business partners and wider stakeholders.
• Training – We will ensure that those within the scope of the policy receive training appropriate to their activities and the associated risks.
• Mergers and acquisitions – Through due diligence we will prevent the acquisition of bribery and corruption related liabilities.
• Business relationships – We will ensure that our business partners – including contractors, suppliers and agents - are fit to do business with.
• Supply chain – We will address bribery and corruption risk in our supply chain including by ensuring that payments made for goods and services are reasonable.
• Conflicts of interest – Gifts and hospitality – We will address conflicts of interest and the risks created by gifts and hospitality through the implementation of our internal policies.
• Government officials – We will implement procedures applicable to our (or our agents’, or those suppliers in our supply chains’) dealings with government officials, political parties and related persons or organisations.

5. Responsibilities
The Alpha Board is accountable for our anti-bribery and corruption and one of Alpha’s Board directors is responsible for implementing the anti-bribery and anti-corruption strategy, policy and process within Alpha.

Reporting actual or potential violations and seeking guidance

Employees must report actual, potential or suspected corruption in Alpha or by any individual or organisation with whom Alpha does business.
They must report any request for an improper payment, or any indication that a person might be making corrupt payments or that a person has an intention or plan to violate this policy.
Employees have a similar obligation to report any information or knowledge of any hidden fund or asset, of any false or artificial entry in Alpha’s books and records, or any payment that circumvents Alpha’s internal financial processes.
Reports must be made immediately. The report may be made to the Alpha Board.
If any instance of bribery or corruption is identified, an investigation will take place under the guidance of the Managing Director of Alpha or his or her nominee.

Alpha conducts a yearly review at board level of completed tenders with a minimum value of $50,000 and purchases of significant amounts (over $10,000) with regards to bribery and corruption. The latest review has not revealed any incidents of corruption.