Responsible Business
Corporate Citizen
We strive to be a good citizen in our communities. Through Community Relations programmes and Environmental Management, we look to deliver positive social outcomes and give back to the communities in which we live and work.
We recognise the impact our business activities have on the environment, and we take action to minimize this every day.
We uphold the highest standards of integrity and stand behind what we say and do. We know that trust must be earned continually and are committed to transparency in our financial disclosures.
The Columbia Threadneedle Foundation* works with long-term charity partners to improve individual lives while also driving fundamental social change. Through the power of art, sport and education as catalysts for change, we seek to address critical social issues – inclusion, opportunity, employment, empowerment and mental health.
Through our corporate giving we create long-term partnerships with smaller charities, as well as providing individual grants. We seek to maximise our impact through a focus on lasting social change, working closely with our charity partners.
*Company registration number: 8825712
Charity registration number: 1158970
Since 2013
The Foundation has delivered measurable impact
Over 100,000
Individuals benefited
Over 2000
Teachers and mentors trained
11
Long-term charity partners
More than £3 million
Donated
The Foundation’s charitable giving is overseen by a Board of Trustee Directors made up of employees from across our EMEA business who work together to create sustainable partnerships with our chosen charities.
Take One Picture at the National Gallery
Columbia Threadneedle Foundation has partnered with the National Gallery in London since 2018 to support the Gallery’s ‘Take One Picture’ learning programme and exhibition. Complementing the Foundation’s support, Columbia Threadneedle Investments is the exclusive corporate sponsor of Take One Picture.
Take One Picture is the National Gallery’s flagship primary schools programme. Each year the Gallery chooses one painting from the collection to inspire primary classrooms countrywide. The programme aims to put art at the centre of children’s learning, inspiring a lifelong connection with artists, museums and galleries.
We were proud to support the Take One Picture learning programme and exhibition for the seventh consecutive year in 2024. For the first time, the exhibition was displayed outside the walls of the Gallery and on Trafalgar Square, running as part of the Gallery’s Free Festival of Art. The National Gallery selected ‘Surprised!’ (1891) by Henri Rousseau, one of the Gallery’s top 20 most popular and visited paintings, as the source of inspiration.
We offer all employees the opportunity to carry out volunteer work within their working hours, as individuals or as teams. Not only does volunteering enhance our wider support for charities, it also gives our employees the chance to develop new skills and network within the business, and for teams to collaborate more effectively across departments. Each year more than 200 employees devote their time and skills to our charity partners or other local causes, driving social progress.
We encourage and support our employees’ charitable giving by matching their donations up to a set amount. Our Annual Giving Campaign offers additional incentives to maximise the impact our employees can make to causes of their choice.
We have been measuring our global operational emissions footprint since 2019. With increased data availability, enhanced methodologies, and improved data controls, we have consistently strengthened the quality of our reporting, as disclosed in our Climate Report. For our operational emissions we have set an interim target of a 50% reduction by 2030, using 2019 baseline data.
Since 2007, we have achieved continuous ISO14001:2015 accreditation proving we’ve implemented effective plans to help minimise our risk to the environment.
Renewable energy
- Target to purchase 100% renewable energy at all our UK sites
- Partnerships with our landlords to install energy- and water-efficient appliances and multiple waste streams
- Hybrid or fully electrical vehicles available for employees to lease
Engaging employees
- Supporting local conservation projects through employee volunteering opportunities
- Employee cycle-to-work scheme established and bicycle storage installed at UK sites
- Providing all employees with a keep-cup and removing all single use cups in offices
Reducing waste
- Continued collaboration with our stationery, printing, catering and travel suppliers to reduce our sustainable impacts
Sustainable activities
- Working with our travel provider to undertake sustainability due diligence on the airlines and hotels used by employees
- Sustainable events checklist to ensure venues and suppliers are reviewed and selected at our conferences and meetings
Our employee-led Environmental Advisory Group (EAG) is headed by David Logan, Head of EMEA and Global Business Operations. The EAG focuses on identifying, measuring and reducing the major environmental impacts internally and in the wider community – ranging from carbon emissions caused by business travel and energy use to waste, water and raw materials usage.