Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Carols in the Courtyard

Commitment to our Community

At Aaron & Partners, we believe it’s important to have a positive impact on society, not only by contributing to the communities in which we work and live, but also by taking a responsible, long-term approach to looking after our people, our clients, our community, our suppliers and our environment.

We have a dedicated CSR Committee, made up of colleagues at various stages of their career who are passionate about our core principles and who drive them forward for the benefit of their colleagues and communities.

Soapbox Derby

Our approach to CSR is based on the following principles:

to engage staff within our organisation;

to be involved, where practicable, in local communities to have a positive impact on our society;

to demonstrate responsibility in environmental, social and community issues; and
to raise our profile as a responsible employer in Cheshire, Shropshire, North Wales and across the North West.

Rowing

We have a long legacy of supporting the communities in which our colleagues live and work.

We are actively involved with local business groups across the region, both general business organisations and sector specific groups. These include local Chambers of Commerce, Chester Business Club, Shropshire Junior Lawyers Division and the local branches of the Institute of Directors.

Another core focus of our outreach is supporting young people through our school engagement programme to include activities. We attend open evening, school and college fairs, offer insightful work experience and recruit from across the local educational platforms.

Click Here to view our Social & Environmental Impact Report, 2023-24

Sponsorship

At Aaron & Partners, we are proud to support several community organisations that have a positive impact on those they serve.

As part of our commitment to the Arts, we are proud to sponsor the Welsh National Opera and Theatr Clwyd. Founded in 1943, the Welsh National Opera aims to “bring the power, drama and raw emotion of opera to as wide an audience as possible in performances, marked by an uncompromising quest for artistic quality.”

Theatr Clwyd, Chaired by Partner and Head of Employment Helen Watson, is currently undergoing a £50 million capital project to ensure the theatre is fit for the future. As a cornerstone of arts, education and entertainment to North Wales, we are proud to be supporting the Theatre during this seismic moment.

We are also proud sponsors of the ITF W100 Tennis Tournament in Shrewsbury. Bringing elite tennis players, such as future Wimbledon Ladies Singles Champion Marketa Vondrousova, to the town, the event seeks to promote the sport to new players of all ages.

Fundraising & Our Charities of the Year

As part of our CSR commitment, our staff vote each year for the charity that will be the central cause for fundraising that year. This year, the following charities have been chosen:

Chester: Hospice of the Good Shepherd - The Hospice of the Good Shepherd in Chester provides specialist palliative care for people in Cheshire, South Wirral & North Wales.

Shrewsbury: The Movement Centre - The Movement Centre provides life changing children’s physiotherapy, and specialises in Targeted Training. They help children who have Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome or other diagnoses to achieve new skills, through increased strength and control of their movement.

Altrincham: Warrington Disability Partnership - Warrington Disability Partnership (WDP) is a user led charity which aims to relieve the needs of disabled people, their families and carers in England and Wales, through actively promoting independent living.

As well as supporting these central charities, Aaron & Partners and its staff have supported numerous other causes over the past year.

Green Development And Lending

The Environment

We are committed to protecting the environment and preventing pollution by managing and reducing the impact our firm has on our environment.

We have partnered with Liverpool University Environment Department, whose post-graduates have carried out an inspection of the Chester Office and created a report which provided recommendations and information for the business to better understand its carbon footprint and set objectives to improve it. Initiatives such as the car pooling / sharing incentives were created as a direct result of the report.

We are also monitoring and measuring the waste we as a firm produce and aim to minimise this. For example, we have switched from plastic to glass milk bottles which are collected and re-used.

Sustainable Palm Oil

Sustainable Palm Oil Project

We at Aaron & Partners are committed to Chester Zoo’s Sustainable Palm Oil City project in Chester.

We are working with our suppliers to ensure that where palm oil is present in our cleaning supplies and food, it will be sourced from sustainable sources.

By doing so we know that we are helping to protect wildlife around the world from the impact of unsustainable agricultural practices and helping Chester become the world’s first Sustainable Palm Oil City.

To read more about the Sustainable Palm Oil City project, click here.

Welsh Peaks

Our People

We understand that our people are the foundation block of our business, and we are passionate about their health and wellbeing.

Our internal Mental Health and Wellbeing committee is made up of accredited Mental Health First Aiders. Our champions are trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of common workplace mental health issues and guide staff to the right mental health support. Examples of initiatives rolled out include our monthly wellbeing walks, wellbeing coffee mornings and diversity and inclusion training.

We are also committed to supporting our staff in their professional lives. We are collaboratively working to ensure that our career development pathway continue to be relevant, supportive and productive. We also seek to ensure that other policies are kept up to date. For example, we have amended our return-to-work policy for those on parental leave, and have implemented a flexible working policy that is collaborative between management and staff.