This Corporate Responsibility Report is designed to provide you with a balanced account of how Provident Financial plc’s Purpose and strategic drivers are aligned to the Group’s responsible business strategy, as well as further details of the progress that has been made during 2021 in delivering against this strategy.
In 2021, as we took a number of important decisions regarding PFG’s future strategy, we continued to ensure our Purpose is strategically aligned with the approaches we take to operating our business of lending to our customers in a responsible manner, and acting responsibly and sustainably in all our stakeholder relationships by focusing on creating a fair, inclusive and diverse working environment for colleagues, investing in the communities that we serve, taking positive action on climate change, and engaging with our stakeholders on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda.
This ensures that we demonstrably deliver on our Purpose and continue to provide our customers with the responsible credit products and services that meet their particular needs, as well as play our role in addressing some of the key social, environmental and ethical challenges of our time.
of colleagues feel PFG does enough to
support their health and wellbeing at work
tonnes of CO2e offset
(increase of 5,000)
of management representation are female
invested in the community
(increase of .2m)
colleague engagement score
donated to employee fundraising efforts
(increase of 18%)
Being a Purpose-led business means that we are well placed to manage the ESG issues that
matter to our business and stakeholders, but also that we must play our part in proactively seeking to address issues such as inequality and disadvantage.
Malcolm Le May
Chief Executive Officer
Our Sustainability Strategy
Our Purpose of helping to put people on a path to a better everyday life goes beyond the traditional concept of mission, vision and values; it articulates our reason for being, and helps differentiate the Company and contributes to the generation of trust among all our key stakeholders.
This Purpose encompasses the wide-ranging role that PFG has in providing solutions to global challenges and benefiting wider society, which positively expresses how, at the core of our business, we seek to create value for all our stakeholders in a way that supports the environmental and social systems we rely upon, by contributing to a sustainable future.
Maintaining high customer satisfaction rates
It is vital that we know that our customers are happy with the products and services we provide to them. This is why customer satisfaction is a key metric for PFG. Monitoring rates of customer satisfaction helps us to determine whether we are providing our customers with products, services and partnerships that meet their particular needs and help put them on a path to a better everyday life.
Credit cards
Customer satisfaction rates for 2021
(2019: 4.6/5)
Customer complaints received in 2021
(2019: 17,177)
Consumer Credit Division (closed)
Moneybarn
Spotlight on inclusion and diversity
PFG’s ambition is to create a truly inclusive workplace. To achieve this, we need to build a diverse and balanced workforce that reflects the customers we serve. We believe an inclusive culture
celebrates difference, allowing our colleagues to bring their true selves to work and always feel they belong. We also believe a culture of this nature to be intrinsically linked to our Group Purpose,
informing what we do and how we do it, as we help put people on a path to a better everyday life.
19.6%
of colleagues disclosed to us that they had a disability (2020: 5%)
0.4%
of colleagues told us that their sex is different to what it was when they were born (2020: 0.3%)
33.7%
of colleagues come from a working-class background
19.2%
of colleagues told us they come from a Black, Asian, other white or minority background (2020: 11%)
6.5%
of colleagues told us that they are part of the LGBTQ+ community (2020: 7%)
43%
of colleagues told us that they had caring responsibilities (2020: 39%)
In 2021, PFG joined the Social Mobility Taskforce set up by HM Treasury and the Department for
Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
The taskforce’s goal is to improve socio-economic diversity at senior levels in UK financial and professional services. To help inform PFG’s approach in this area, we asked three additional questions relating to social background in our most recent colleague survey. This data will be used to benchmark how our Group compares to other UK companies in terms of social mobility.
Focus on Gender Diversity
- 56% of colleagues who received a promotion identified as female (2020: 40%)
- 55% the percentage of first level managers who identify as women (2020: 47%)
- 27% of senior management representation is female (2020:27%)
Improving Gender Diversity at PFG
A key focus of the work we have delivered over the past 18 months to create and maintain a fair, diverse, and inclusive culture for our colleagues and other stakeholders has been on achieving a better gender balance in our senior management population. As of 31 December 2021, we had 27% female representation in our senior management population and we believe we're on track to meet our overall target of having 40% female representation in this population by December 2024.
Reducing our Carbon Footprint
Set out below are key reductions in our carbon footprint which occurred throughout 2020, when compared to the same period in 2019. We acknowledge that the Covid-19 pandemic has likely had a significant impact on our carbon footprint and is a key reason for these reductions. We will continue to monitor our carbon footprint this year and reduce it where possible in the future.
reduction in our total scope 1 and 2 (and associated scope 3) emissions
of waste was recycled or sent for energy recovery (2020: 44%)
reduction in business travel emissions
reduction in our air travel mileage
Our Taskforce
In 2021, in support of the UK Green Finance Strategy, we set out our ambition to achieve net-zero Greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. We also conducted a review to identify how the Group can work towards meeting the recommendations of the TCFD, which took into account our environmental targets. In terms of the review of our environmental targets, we determined that we will need to achieve deeper emissions reductions that align with climate science and the rules governing the setting of science-based targets while enabling us to deliver our commercial objectives.
We will therefore develop and publish a science-based reduction target and other related targets that will enable us to realise our 2040 net-zero ambition by 2023.
Spotlight on Community Investment
The strategy of our Group-wide Social Impact Programme is to invest in activities and initiatives which seek to address some of the key factors which, on their own or acting together, can reduce social and/or financial inclusion. These factors include (but are not limited to) lack of literacy or numeracy skills; disabilities and/or mental health issues; unemployment or under-employment; low levels of educational attainment; and low, uncertain, or fluctuating incomes.
Click the tabs below to read more about our core principles.
We work with charities and specialist partners to provide support that aims to address key factors that can affect customer and colleague wellbeing.
We support children, young people and adults to boost their education, skills and aspirations, in order to participate in society and secure a brighter financial future.
You can read more in the full report and see some of our work in action here.
We support community foundations and other partners to address the wide range of social inclusion and social mobility issues that are relevant to our customers and the communities where we operate.
You can read more in this year's report and here.
We work with charities and specialist partners to provide support that aims to address key factors that can affect customer and colleague wellbeing.
We support children, young people and adults to boost their education, skills and aspirations, in order to participate in society and secure a brighter financial future.
You can read more in the full report and see some of our work in action here.
We support community foundations and other partners to address the wide range of social inclusion and social mobility issues that are relevant to our customers and the communities where we operate.
You can read more in this year's report and here.
2021 CR Report Assurance Statement
This report has been independently assured by Corporate Citizenship in accordance with the ISAE 3000
Assurance Standard.
You can download our Full Corporate Responsibility report here
