Corporate Sustainability Policy

EARTHRELO- CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY POLICY- GENERAL STATEMENT

At EARTHRELO, we are committed to operating in a socially, environmentally, and economically responsible manner. We recognize the importance of sustainable practices in building a better future for our employees, clients, stakeholders, and the communities we serve.

In general, we are committed towards growing our impact in the best possible way. Open and transparent, with focus on continued improvements to be made. We realize we will not be perfect, yet we expect all stakeholders of the companies to have the right mindset to move forward.

Our corporate sustainability policy outlines our commitment to the following principles:

1. Environmental Stewardship: We work from a shared office building located in close proximity to a major airport. By having most of our employees allowed to work remote we limit the carbon footprint by at least 75%. See point 2.
2. Remote Work and Carbon Footprint Reduction: We embrace a hybrid work model where the majority of our employees work remote, saving the impact of travel. This reduces commuting-related carbon emissions, contributing to a lower overall environmental impact. Eventually, we will target on a zero emission carbon footprint
3. Diversity and Inclusion: We take pride in our international team and recognize the value of diversity. We are committed to fostering an inclusive work environment that respects and celebrates the unique backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences of our employees. We promote equal opportunities and strive for a diverse workforce that enriches our organizational culture.
4. Resource Efficiency: While our operations rely on the shared building’s resources, we are committed to promoting resource efficiency within our workplace. We encourage employees to minimize waste, practice responsible consumption, and support recycling initiatives. Additionally, we actively engage with the shared building management to ensure sustainable practices and efficient use of resources in the building’s operations.
5. Collaboration and Partnerships: We actively seek partnerships and collaborations with like-minded organizations, sustainability-focused initiatives, and community organizations to drive positive change. Through these alliances, we aim to share best practices, support local initiatives, and contribute to collective efforts for a more sustainable future.
6. Stakeholder Engagement: We believe in open and transparent communication with our stakeholders, including clients, employees, suppliers, and the local communities where we operate. We actively engage with them to understand their sustainability concerns and aspirations, and we strive to incorporate their feedback and perspectives into our sustainability strategies.
7. Continuous Learning and Improvement: We are committed to continuous learning and improvement in our sustainability efforts. We invest in employee training and education to raise awareness of sustainable practices and provide opportunities for skill development in sustainability-related areas. We regularly evaluate our performance, set ambitious targets, and adapt our strategies to meet emerging challenges and opportunities.

By adopting this corporate sustainability policy, EARTHRELO reaffirms its commitment to a sustainable future and invites all employees, clients, and stakeholders to join us in this journey.

Samir Shah
CEO
January 2024

Sustainability Program 2024 – GOALS

The Goals will be based upon three pillars:

• Environmental,
• Social and
• Governance,

We expect from our suppliers, agents and subcontractors the same approach and full respect to our role and duties in growing a sustainable business.

Staff collaboration is evident for us. Staff will fully engage in our brainstorms to make our company a better ‘place to be’.

We will evaluate on a yearly basis and communicate the progress towards all stakeholders through all communications going out from the organization.

Below we will describe goals set for 2024.

General

EARTHRELO will consider to have it’s development measured by Ecovadis certification and is determined to further develop it’s sustainability program.

I. Environment

Our environmental Policy ensures that EARTHRELO International will always strive to do business in such a way as to show full respect to the environment in respect of the workforce, the clients and other stakeholders worldwide.

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

We will operate in compliance with all relevant environmental legislation and we will strive to use pollution prevention and environmental best practices in all we do. Not only is this sound commercial sense for all, it is also a matter of delivering on our duty of care towards future generations.

Goals:

• Continuous: Environmental (possible) impact will be integrated in all our decision making (products, service deliveries, processes etc.)
• Promote environmental awareness among our employees and encourage them to work in an environmentally responsible manner. Working paperless is the standard in our company and with our partners we encourage the exchange of files and documents in a paperless way.
• In all our communication efforts we will seek to promote sustainability. Surveys will be done, where possible, virtual and we will also promote virtual surveying where possible, which will reduce the carbon footprint on this by at least 60% for 2024
• Reduce waste through re-use and recycling and by purchasing recycled, recyclable or refurbished products and materials where these alternatives are available, economical and suitable. Wherever possible we use our packaging materials several times in order to reduce the impact on the environment. All waste is disposed of in environmentally friendly ways whereby we diligently separate items according to their category.
• EARTHRELO will limit the use of plastics where possible, with one of our customers (RMC) we are working towards sustainable alternatives, also for tape.
• Operate and maintain company vehicles with due regard to environmental issues as far as reasonably practical/ upon replacement.
• Promote efficient use of materials and resources throughout our facility including water, electricity, raw materials and other resources.
• Avoid and possibly eliminate unnecessary use of hazardous materials and products, seek substitutions when feasible and take all reasonable steps to protect human health and the environment when such materials must be used, stored and disposed of.
• Strive to continually improve our environmental performance and minimize the social impact and damage of activities by periodically reviewing our environmental policy in light of our current and planned future activities.

We will continue to assess and manage environmental risks related to our operations, and turn possibilities into efforts and actions.

One of the key elements in an efficient and contemporary environmental policy is to strive for a reduction of use of energy and carbon emissions to what is technically and economically possible. All lights in EARTHRELO’s offices and warehouse will become LED-lights, and EARTHRELO has a policy of shutting down all electric appliances at the end of a working day.

All moving vehicles of EARTHRELO will, at any renewal, eventually be equipped with a performance track and trace system, allowing the planning department to use all vehicles on the road in the most efficient way, and to avoid useless or empty transports, in order to limit carbon emissions to a minimum.

When receiving a demand for a removal quote, an assessment is being made before scheduling a pre-move survey, and where possible, a virtual survey is conducted to avoid car displacements to a maximum.

EARTHRELO’s subcontractors/ partners will be encouraged to aim to replace all its vehicles with zero emissions vehicles where technically and economically possible.

II. Social

Our commitments and policies deal with:

• Health, Safety and Well-being
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Employee engagement, Fair & Respectful treatment
• Learning & Development opportunities
• Community engagement

Health, safety and mental well-being

Health, safety and mental well-being of our employees are a top priority for EARTHRELO. Employees that can work in safe circumstances and who are physical and mentally healthy are a huge benefit to the company. Real, effective change and improvement require a daily commitment, and we pledge to remain focused, vigilant and humble in our work.

Our commitment to safety starts from within. We aim to eliminate all workplace injuries and ensure that everyone leaves work in the same condition as they arrived. All tools and materials will be questioned and tested in function of the health and safety of the people who will be working with it.

EARTHRELO and their local subcontractors have external prevention advisors who deal with health and safety issues.

The safety advisor works on a daily basis in close contact with both employees as the management to ensure safety regulations are met on each level of the company, while the external prevention advisor works on all prevention and safety issues by means of a visit to the company minimum each two years, and making an extensive report to the Management.

On a regular basis EARTHRELO launches campaigns toward its staff to create a better awareness of health and safety uses with its staff and its subcontractors.

Safety and prevention measures are evaluated on a continuous basis. Quarterly, the prevention advisor makes a report of all events and activities related to safety and prevention matters and presents this to the management. At the beginning of each year, a yearly action plan on safety and prevention is made, and each 5 years a global prevention plan is presented.

As for mental well-being, a risk analysis for psycho-social risks per job type has been made. A person of trust, specially trained to deal with mental health matters, is available at the external prevention advisor. The contact details are communicated to all employees, and is also available at the dispatcher and is published at the warehouse entrance.

A procedure to deal with complaints or issues related to mental well-being is also included in the EARTHRELO workers regulations.

EARTHRELO also encourages feedback from staff to innovate on how to keep staff, suppliers, assignees, and clients safe in different situations and geographies.

Our goal is zero workplace injuries for all EARTHRELO related work.

Each incident, injury or complaint will be investigated and reported to the management, as well as an overview of the corrective actions that have been taken.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives

EARTHRELO International fully subscribes a policy of diversity, equity and inclusion. Our differences make us better.

We commit to advancing a collaborative, inclusive and globally diverse culture that creates unique careers in the moving and relocation industry.

To advance equity and diversity and build a culture of inclusion, we have established a set of aspirations we will strive to achieve:

Close representation gaps for historically underrepresented groups.

Advance common understanding, shared experiences and mutual respect.

Report diversity metrics and progress annually.

This policy contains the following element:

Job offers are open for everybody, regardless sex, age, ethnicity,… Each job offer is checked by EARTHRELO’s HR, making sure that no exclusions are placed in the job offer which are not related to competences, needed for the job.

In our recruitment program, there is no place for discrimination whatsoever. Candidates are only judged on their competence directly related to the job.

Criteria that are explicitly excluded in judging a candidate are : race and ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, religion, age and disabilities.

The importance of equity, inclusion and diversity is also stressed to our employees during their annual training.

Employee engagement

Happy people are more productive, less likely to be absent, less likely to leave the company, and more likely to work hard as a part of a team.

Employee engagement can be described as the amount of dedication and enthusiasm an employee feels towards their job. When an employee is engaged, they are more likely to care and be enthusiastic about the work they do and the company they work for and its performance.

As such, employee engagement has an important role to play in a company’s overall success. It has strong links to levels of job satisfaction and employee morale.

Companies with engaged employees are more successful, their employees are more productive, the financial health of the company is better, and these internal metrics can flow on to external factors like a strong brand identity, happy customers, repeat business and so on. When employees are disengaged they’re more likely to not be fully present, won’t put in their best effort, and will probably leave the organization for somewhere more engaging.

There are several factors that drive employee engagement and can affect whether or not you will retain your most valuable employees. EARTHRELO improves engagement levels by implementing initiatives in the following areas:

1. Onboarding process

When the onboarding process is not smooth (or if it doesn’t exist at all) the employee begins their life at the organization with confusion and disarray. They won’t have clear goals or expectations set and won’t know how they are expected to contribute to the company’s overall success.

EARTHRELO has an initiation procedure in place, which involves an induction training and providing a warm welcome to each new employee.

2. Culture

The culture of a workplace will have a huge impact on employee engagement. EARTHRELO ensures a welcoming workplace where everyone is kind, inclusive, respectful and courteous and everyone works together well as a team.

3. Tools to improve

The technology and other systems used in the workplace can affect engagement of employees. When you use outdated systems or the tools you are using are cumbersome and require too many unnecessary steps to accomplish a task, this can lead to frustration and then disengagement. Tools that help employees work better and collaborate with their peers will help improve morale.

For this reason EARTHRELO foreseen the best tools fitting for each job.

4. Internal communication

When internal communication is poor or lacking entirely, it can hurt workers’ engagement. Employees need to be provided with clear, concise, relevant, and timely information so that they can do their jobs well. Without good communication, there can be confusion, lack of direction, mistakes, loss of productivity, and resentment at being kept in the dark. Improving internal communication practices, including using a wide range of channels to ensure employees don’t miss information, will also drive engagement. As a family company, EARTHRELO highly values good and direct internal communication, where there is a direct line between the management and the workflow.

5. Flexible work options

A big engagement killer for employees is a lack of flexibility in the workplace. This has only been heightened during the COVID-19 pandemic as people don’t want to return to their old work lives where they had no flexibility at all. Flexibility can take many forms and there isn’t a blanket approach that will suit all employees. Some may want to work more hours but fewer days, some might want different start and finishing times or continued remote work to remove long commutes from their lives. If there is no reasonable reason why employees cannot work flexibly, by enabling it you will have happier, more productive, more engaged employees.

EARTHRELO International foresees in the possibility for our administrative staff to work remotely. For the blue-collar workers, flexibility is foreseen in the system of recuperation of performed overtime hours, which can be taken in agreement with the dispatcher, who complies to a maximum with the demands of the blue-collar workers, taking into account the ongoing workload.

Learning and development opportunities

Learning and development (L&D) is a crucial component for cultivating a positive company culture. It puts the employee first, making personal growth and innovation a priority. L&D also helps with recruiting and employee retention.

EARTHRELO offers employees access to development opportunities in two ways.

EARTHRELO has extensive internal employee training and development programs, giving workers the ability to upgrade their skill set and potentially advance. This applies to both white collar as blue collar workers through our subcontractors.

Community engagement

As a business enterprise, over and above the core of our business activities, we have a further responsibility towards society and the environment within which we develop our business activities.

EARTHRELO holds strong ties with India and its People. EARTHRELO collects relief supplies and goods to support communities in India and sends it free of charge with their groupage services to India.

III. Governance

Principles of Sustainability, as set out above, need to be put in practice through good governance.

Procedures therefore need to be put in place to make sure that a long-term positive impact and sustainability changes are created at a gradual and financially stable rate.

Therefore a distinction needs to be made between the so-called quick-wins, often generated by a change of behavior of individuals or by gains created by small investments, and the so-called long term goals, which require considerable investments and/or technical adaptations.

Quick wins include amongst others : working by paperless files where possible, switching off appliances at the end of the work day, recycling materials where possible, sorting out differ nets kind of waste, driving economically,…

These quick wins are determined and coordinated by Management. Management is to collect all information and data to determine which quick wins can be achieved, making a yearly report, organizing at least once a year training sessions on sustainability for all staff, office and staff at subcontractors.

The principles set out above will also be communicated to our suppliers, agents, subcontractors, accounts and clients by e-mail, through a link to the relevant pages on our website in the standard signature of all employees. Doing business with EARTHRELO will mean accepting our Sustainability Program.

Management will also be the contact person to all staff during working hours, and is available for any remarks on follow-up, progress and suggestions on our sustainability program.

Long term goals on sustainability are determined by EARTHRELO’s management, in coordination with the staff. These long terms are also part of the sustainability program, and may (amongst others) concern investments in infrastructure (offices, warehouse) as well as in vehicles (reduction of CO2 emission).

Each year, Management makes a report on achievements, progress and outstanding issues related to sustainability management. This report is first presented to and approved by EARTHRELO’s management, after which it will be communicated by e-mail or by publication on the warehouse to EARTHRELO staff’s. This report will also be published on EARTHRELO’s website, where it can be consulted by all of our clients, accounts, suppliers and subcontractors. Communication of this report will also be included in the e-mails we send, by a link in the signature of the e-mails.