THE GUARDIAN PERSPECTIVE
Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) is a responsible, engaged
corporate citizen, committed to supporting the community in
which we operate and in which our employees live and work.
Our communities are vital to our existence; therefore we
have responsibilities and obligations to society as a whole,
as well as our shareholders. We believe that giving back in
a way that allows for sustainable development is essential.
Through our member companies, GHL provides both financial
resources and volunteer services for initiatives that
improve the quality of life.
The Guardian Group remains committed to running our business
to high ethical, legal and professional standards. We
recognise the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility
or Corporate Citizenship and make it a high priority in the
way we run our business.
The main areas of our Corporate Citizenship are:
- Ethical Finance
- Employee Engagement
- Education and Training
- Social Investment
- Community Partnership
- Environmental Stewardship
- Diversity
1. ETHICAL FINANCE
The Guardian Group adheres strictly to a Corporate
Governance Policy, approved by the Board. This is reviewed
annually and communicated to stakeholders to ensure ethical
financial practices.
2. EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Guardian recognises the important role employee engagement
plays in the overall success of the group. Employees gain
more satisfaction when they feel engaged and as a result are
more committed to company goals.
In 2008 the Doing It Differently Programme was introduced to
encourage team building among employees while facilitating
their personal development. The areas of engagement are:
Wellness & Fitness; Eco; Social; Indoor; Community and
volunteer leaders for each area were appointed.
Out of the Community element came GIFT - Guardian
Initiatives for Transformation. Its Charter sets out its
mandate to inspire employee volunteerism in the communities
in which we operate.
GIFT personifies the spirit of volunteerism that is
becoming a hallmark of the Guardian culture. The members are
committed to their activities and causes and pursue them on
their own time and with no motivation other than the good
they are doing. Some of their initiatives include: Mentoring
via NGOs such as the Heroes Foundation and Youth Business
T&T; Companionship for the elderly via the St. Vincent de
Paul; Children of our community via an ‘adopt a Home’
programme in which two children’s homes were chosen;
Families of our community via home improvements of four
selected families. An annual signature fund-raiser is GIFT’s
way of raising funds to carry out its ambitious objectives.
In 2010 GIFT introduced the Pay-It-Forward programme:
employee teams would volunteer their TIME to engage in
projects developed by them to benefit their community.
Guardian General for instance chose to Pay-It-Forward in
their work proximity whereby they taught skills to the SEA
students of the Newtown RC Boys and Girls schools; in
return, the children were required to do a kind deed to
someone else without a reward. The project turned out to be
such a success that they even volunteered to do story
telling for the infants!
http://www.guardianholdings.com/Social-Responsibility-Community-Gift.asp
In addition to the Group effort above, staff members at the
Business Unit level also engage in charitable activities.
So, for example, GAM Mission Impossible was created by the
employees of Guardian Asset Management, who together raise
funds to assist selected charities. They are not only
helping the less fortunate but also building a spirit of
teamship through united effort.
Life Pulse, a Wellness Programme for employees, has
been operational for the last decade in Group companies in
Trinidad & Tobago. The Life Pulse motto – Healthy Minds,
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Lives – embodies the balanced
lifestyle that employees are encouraged to adopt. Member
companies in other locations also run wellness programmes
for their staff.
HSE
Guardian is committed to the concept of ‘decent work, decent
wages, equal opportunity and a safe, healthy and secure
workplace’. As such, work in this area is proactive and a
responsible Group Wide Health and Safety Policy and Practice
has been established and implemented.
Further the Guardian Group has begun rolling out fully
functional first aid/milk rooms for employees. The amenities
include a bed, small refrigerator, a chair, a collapsible
change table for babies, sanitary washing facilities, all
necessary first aid items, automatic external defibrillator
(AED), pressure kit and wheelchair. Emergency wardens
throughout the Group have been trained and certified to
perform first aid and CPR procedures accordingly.
Due to space requirements, these rooms also act as milk
rooms for mothers wishing to express milk. This practice is
fully supported by the company through its relevant Guardian
Infant Breast Feeding (GIBS) policy guidelines. The roll out
began in the Westmoorings head office in Trinidad & Tobago.
Through continuous education of employees and, by extension,
their families and the wider community, health and safety
can become an integral part of life and limited.
3. EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The Group recognises the importance of and encourages
education and training for employees, their families and the
wider community. Some of the programmes run in this regard
are listed on the following pages.
First Steppers
The First Steppers Programme focuses on the children of
employees aged 16 to 21. First Steppers are put through an
intense week of training activities ending with the
possibility of participating in a six week internship in one
of the member companies.
Graduate Work Interns
The Graduate Work Internship Programme accepts recent
graduates (Upper Second class honours and above) who have
completed an undergraduate degree in the areas of
Management, Finance and Accounting, Actuarial, Marketing and
Sales, Communications, Human Resources, Computer Science and
Law. The programme seeks to bridge the gap between
university and the working world through the application of
academic knowledge in real-life situations. The programme
lasts one year, during which candidates are rotated to
various departments within the Group and are provided with
Mentors from within the Group.
Education Assistance
Full time employees who are furthering their education can
also apply for study and exam leave. Full time employees may
also apply for educational assistance in the form of
financial support. The Group also encourages its employees
to be better equipped for doing business with our Latin
American neighbours through training in Spanish.
Training Programmes
Ongoing formal and on the job training is provided to new
and current employees in line with the department in which
they work. Employees seeking to further their education have
access to assistance once their request is in line with the
company guidelines.
4. SOCIAL INVESTMENT
Since 1998 member companies of the Guardian Group have been
active partners with The University of the West Indies in a
Premium Teaching Lecture and Awards Programme. A project
that began in the St. Augustine Campus has since spread to
the Mona and Cave Hill Campuses. By enhancing and raising
the bar on teaching methodologies, Guardian continues to
enrich the learning process for our tertiary level students.
Education can also be social and cross-generational as
demonstrated by Guardian General’s powerful ‘Road Safe’
campaign that is executed on line, in the press and
electronic media, via board games, a Mascot (GG), a
defensive driving booklet and direct interaction. Guardian
General’s efforts in this area are both proactive and
preventative, such as with its sponsorship of Luna Road
Lights which improve the level of road safety through
reflective lighting.
Group companies have consistently used the arena of sport
not just to build athletic heroes but also to build future
leaders as evidenced in our unbroken support of the premier
regional junior track and field event, the CARIFTA Games,
held in a different Caribbean territory each year. Guardian
has been a regional Carifta Partner since 2002.
Guardian Life of the Caribbean ran a Youth Star programme
with and for selected up and coming athletes from 2000-2007;
it was then subsumed into the ‘Shape Your Life’ programme of
the Olympic Committee of Trinidad & Tobago.
In 2006, Guardian was granted the opportunity to be involved
with the Chinese Bicentennial Celebrations in Trinidad &
Tobago. Guardian, in conjunction with the Chinese
Bicentennial Limited and other corporations, played a major
role in the introduction of the Dragon Boat racing sport in
Trinidad and Tobago and the fostering of an annual festival
thereafter. The company also tied this to a charitable cause
by sponsoring an Independence Day Regatta and donating any
funds raised to the Credo Foundation for socially displaced
children.
5. COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
We are committed to strengthening and engaging a sense of
community, volunteerism and philanthropy.
Community Education
Guardian Life Wildlife Fund
The conservation and preservation cause has long been
promoted and supported within the Group and in 1992 an
independent Wildlife Trust was established by Guardian Life
of the Caribbean. Its mandate is to support projects that
seek to preserve and conserve the rich wildlife heritage of
Trinidad and Tobago. By raising public awareness of
ecological issues and by working closely with
environmentalists in the field, the trust aims to help
secure the ecological future of our nation for generations
to come.
The Guardian Life Wildlife Fund works through community
groups to ensure sustainability. The GLWF has produced
documentary videos, posters, brochures and a children’s
story book, ‘The Promise of Pawi’, written by a former
trustee.
The Trustees of the Guardian Life Wildlife Fund (GLWF) have
embarked on its most ambitious project to date, “Pride in
Pawi”. This project encourages a dedicated, concerted
and community approach to the efforts of protecting this
endangered species which is endemic only to Trinidad. Visit
www.glwildlife.org.
In April 2010 the GLWF, working with other national and
international conservation groups and environmental
agencies, launched a comprehensive communication campaign
aimed at raising awareness and encouraging the protection of
the critically endangered Pawi aka the Trinidad Piping Guan,
Pipile pipile. This awareness campaign is being funded by
the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme (GEF-SGP)
which is implemented by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP).
6. Philanthropy
In every territory the Group can be found providing
assistance and support to Non-Governmental Organisations
(NGOs) as they seek to do so much with so little.
Guardian is dedicated to helping the communities in which we
operate. The group often contributes financially to
individuals or projects in need of assistance. These
donations are not associated with building brand awareness
or benefiting the Guardian Group in any way. They are meant
to solely benefit those in need. It is the Guardian policy
to assist NGOs rather than individuals.
We are a proud partner of United Way of Trinidad & Tobago.
Employees commit to a regular deduction from their salaries
while member companies also contribute financially or
through their support of United Way initiatives and events.
Employees also serve as volunteers for NGOs affiliated with
United Way of Trinidad & Tobago. Visit
http://www.uwtt.com/about.html.
7. ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP
Like so many other responsible corporations, Guardian has
accepted its responsibility to do no harm to our
environment. We understand that a healthy environment is
necessary for a healthy society, people and business and is
the foundation for a strong, sustainable economy.
We recognise that the environmental revolution has forever
changed how businesses conduct themselves and that we have a
direct impact on the environment through our daily
consumption of energy and paper resources and our
potentially indirect impact through the provision of
financial services to projects in environmentally sensitive
areas.
A Green Culture
Our employees engage in a number of green initiatives aimed
at reducing the carbon footprint of the group. Initiatives
include more effective recycling schemes, and reductions in
paper usage and power consumption.
‘GreeNews’, an electronic newsletter, offers employees tips,
hints, statistics and information that they can use on and
off the job. Guardian has encouraged employees to
participate in a beach clean- up, an annual activity done in
tandem with The Heroes Foundation and the Ocean Conservancy
of Pollution, Prevention and Monitoring of Virginia, USA.
8. DIVERSITY
The Guardian Group is an equal opportunity employer that
seeks to have a diverse workforce in terms of ethnicity,
gender, disability, age, and sexual orientation. The Group
also emphasises diversity of products and services, in its
corporate literature and branding.
Guardians of our communities.pdf
Project Green.pdf
Plastikeep.pdf
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