Corporate social responsibility PPS environmental initiatives Earlier I noted the environmental challenges we see. In 2022, we installed a hybrid solar electricity system at our corporate offices, reducing our carbon footprint and simultaneously reducing the business interruption risks associated with loadshedding. In 2023, we further upgraded this system, adding additional storage capacity that allows us to store energy generated during sunny periods for use on cloudy days or at night. A third of the electricity used at our head office is now solar-generated. We are installing similar systems at some of our regional offices. PPS Foundation The PPS Foundation, which has grown over the years, is the channel through which PPS delivers many of its social initiatives. We focus on key challenges we face as a developing economy, particularly those relating to our large youth population. Education, central to the professional ethos, is a big focus in particular and includes Bursary and University Support programmes. We are grateful for the contributions made by other companies and individuals who co-funded a number of bursaries. Many tertiary students participated in the LEAP Work Readiness Programme (Learned, Engaged, Accelerated Professionals). This programme helps prepare bursary holders and other graduates for the transition to the world of work. The University Support Programme remained dedicated to assisting vulnerable students, partnering with organisations such as Rise Against Hunger to pack and distribute meals for those facing food insecurity. After a few incubation years, we have started to scale up our Cultivating Tomorrow’s Professionals programme in partnership with seven schools in Gauteng and three in Cape Town. This learner-led programme is designed to provide matric learners with the resources and information needed to decide on further (hopefully professional) studies and build a skill set that will serve them well throughout their lives. Many staff members give free time over weekends to lecture on this programme, especially in mathematics and science. This demonstrates how deeply embedded our valuesdriven culture is and how it serves our members and our communities. In 2023, the PPS Bursary programme supported 70 students, out of which 17 successfully completed their degrees. The PPS Graduate Internship Programme continues to be popular, and in 2023, 17 participants were offered full-time employment within the Group after completing the one-year programme. These programmes provide excellent learning and employment opportunities and ensure a steady pipeline of talented individuals for the Group and its subsidiaries. And, as always, we are grateful to many of our professional members, who offer their time and expertise to develop new generations of graduate professionals through the PPS Foundation Mentorship Programme. PPS Training Academy The PPS Training Academy, internationally recognised for excellence, continues to be a learning institution we are immensely proud of. Our comprehensive Human Capital Report, available online, has more detail. Of special mention is that this training institution is not only for PPS staff, but also for financial advisers and ultimately also for our members. Our vision is that it will play a meaningful part in developing our members. Ethics and corporate governance Founded on the ethos of mutuality and offering holistic financial solutions for graduate professionals, PPS has an essential role in defending the interests of our members and the broader professional community in South Africa and the other territories in which we operate. In line with this, we consistently comply with all relevant legislation and our corporate governance practices are based on the principles of the King IV™ Code of Corporate Governance for South Africa (2016). In terms of both King IV™ and the Companies Act (No. 71 of 2008), PPS is governed through a unitary structure that includes a main board and its committees, and subsidiary boards and their sub-committees. All boards and their committees operate within the parameters of approved charters and terms of reference, which are reviewed periodically. A well-resourced Company Secretariat also supports them. 17 Leadership commentary
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