As an employer

3i's staff are fundamental to the success of our business. An environment of mutual respect where staff are highly motivated around their work, where they have a strong commitment to deliver, and where retention is good are the standards we strive both to achieve and maintain.

Employees are organised in small teams and a spirit of co-operation is encouraged to ensure the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. In accordance with 3i's core values, individual consultation with employees on matters affecting them, and fair and open communication, are a high priority.

Our Chief Executive plans to meet separately with each team every year to listen to their views and insights and to share his vision and strategy for the business. In addition, his policy is to have a one to one meeting with each new joiner, regardless of organisational level.

A conference was also held in London for all 3i's staff world-wide. The objectives of this conference included reinforcing 3i's "One room: One firm" philosophy, emphasising that whilst 3i's 750 plus staff may work in many different locations and markets across the world, it operates as one firm with a strong culture working across borders and harnessing the knowledge and skills of its people from across the world.

Every two years a comprehensive confidential employee survey of staff is conducted which includes a number of questions that have a proven correlation to employee engagement. The last survey was conducted in 2005/06. In order to monitor progress a "mini-survey" of the employee engagement questions only was conducted during the year. The response rate, at 78%, was high, with an overall average of the favourable responses to the questions of 87%. This was 3% higher than the average for the same questions in 2005/06. Not only are the individual scores significantly higher than the 2005 Ipsos MORI Top Ten norm (which was used to benchmark the full 2005/06 survey), but favourable scores of over 95% were recorded against the statements "I am always looking for ways to do my job better", "I am committed to helping 3i to achieve its objectives" and "I am proud to work for 3i".

3i has comprehensive behaviour policies to help ensure that employees treat their colleagues and others with courtesy and respect. 3i's Guide to Business Conduct sets out the rules and guidelines we expect all of our staff to follow with the objective of ensuring that we maintain professional standards in all aspects of the conduct of our business.

3i also has a whistle-blowing policy setting out procedures for staff to raise in confidence matters of concern, for an appropriate and independent investigation of such matters and, where necessary, for follow-up action.

Back to top

Training and development
We are committed to encouraging the continuous development of our staff with the objective of maximising the overall performance of the business. Emphasis is placed on work-based learning, with the provision of development opportunities supported by appropriate coaching and mentoring. This is supplemented by more formal training programmes, such as workshops to enhance the board management skills of our investment staff. In addition, investment staff are required to complete an investment training programme on joining 3i, and professional services staff are supported in developing their functional specialisms through external courses, networks and forums. During the year, 306 employees attended internal training and development courses.

It is a legal and regulatory requirement that all executives involved in making or managing investment transactions receive anti-money laundering training and periodic refresher training. A programme of training is in place to discharge these obligations.

A programme of sector-based workshops and training courses has been developed
for investment staff focusing on corporate responsibility. The objectives of these workshops are to ensure that staff remain fully informed of 3i's corporate responsibility policies, to identify and raise awareness to specific sector or geographical issues and to gain input to the formulation of policy. During the year, workshops were held for investment executives in 3i's software sector and Infrastructure and Asia investment teams and further workshops are planned. In March 2007 an Environmental Awareness Day was arranged for 3i's London-based staff around a screening of the Oscar-winning Al Gore film, "An Inconvenient Truth". The objectives of the day were to raise further the awareness of staff to climate change issues, to report on 3i's own carbon footprint and to discuss ways in which 3i and individual members of staff might take steps to reduce carbon emissions. Following the success of this event, further awareness days are being planned for other offices.

Training for Directors on corporate responsibility issues is achieved through a system of regular Board reporting and by Board presentations on relevant corporate responsibility issues.

Back to top

Health and safety
We recognise that the promotion of health and safety at work is an essential function of staff and management at all levels. In an endeavour to achieve high standards, appropriate policies and procedures have been put in place. Details of these policies and procedures can be found on 3i's website at www.3igroup.com. Simon Ball as Finance Director, has overall responsibility for the implementation of 3i's health and safety policies and procedures. A Health and Safety Committee, chaired by the Company Secretary, Tony Brierley, has been established to oversee the application of these policies and procedures and to consider health and safety risks across the business.

The purpose of 3i's health and safety policy is to enable all members of 3i's staff to go about their everyday business at 3i's offices in the expectation that they can do so safely and without risk to their health. High standards of health and safety are applied to staff and sub-contractors and we endeavour to ensure that the health, safety and welfare of our employees, visitors, customers, sub-contractors' staff and the general public is not compromised.

Our objective is not to have any reportable accidents or incidents. During the year to 31 March 2007, no reportable accidents occurred under UK Health and Safety regulations or under similar regulations outside the UK.

As a member of Tommy's Pregnancy Accreditation Programme, 3i complies with criteria for pregnancy management, geared towards creating a positive environment for parents-to-be in the workplace.

Procurement
We have developed policies and procedures relating to the purchasing of goods and services for use by the business. These policies and procedures must be followed by all staff. As far as possible, we will work only with suppliers who support our aim to source products responsibly. Suppliers that exploit child or "sweated labour", that disregard social legislation and basic health and safety provision, that "pirate" the intellectual property of others or that wilfully and avoidably damage the environment will be avoided. Details of 3i's procurement policies may be found on 3i's website at www.3igroup.com.

We aim to have a collaborative relationship with our suppliers and, wherever possible, when problems arise with a supplier's performance or behaviour, will work with the supplier concerned to help them meet our requirements.

Back to top

Environment
As a financial services business employing approximately 750 employees world-wide, 3i's direct environmental impact is relatively low. However, we measure our own energy and resource usage where practicable and set targets to achieve improvement. A benchmark against which we measure our performance is for CO₂ emissions associated with our office accommodation. Our previously published objective has been to reduce CO₂ emissions attributable to office accommodation by 6% over the two years to 2007, from approximately 6,964 tonnes of office related CO₂ emissions generated in the year to 31 March 2005. Following an independent assessment by CarbonNeutral against the World Business Council for Sustainable Development greenhouse gas protocol, CO₂ emissions attributable to office accommodation in the year to 31 March 2007 have been assessed at 5,110 tonnes; a reduction of 26.6% over the two year period to 31 March 2007.

This was achieved largely as a result of a move to more energy efficient offices in London. For the future, 3i's objective is to become carbon neutral over the course of the three years to 31 March 2010.

We assess the environmental standards of suppliers and, through our procurement policy and our purchasing choices, will favour products showing clear environmental advantages unless there are significant reasons for not so doing.

As an active and committed participant in the promotion of sustainable technologies, 3i sees opportunities to form partnerships and make investments in forward-thinking businesses and SFC is one example.

Back to top

Charity and community

3i's charitable policy aims to focus on:

• the disadvantaged, young people and education in the communities in which we have offices. Charities are supported on the basis of their effectiveness and impact;
• charitable activities of staff. 3i matches donations made by UK staff under the Give As You Earn scheme ("GAYE") and the proceeds of staff fundraising efforts. In the year to 31 March 2007, 25% of 3i's charitable donations were matching GAYE donations;
• charities relevant to our corporate activity. For example, 3i founded and supports the Enterprise Education Trust, a charity now in its 30th year, which aims to inspire young people to become involved in, and understand business.

Charitable donations made in the year to 31 March 2007 amounted to £429,409, supporting a variety of charities with donations up to £35,000.