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Philosopy
Responsibilities and accountabilities

Philosophy
As an international business operating in 14 countries with over 750 employees world-wide, we aim to conduct our business in a socially responsible manner. We are committed to being a responsible member of the communities in which we operate and recognise the mutual benefits of engaging and building relationships with those communities. We believe that respect for human rights is central to good corporate citizenship.

In everything we do, we aim to be commercial and fair, to maintain our integrity and professionalism and to respect the needs of shareholders, staff, suppliers, the local community and the businesses in which we invest.

We aim to be a responsible employer and have adopted corporate values and standards designed to help guide our employees in their conduct and business relationships. These values and standards are an integral part of our culture.

We endeavour to comply with the laws, regulations and rules applicable to our business and to conduct our business in accordance with established best practice in each of the countries in which we operate. Environmental, ethical and social responsibility issues and standards are also taken into consideration in every aspect of the business.

Responsibilities and accountabilities
The Board as a whole is responsible for ethical standards. The executive Directors are responsible for ensuring compliance with 3i's corporate values and standards.

3i's Corporate Responsibility Committee ("the Committee") considers and reviews environmental, ethical and social issues relevant to 3i's business and reports regularly to the Board. It promotes awareness of these issues across the business through training and communication. It promotes the development of corporate responsibility policies, procedures and initiatives and monitors and reviews their operation.

The Committee, on behalf of the Board, identifies and assesses the significant risks and opportunities for 3i arising from social, ethical and environmental issues. A risk matrix methodology is used to identify and assess potential risks and their impact, monitor developing trends and best practice, and consider changes in 3i's business and culture. A Group-wide risk log is used to record identified risks and to monitor their management and mitigation. This log of identified risks is reviewed and updated at meetings of the Committee and significant risks are reported to 3i's Operational Risk Committee.

As Chairman of the Committee, Tony Brierley, has specific responsibility for 3i's environmental policies, leading the development of new initiatives and targets and reporting to the Board. The Committee's membership reflects the balance of 3i's business with representation from Europe, Asia and the US and from a range of business line and Group activities.

All employees have a responsibility to be aware of, and to abide by, 3i's policies and procedures which have been developed to guide staff and regulate the conduct of the day-to-day operations of the business. These policies and procedures include 3i's environmental, ethical and social policies, and are available to all employees through 3i's portal, a web-based knowledge system. Employees are encouraged to make suggestions to improve these policies and procedures.