By Elizabeth Martin
At Arkline, acting responsibly across social, ethical and environmental areas is central to everything we do. This commitment is shared across our leadership and workforce, guiding the way we deliver our UK tracing services, engage with clients, and manage our operations. By integrating sustainability into our everyday practices, we remain competitive in the tracing industry, build trust with clients who value long-term responsibility, and create a culture of ethical decision-making throughout the company.
The Importance of Environmental, Social and Governance Practices
Across all industries, organisations are shifting how they evaluate and select their suppliers. While price and quality still matter, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance has become a critical factor in procurement decisions. Large companies increasingly require their suppliers to demonstrate credible sustainability commitments.
This shift reflects the tangible advantages of integrating sustainability into a company’s supply chain. These include:
- Reduced vulnerability to ESG related risks such as reputational harm
- Improved long term stability and resilience
- Heightened credibility and appeal among investors and stakeholders
- Enhanced financial and operational efficiency
The Role of EcoVadis
As ESG expectations increase, suppliers must be able to prove their performance in a transparent and measurable way.
EcoVadis provides the tool to do this. EcoVadis is a global sustainability assessment system which reviews how well organisations perform across key ESG criteria. The platform produces reliable ratings which reflect sustainability performance, highlights areas for growth while providing actionable guidance for future improvement.
The Three Key Pillars of Our Assessment
EcoVadis evaluates Arkline across three main areas: environment, labour and human rights, and ethics. These pillars shape our approach to responsible and sustainable operations across all our tracing services.
Environmental
We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint and protecting natural resources through targeted environmental initiatives. Minimising our environmental impact is a core business priority.
Policies we maintain:
- Social Responsibility and Environment Policy
What we are doing:
- 100% of company vehicles are electric, significantly reducing vehicle emissions
- Digital communications with agents, reducing postal related travel
- LED lighting installed throughout the office to lower energy consumption
- Biodegradable cleaning products used to reduce water pollution
- Majority of internal communications moved to digital formats
- Recycled or FSC-certified paper purchased for all office needs
What we are working towards:
- Encouraging 25% of agents to transition to electric vehicles by 2030, recognising the environmental impact of our agents being required to personally deliver court papers across the UK
- Implementing a cycle to work scheme to further reduce vehicle emissions
- Improving office energy efficiency through upgraded heating and insulation
Labour and Human Rights
Arkline is dedicated to maintaining a fair, safe and inclusive workplace while contributing positively to our local community in Tadcaster and the wider tracing industry.
Policies we maintain:
- Equal Pay Policy
- Equal Opportunities Policy
- Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy
What we are doing:
- A fair and equal pay policy, with all staff paid in excess of the national living wage
- Strong workplace safety supported by clear health and safety, fire evacuation and complaints procedures
- Staff wellbeing support, including DSE eye tests and screen specific lenses where required
- An inclusive workplace which supports older workers, a majority female workforce and younger employees
- Support for local enterprise by providing unused office space to young entrepreneurs in an area with limited business opportunities
- Prompt payment practices recognising that our suppliers and agents are small businesses reliant on timely compensation
Ethics
Ethical conduct is fundamental to Arkline’s operations. We are committed to upholding the highest ethical standards expected within the tracing industry.
Policies we maintain:
- Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy
- Vulnerable Customer Policy
- Treating Customers Fairly Policy
- Whistleblowing Policy
How we ensure ethical policies are implemented:
- Regular supplier audits as part of our ISO9001 certification, ensuring all suppliers and agents meet Arkline’s required standards
- Full engagement and transparency with external auditors to provide clients with confidence in our practices
- Investment in staff training to ensure all social and ethical policies are understood and actively followed
- Data protection safeguards, including a data breach incident form, clean desk checks and shredding protocols
Advancing Sustainability at Arkline
This year, Arkline’s EcoVadis assessment reflected meaningful improvement in our ESG performance compared with the previous year. We are proud of the progress made so far and remain committed to improvement. Our focus is now on strengthening our sustainability initiatives and consistently delivering responsible, high-quality tracing services to our clients.
Arkline offers a range of services, including debtor tracing, process serving and means reports. Click here for further information.
Contact Pauline Belt at Arkline to discuss further on p.belt@arklineuk.co.uk or telephone 01937 831290.
