London, 28 November 2018 – Centrica plc became the first company to win the new Best Gender Pay Gap Report category introduced by ICSA: The Governance Institute at the ICSA Awards 2018 in London last night. The Awards, which were hosted by comedian Jo Caulfield at the Park Lane Hilton, saw Centrica applauded for the way in which the company had combined clarity of reporting, executive sponsorship and action planning.
Speaking about the importance of gender pay gap reporting, Peter Swabey, Policy and Research Director at ICSA said: “It is imperative that gender pay reporting is clearly understood and used as a means to identify and address the barriers which drive the gender pay gap. This was a very interesting category to judge as it was the first year of reporting and it was striking how differently companies had tackled the new reporting requirement. Overall, most companies have room for improvement, particularly around action plans, but we are definitely off to a good start.”
The Awards, which recognise those companies, individuals and teams that are leading the way in corporate reporting, investor engagement and good governance, saw over 700 governance professionals gathered together to celebrate the achievements of their peers.
SSE plc was crowned winner of the Best Annual Report for the FTSE 100; Hammerson plc was awarded Best Annual Report in the FTSE 250 and Biffa plc triumphed in the Best Annual Report in the Small Cap/AIM category. Legal and General Investment Management took home the award for Best Investor Engagement for the fourth year in a row. Miranda Craig of The Sage Group plc was crowned Company Secretary of the Year; Alison Chan of the Alexandra Rose Charity was named Governance Professional of the Year and Anna Machin took home the coveted The One to Watch award.
Other winners on the night were as follows:
- Audit Disclosure of the Year – United Utilities Group PLC
- Risk Disclosure of the Year – Smith & Nephew plc; Vodafone Group plc was Highly Commended
- Board Disclosure of the Year – SSE plc
- Strategic Report of the Year – Derwent London plc and Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc were joint winners
- Remuneration Report of the Year – Hammerson plc
- Sustainability Disclosure of the Year – Vodafone Group plc; Pennon Group plc was Highly Commended
- Team of the Year – Quilter plc
- Governance Project of the Year – University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (NHS merger)
- Service Provider of the Year – Company Matters (part of Link Group)
“Good governance benefits companies, large and small, by establishing a framework of processes and attitudes that add value to the business, helps build reputation and ensures long-term continuity and success. The need for governance professionals who support and advise the boards of organisations in all industries and sectors continues to be as relevant as ever. I am delighted that our Awards are able to recognise those individuals and teams who are helping to ensure high standards in governance, as well as those companies that are excelling at corporate reporting,” says Simon Osborne, Chief Executive of ICSA.
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Notes to Editors:
- ICSA: The Governance Institute is the professional body for governance. We have members in all sectors and are required by our Royal Charter to lead ‘effective governance and efficient administration of commerce, industry and public affairs’. With over 125 years’ experience, we work with regulators and policy makers to champion high standards of governance and provide qualifications, training and guidance. Website: www.icsa.org.uk
- About the Awards
Now in their 10th year, the awards celebrate the work and achievements of companies, teams and individuals across the governance profession. There are 18 awards categories – seven of which are chosen following an open nomination process. This year 89 entries were received for the open nomination categories. The overall quality of entries is extremely high and the process thorough and competitive.
In 2016, we added several categories to reflect the increasing prominence of governance – Governance Professional of the Year, Governance Project of the Year and Service Provider of the Year. Entries are judged by our independent panel against our published criteria. We also added an award for Best Investor Engagement – as voted for by FTSE 350 company secretaries. This year we added a category for Best Gender Pay Gap Reporting of the Year.
The reporting categories are longlisted by Glass Lewis against ICSA’s published criteria and then a shortlist is prepared by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. The shortlisted entries are then passed to an independent panel of judges.
More information about the ICSA Awards can be found at https://www.icsa.org.uk/awards
Photos of the winners can be obtained by contacting [email protected]