Our portfolio companies and corporate responsibility

Many of Cinven's portfolio companies have their own corporate responsibility policies and are active in charitable giving, local communities and environmental issues. The following case studies illustrate the range of activities in which our companies are involved.

Ziggo – award winning innovation of sustainable data centres
Ziggo, our market leading cable operator in the Netherlands, won the Data Centre Leaders’ Awards in 2011 for its ‘Innovation Micro Data Centre’. The design and construction of Ziggo’s new micro data centre incorporates sustainable construction, considerably reduced energy usage and less environmental impact.

The first of the sustainable micro data centres opened in Noordwijk in January 2012 and Ziggo plans to renovate between 10 and 20 regional and local centres across the country in the same sustainable manner. Where new micro data centres are being built, construction is increasingly sustainable. Savings will amount to several million euros a year.

Data centres house information and communications equipment that form part of Ziggo’s network. They use considerable power and generate heating/cooling issues. The initial brief to make the data centres more sustainable addressed issues of environmental impact, the costs of construction and management, energy efficiency and recyclability.

The best concepts came from Dophou and were further developed with specialists from Ziggo and experts from 45 other companies, foundations, universities and government bodies. Knowledge-sharing formed an essential part of this uniquely collaborative innovation process.

Key elements in the final design include:

• Optimal temperature management through a combination of evaporative cooling and heat storage, resulting in 40% lower energy consumption than in comparable data centres. Air is cooled by the evaporation of water. The energy required to effect evaporation is taken from the air, cooling it. Heat is stored through Phase Change Materials, natural hydrates where changes of state, i.e. from a solid to a liquid and vice versa, is used to buffer warmth for later use.
• The building has been made as compact as possible and is produced in kit form to reduce costs and enable rapid construction, in turn limiting disturbance and CO2 emmissions during construction. All materials can be reused if the building is relocated.
• The building has been designed to fit with other buildings that will be built around it in the future. The design was developed in close cooperation with planning and city administrations.

Ziggo works continuously to reduce its effects on the environment. The company already exclusively purchases green energy. The next steps planned involve the introduction of a Building Management System and an Integrated Waste Management System.

Partnership – addresses society’s funding issues for retirement and long-term care
Partnership is the longest established UK insurer specialising in financial products for people whose health conditions or lifestyle choices mean that their life expectancy is likely to be reduced. It was the first company in the UK to offer higher retirement incomes by taking account of people’s health and lifestyle conditions and has been a consistent innovator developing this sector by championing the needs of those with even modestly reduced life expectancies.

Partnership is a specialist in its field and the only company operating in this arena with its own proprietary underwriting manuals and mortality data. It uses its expertise to operate within four main areas: retirement, care fees planning, equity release and protection.

Greater retirement income for people with health and lifestyle conditions
Millions of pensioners face an impoverished retirement. However ABI suggests nearly 50% may be eligible for an enhanced retirement income for health or lifestyle conditions. Yet only 10% shop around for the best annuity rate even though they can receive up to 40% or more retirement income.

Partnership is campaigning to raise awareness of the right to shop around for the best annuity rate with Government, Politicians and opinion formers and by developing innovative ways to enable the 80% of people with pension funds under £40,000 to get affordable advice from financial advisers.

The significance of shopping around can be demonstrated by a recent survey of Partnership’s policyholders. Those who gained extra income by shopping around found that in reality they needed the extra money just to pay regular bills. 61% used it to pay food bills and 57% heating and electricity.

Partnership is a founder member of the Pensions Income Choice Association and recently sponsored the International Longevity Commission–UK report “The Retail Distribution Review and Small Pension Pots’ which was launched in the House of Lords. Greater information and awareness about Care advice Partnership seeks to ensure that consumers, advisers, care homes, local authorities and politicians are aware of the benefits of Care Fees Plans for those people who have to fund their own long-term care fees. Key barriers to people providing adequately for their care costs include lack of awareness about the funding products available, where to receive appropriate financial information and the actual costs of the care itself.

Partnership products (which may not be appropriate for everyone), provide a guaranteed income for life to meet those costs. This can help to reduce the rate at which individuals deplete their capital assets and prevent them becoming dependent on the state.

Partnership has played a significant role generating awareness of the need for information and advice with Government, the Dilnot Commission and Charities. They have also been working with Local Authorities on the development of models which enable them to integrate financial advice within their social care engagement programmes.

Innovation
Partnership is always seeking to find solutions to client needs by innovating and creating new products.

Partnership launched www.payingforcare.co.uk – in response to a pressing need for clear, impartial information on all aspects of social care funding, including how to liaise with local authorities. Consumers can find support information, calculate potential fees and even speak to a qualified financial adviser while on the site. The website has attracted over 100,000 unique visitors!

Partnership has also used its expertise to launch an Enhanced Lifetime Mortgage which offers higher loans to equity release customers who have medical conditions affecting their life expectancy. This can make a significant difference to the amount that a customer is able to borrow.

Supporting communities and the environment at PizzaExpress
In September 2010, Fairbridge became PizzaExpress’s new Charity of the Year (www.fairbridge.org.uk/). Together, Fairbridge and PizzaExpress are supporting disadvantaged young people between the ages of 13-25, helping them to develop the confidence, motivation and skills they need to turn their lives around. During the year, PizzaExpress aims to help many young people through local fundraising events in its restaurants and will be donating 25p for every Etna pizza sold.

For its Christmas 2010 charity appeal, PizzaExpress teamed up with Oxfam and raised £285,000 – enough to help around 57,000 people around the world who are living in poverty. The six-week fundraising campaign encouraged people to shop in Oxfam stores and at Oxfam online (www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/), and rewarded people who spent £5 or more at Oxfam with a £5 PizzaExpress voucher.  PizzaExpress made a donation from sales of Christmas menus and the Padana pizza over the Christmas period. Designer Zandra Rhodes supported the campaign by raising funds through sales of her limited edition campaign T-shirt.  

PizzaExpress continues to reduce its environmental impact by changing the everyday habits of its restaurant teams. This programme includes energy-saving and recycling initiatives. Ovens and air conditioning account for most of PizzaExpress’s energy use, but its energy-saving initiatives have covered everything from installation of new, more efficient Dyson hand driers to using office PCs to play music instead of dedicated sound systems.

PizzaExpress continues its long-term support of the charity Venice in Peril (www.veniceinperil.com/), which was set up to aid the city’s restoration. And the PizzaExpress School Programme, developed in association with Education Business Partnerships, continues to engage primary school children across the country. 

Environmental management at Amadeus
Amadeus is an IT provider, so its direct environmental impact is relatively low. Amadeus’ environmental efforts focus both on optimising resource consumption from its own operations, and helping the industry increase sustainability in the long run.

Amadeus’ Environmental Management Programme (EMP) enables the business to evaluate, report on and improve its environmental performance. EMP includes local environmental initiatives and compiles and measures overall resource consumption, making it possible for the company to evaluate its performance, and to create and follow up on environmental targets.

Amadeus’ operations are global and in 2010 the company initiated a resource consumption inventory exercise which looked at its top 10 sites worldwide, measuring resource consumption (electricity, gas, water, paper, and waste) and identifying best practices. The results will be used to monitor the optimisation of the use of resources and to help establish targets.

The Amadeus Data Centre in Erding, Germany, one of the largest private data centres in Europe, received certification from TÜV SÜD in 2010, which designated it as an energy-efficient data centre. This certification was the result of a one year process, during which the Amadeus data processing centre conducted a full review and focused heavily on optimising its energy efficiency by working with independent experts from TÜV SÜD. Of particular interest were the power supply, the cooling and climate control processes and the IT equipment used, as well as the facility’s procurement, installation and de-installation processes and procedures.

Amadeus’ facility in Sophia-Antipolis, France, which has a work-force of more than 3,000 people, has joined a local commuting scheme that seeks to minimise environmental impact and traffic congestion through car-pooling, cycling, walking, public transportation and alternative means of transportation.

Helping the travel industry to manage environmental impacts
Amadeus’ continuous R&D investments permit development of state-of-the-art technologies to help airlines and other industry players reduce emissions. Its Altéa Departure Control System (DCS) flight management module can help airlines save significant amounts of fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by accurately estimating data related to the calculation of fuel consumption needs. Airlines using the Amadeus Altéa DCS have already reported significant fuel savings.

Calculating carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per airline passenger is a complex task as different calculators can produce significantly different results for the same itinerary. Amadeus has agreed to use the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) CO2 calculator, aiming at reaching an industry standard calculation methodology. A common industry calculator would provide travellers with coherent emissions reports, regardless of the distribution channel used.

Amadeus has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for participation in its Carbon Offsets Services Program. The programme intends to use a common industry standard for the offsetting of carbon emissions. Amadeus looks forward to continuing its cooperation with IATA and other partners in order to make offsetting available through its information systems.

Coor Green Services: a first in environmental labelling.
Coor, the Nordic integrated facilities management business, has launched a new labelling system for sustainable facilities management services – Coor Green Services. In the past, environmental initiatives in the service management sector have been limited to individual services or products. With this labelling scheme, Coor is the first facilities management provider to take a holistic view of the environmental issues that concern its customers.

Coor Green Services covers the company’s entire service provision process – including all facilities management services – across all of the workplaces, real estate locations and production facilities in which it serves its customers.

Coor Green Services has created a service mark to ensure recognition for the scheme: an outstretched hand and a leaf. The hand represents service provision, while the leaf is a symbol of the environment. This logo will be displayed wherever environmental standards have been satisfied and will be an important guarantee of high environmental standards.

There are two levels of the Coor Green Services environmental label: gold and silver. To qualify for either, the services provided by Coor are evaluated according to relevant environmental criteria, some of which are mandatory. To achieve the gold standard, an operation must satisfy all criteria; to qualify as silver, the mandatory criteria and over half of the others must be satisfied. The gold standard represents a real challenge: the criteria are stringent and will be adjusted upwards over time. By adjusting the criteria yearly, Coor’s environmental labelling scheme guarantees a high standard of environmental care.

Avio's 'green engine' research programme
Avio is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of components and systems for commercial, military and space launch engines, with a turnover of €1.4 billion. The Turin-based company, which has been owned by Cinven since August 2006, has launched a 'green engine' research programme aimed at increasing engine efficiency and reducing pollution and noise from aircraft, particularly on take-off and landing.  

The Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) has set out a vision for future 'green' aircraft engines. ACARE's proposals would mean that by 2020, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from aero engines would fall by 20-30% and emissions of nitrous oxides (NOx) would be reduced by 80%. Engine noise would be down by 32 decibels, about half of the 70 decibel noise reduction envisaged for the aircraft as a whole.  

Avio wishes to play a leadership role in response to these proposals. Its new research agenda includes transmission systems, combustors, turbines and engine architecture (such as fan and rotor design) that will contribute to efficiency improvements, reducing fuel consumption by 10% and cutting nitrogen oxide and other pollutants by a further 30% compared to engines in service today. A further goal is to equip new aircraft with engines that cut emissions in all flight conditions and also reduce noise on the ground, especially during the take-off or landing phases, benefiting those who live close to airports.

Gondola supports local communities
The Gondola Group's PizzaExpress, ASK and Zizzi brands are a familiar sight on Britain's high streets. Through its customers, suppliers and employees, the company is part of communities across the UK, and Gondola sees community support as an integral part of its operations.

In autumn 2007, PizzaExpress partnered with the Daily Telegraph newspaper to raise funds for Kids Company, a charity that offers practical, emotional and educational support to inner city children whose lives have been affected by parental neglect, drug-taking and violence. Casilda Grigg, deputy editor of the newspaper's 'Weekend' supplement, and Antonio Romani, head chef at PizzaExpress, created the 'Casilda' pizza. A contribution from sales of this pizza paid for a meal for 800 deprived children at Kids Company on Christmas Day.

In 2007, PizzaExpress began a relationship with FareShare, a charity that helps to relieve food poverty by providing quality food to organisations working with disadvantaged people. The company will donate its surplus food to FareShare, which will then redistribute it across the UK.

The PizzaExpress Schools Programme, developed in association with Education Business Partnerships, engaged with over 45,000 primary school children in 2007. This programme gives children an introduction to the workplace, a chance to see the practical application of subjects learnt at school and an experience to build on back in the classroom.

PizzaExpress continued its long-term support of the 'Venice in Peril' charity, which was set up to help in the restoration of Venice. A 25p contribution from every Veneziana pizza sold goes to this fund, which has raised £1.6m since it was set up in the late 1960s.

On Valentine's Day 2008, ASK raised over £70,000 for 'Kiss It Better', an appeal by London's Great Ormond Street Hospital to fund research into the causes and treatment of childhood cancer.