It is the policy of The Renewables Consulting Group Limited (“RCG”) to provide its clients with services and products that are intrinsically safe, environmentally sound and of a quality and value that meets or surpasses their expectations.
Everyone within the organisation has responsibility for their own health and safety and that of their colleagues, for ensuring the quality of their own work, and for minimising their impact on the environment.
The Board of Directors takes responsibility, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure:
To achieve these aims, RCG operates an integrated management system for matters of health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ). The system comprises documented procedures and processes designed to identify and manage foreseeable health, safety and environmental risks, while ensuring the delivery of consistently high-quality products and services. These procedures and processes are applied consistently across the organisation and communicated to employees and contractors.
Specifically, RCG:
The company’s management has overall responsibility for the integrated management system and provides the necessary resources to ensure its effective implementation.
Everyone within the organisation is required to co-operate fully in the implementation of this policy and in all measures put in place by the company to achieve this policy.
RCG actively fosters a culture of continual improvement, open dialogue and consultation between Directors, employees, contractors and clients in the pursuit of the highest standards of health, safety, environment and quality of service.
RCG expects that contractors working with, and for, the company are competent and that they accept comparable HSEQ standards.
This policy shall be reviewed annually, and updated as necessary.
Download Policy PDFIt is the policy of The Renewables Consulting Group Limited (“RCG”) to conduct all business in an honest and ethical manner. We take a zero-tolerance approach to bribery and corruption and we are committed to acting professionally, fairly and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships.
Any employee who breaches this policy will face disciplinary action, which could result in dismissal for gross misconduct. Any contractor who breaches this policy may have their contract terminated with immediate effect.
This policy applies to all persons working for us or on our behalf in any capacity, including employees at all levels, directors, officers, agency workers, seconded workers, volunteers, interns, agents, contractors, external consultants, third party representatives and business partners.
We will only engage with clients and suppliers that operate in an honest and fair manner, similar to the high standards we set internally. Additionally, we will engage a reputable accounting or legal firm to carry out integrity due diligence on prospective clients, suppliers or other counterparties where there is any reason to suspect a higher than normal risk during our pre-contract risk assessment processes.
RCG will only boycott trading with clients or suppliers when sanctions have been imposed by the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union, or the United Nations that restrict or prohibit dealings with certain countries, entities or individuals. We will ensure that we know and follow applicable sanctions restrictions wherever we are conducting business. We will not engage in any agreements, provide information or take any action that would support any non-sanctioned boycotts. Any request by a client or supplier to participate in an illegal boycott must be immediately reported to the Chief Operating Officer.
A bribe means a financial or other inducement or reward for action which is illegal, unethical, a breach of trust or improper in any way. Bribes can take the form of money, gifts, loans, fees, hospitality, services, discounts, the award of a contract or any other advantage or benefit.
Bribery includes offering, promising, giving, accepting or seeking a bribe.
All forms of bribery are strictly prohibited.
Specifically, our staff and contractors must not:
Whilst our policy does not prohibit the giving or accepting of reasonable and appropriate hospitality for legitimate purposes, any gift or hospitality will not be appropriate if it could be seen as an inducement or reward for any preferential treatment. Gifts must be given in the firm’s name and the giving of such gifts must be transparent. Staff must declare and keep a written record of all hospitality or gifts given or received.
All accounts, invoices, and other records relating to dealings with third parties including suppliers and clients must be prepared with strict accuracy and completeness. Accounts must not be kept “off-book” to facilitate or conceal improper payments.
RCG actively fosters a culture of continual improvement, open dialogue and consultation between Directors, employees, contractors and clients in the pursuit of the highest standards of business integrity.
RCG expects that contractors working with, and for, the company are competent, professional, and that they accept comparable anti-bribery and anti-corruption standards.
This policy shall be reviewed annually, and updated as necessary.
Download Policy PDFIt is the policy of The Renewables Consulting Group Limited (“RCG”) to promote equality and diversity across all areas of the firm. RCG’s strength is its people. By operating as one team, built on shared principles and a passion to out-perform, we can harness our collective energy to deliver outstanding work. We recognise that everyone is different and has something unique to offer. We respect and understand these differences and to seek to make the most of everyone’s talents.
Equality is about managing differences so that every member of the team has equality of opportunity through a fair and consistent approach to the application of the firm’s rules, policies and procedures.
Diversity is about understanding, recognising, respecting and valuing differences. We recognise that sometimes this will mean treating people differently. This commitment is relevant to all we do, how we manage ourselves and how we deliver services to our clients.
We aim to meet the following goals:
We will not tolerate discrimination because of a protected characteristic, these are age, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, sex, gender reassignment, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy or maternity and civil partnership or marriage.
We will guard against direct and indirect discrimination.
We will not discriminate because of working patterns.
We will not tolerate harassment or bullying on any other grounds.
We will ensure that everyone in RCG is respected and can give of their best, irrespective of who they are or what job they do.
The Board takes overall responsibility for the development of equality and diversity, leads by example and ensures that progress is reviewed and further actions instigated as necessary.
RCG actively fosters a culture of continual improvement, open dialogue and consultation between Directors, employees, contractors and clients. RCG leaders at all levels will demonstrate their commitment to promoting equality and diversity, and take responsibility for progress. All staff have personal responsibilities to treat everyone with respect, consideration and without prejudice and to promote the same levels of behaviour in colleagues.
RCG expects that contractors working with, and for, the company are competent, professional, and that they accept comparable equality and diversity standards.
This policy applies to all conduct in the workplace and also to conduct outside of the workplace that is related to RCG’s work (for example at meetings, social events, etc) which may impact on RCG’s reputation (for example, expression of views on social media, contrary to the commitments expressed in this policy that could be linked to RCG). This policy applies equally to the treatment of RCG’s visitors, clients, customers and suppliers by its employees and the treatment of its employees by these third parties.
This policy shall be reviewed annually, and updated as necessary.
Download Policy PDFIt is the policy of The Renewables Consulting Group Limited (“RCG”) to ensure that our consultants always provide professional, objective and impartial advice, and that at all times we hold the client’s interests as paramount, without any consideration for future work and strictly avoiding conflicts with other assignments.
We operate strict confidentiality arrangements internally to protect client information.
Our consultants are not selected for any assignment that would be in conflict with their prior or current obligations to other clients, or may place them in a position of not being able to carry out the assignment in the best interest of the client.
Our consultants (and sub-consultants) are not to be engaged for any assignment that, by its nature, may be in conflict with another assignment of the consultants unless the potential conflict arising from this situation has been identified and resolved in a manner acceptable to the client throughout the procurement and execution phases of the project.
RCG’s internal processes to avoid and prevent conflict of interest follow World Bank guidelines for best practice. We will always fully disclose any potential or real conflict of interest at the earliest opportunity, and continuously monitor developments in our firm to ensure that subsequent events do not affect our previously stated position. We maintain documented evidence of conformity to the conditions of the firm’s engagements and the conduct of our contractual obligations. RCG always maintains independence from external influences that may affect the ability of the firm to hold the interests of each of our clients as paramount (but always within the requirements of operating ethically).
RCG actively fosters a culture of continual improvement, open dialogue and consultation between Directors, employees, contractors and clients in the pursuit of the highest standards of business integrity.
RCG expects that contractors working with, and for, the company are competent, professional, and that they accept comparable standards for dealing with conflicts of interest.
This policy shall be reviewed annually, and updated as necessary.
Download Policy PDFIt is the policy of The Renewables Consulting Group Limited (“RCG”) to operate strict privacy arrangements to serve the interests of those visiting our website and using our services, including online services and digital tools and applications.
This Privacy Policy applies to any personal data or information we collect from:
For our businesses operating in the United Kingdom, RCG seeks to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and subsequent legislation. We follow strict procedures in the storage and disclosure of personal information so as to prevent unauthorised access by third parties.
RCG has offices worldwide. Transfers to other countries will only be carried out when deemed absolutely necessary in the legitimate business interests of RCG and will be protected by suitable safeguards as deemed adequate and appropriate by the Information Commissioners Office and the European Commission.
For our group entities based elsewhere in the world, they comply with the national laws and regulations applicable to them – please note, that while the protections are broadly similar, there may be some instances where the level of protection differs.
RCG may change this policy periodically. You should check from time-to-time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.
The information which you may provide to us, along with other information relating to you, will be held by RCG and used for the following purposes, and under specific lawful basis:
We may collect the following information:
Our clients’ information, data and intellectual property remains confidential and is only dealt with in the strictest of confidence and security in accordance with RCG’s standard terms and conditions or agreed client terms and conditions, and only for the purpose of performing the services detailed in our contract.
Our clients’ information shall only ever be accessed internally on a “need-to-know” basis by authorised personnel.
We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to manage our contract with our clients and in line with our retention schedule or as required by law. This means that information may be retained for up to seven years. We may retain de-personalised information about organisations for as long as is necessary, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.
The legal basis for processing this data is the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.
As part of our services to our clients, we may use some third-party support or software (for example, email servers and accounting systems). Before contracting with any supplier, we request detailed information on their data protection policies and processes in order to ensure that your data will be suitably protected when processed by them, and where their data is stored.
The legal basis for processing this data is both our legitimate business interests, namely the proper administration of our business, and the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.
If you browse, read pages, or download information from our website, we will gather and store certain limited information about your visit. This information collected or stored is used by us only for the purpose of improving the content of our web services and to help us understand how people are using our services.
When someone visits our websites, we use a third-party service (such as Google Analytics) to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. This includes your computers’ or digital device’s IP address, the type and version of browser and operating system you use, your internet domain and, if you visited via a link from another website, the URL of the linking page. We do this to perform technical diagnosis of our website’s performance and to analyse data traffic for each page. This information is only processed in a way which does not identify anyone. We do not make any attempt to find out the identities of those visiting our websites. The information generated about your use of the website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by the third-party service on their servers (and in the case of Google, on servers in the United States). If you do not wish for your data to be processed this way, please do not enter our website.
This information is collected on our behalf by our website service providers. We take steps to ensure that the service providers we use for this have adequate procedures and policies in place to protect any data collected on our behalf.
The legal basis for processing this data is our legitimate business interests, namely monitoring and improving our website and services.
Our websites collect data which allows us to recognise you, your preferences and how you use our websites. This information is collected by ‘cookies’ – small strings of data stored in your device’s temporary memory as text files. Some cookies are deleted when you close your browser, but others are persistent and are not automatically deleted. Cookies may store your computer’s IP address, but do not store your email address or other such personal information.
We may use cookies to recognise you and your preferences so that we can tailor the website to match your interests and preferences.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
For further information, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.com to understand how to remove cookies from your browser or not to accept them. However, in some cases, some of our website features may not function as a result.
We hold the details of the people who have requested our services in order to provide such services. However, we only use these details to provide the service the person has requested and for other closely-related purposes. For example, we might use information about people who have requested a publication to carry out a survey to find out if they are happy with the level of service they received.
Where we do collect personally identifiable information through our websites, we will be transparent about this. We will make it clear when we collect personal information and will explain what we intend to do with it. When people do subscribe to our services, they can cancel their subscription at any time and are given an easy way of doing this.
To those who consent and subscribe to our mailing list (including our clients) and/or our online databases and tools, we send out alerts, details of upcoming events, and other useful local updates and information relating to our industry.
We use a third-party provider for alerts and articles. We gather statistics around email opening and clicks using the industry standard technologies including clear gifs to help us monitor and improve our alerts and articles.
We may process the information contained in any enquiry submitted to us regarding our services, and may use that data for the purpose of offering relevant services to you. The legal basis for this processing is consent, and taking steps, at your request, to enter into a contract.
Any email sent to us, including attachments, may be monitored and used by us for reasons of security and compliance with our internal policies and procedures. Email monitoring or blocking software may also be used. You have a responsibility to ensure that any email you send to us is within the bounds of the law.
If you send us a direct message or email via our website, this information may managed and temporarily stored by a third-party service provider. It will not be shared with any other organisations or third parties.
We manage our social media interactions via platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. If you send us a private or direct message via social media the message may be stored by the social media website as per their privacy policy. It will not be shared with any other organisations.
On registering to access our online databases and tools, you will be required consent to our terms of use and privacy terms. We may process your account data, including your name, email address, company name (if any), job title (if any), and telephone number. This information will not be disclosed to any third party accept in order to manage, maintain or update the system.
Depending on the level of access to our online databases and tools, we may process information relating to transactions, including the purchase of subscription services that you enter into with us. The transaction data may include your contact details, your card/bank account details and the transaction details. The transaction data may be processed for the purpose of supplying the purchased services and keeping proper records of those transactions. The legal basis for processing is the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract, and our legitimate interests, namely, our interests in the proper administration of our website, database and business.
All financial transactions relating to our services are handled internally by our accounts team. The data is only processed to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing your payments, refunding such payments and dealing with queries relating to such payments.
Our website contains links to other websites. This Privacy Policy only applies to this website and the RCG group of companies. RCG is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of third-party websites linked to our website. When you link to another website, you should read and accept all their own applicable privacy policies before proceeding.
When individuals apply to work at RCG or one of our subsidiaries or affiliate companies, we will only use the information they supply to us to process their application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we want to disclose information to a third party, for example where we want to take up a reference or obtain further disclosure (such as from the Criminal Records Bureau), we will not do so without informing the individual first, unless the disclosure is required by law.
Information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for a maximum of 12 months following completion of the recruitment process; it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalised statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but no individuals are identifiable from that data.
On employing an individual, a file will be compiled relating to their employment with RCG. This information will be kept secure and only used for purposes directly relevant to that person’s employment, and only accessible to those with the correct and appropriate level of authority within RCG.
Information for our current and former employees will be stored securely and kept in accordance with our retention policy.
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online and in completing our services to our clients.
We may process any personal data identified in this Policy where it is deemed necessary for the purposes of maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or establishing, exercising or defending legal claims, we do this for the proper protection of our business. We may also process such data where processing is required in order to comply with a legal obligation in order to protect your or another person’s vital interests.
RCG tries to be as open as it can be in terms of giving people access to their personal information. Individuals can find out if we hold any personal information by making a ‘subject access request’ under the Data Protection Act 1998 and subsequent legislation. If we do hold information about you, we will:
To make a request to the RCG for any personal information we may hold you need to put the request in writing addressing it to our Data Protection Officer at our registered office or emailing it to the address provided below.
If you agree, we will try to deal with your request informally, for example by providing you with the specific information you need over the telephone.
You have specific rights under data protection legislation; these are:
If for any reason we are unable to disclose your personal information, we will set out such reasons for any refusal. We may request that you provide further information and identification to enable us to comply with your request.
We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so.
You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 1998. If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the address below. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
RCG tries to meet the highest standards when collecting and using personal information. For this reason, we take any complaints we receive about this matter very seriously. We encourage people to bring it to our attention if they think that our collection or use of information is unfair, misleading or inappropriate. We would also welcome any suggestions for improving our procedures.
This privacy policy was drafted with brevity and clarity in mind. It does not provide exhaustive detail of all aspects of RCG’s collection and use of personal information. However, we are happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed. Any requests for this should be sent to the address below.
When we receive a complaint from a person we make up a file containing the details of the complaint. This normally contains the identity of the complainant and any other individuals involved in the complaint.
We will only use the personal information we collect to process the complaint and to check on the level of service we provide. We do compile and publish statistics showing information like the number of complaints we receive, but not in a form which identifies anyone.
We usually have to disclose the complainant’s identity to whoever the complaint is about. This is inevitable where, for example, the accuracy of a person’s record is in dispute. If a complainant doesn’t want information identifying them to be disclosed, we will try to respect that. However, it may not be possible to handle a complaint on an anonymous basis.
We will keep personal information contained in complaint files in line with our retention policy. This means that information relating to a complaint will be retained for two years from closure. It will be retained in a secure environment and access to it will be restricted according to the ‘need to know’ principle.
Similarly, where enquiries are submitted to us we will only use the information supplied to us to deal with the enquiry and any subsequent issues and to check on the level of service we provide.
If you have any concerns about how we use your personal information, questions about this policy, or wish to request access or changes to your information, please contact our Data Protection Officer at the following address:
By post: Data Protection Officer
1 The Old Carthouses, Broadlands Park, Romsey, Hampshire, SO51 9LQ, United Kingdom
Email: info@thinkrcg.com (please include “Data Protection” in the subject line of the email).
You can find detailed information about your rights under UK Data Protection legislation on the UK Information Commissioner’s website: http://www.ico.gov.uk
For the avoidance of doubt, this policy covers all of The Renewables Consulting Group, including its subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide.
This policy shall be reviewed annually and updated as necessary. We reserve the right to modify or otherwise update this policy and any changes will be posted on our website.
Download Policy PDFIt is the policy of The Renewables Consulting Group Limited (“RCG”) to protect the health and safety of staff, clients and other stakeholders. This extends to RCG’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. This policy is subject to frequent review and update; the latest version is this version (posted on RCG’s website).
The Board of Directors takes responsibility, so far as is reasonably practicable, to ensure the health and safety of employees and others who may be affected by our work. This is set out in the firms HSEQ Policy.
This policy sets out how RCG is mitigating the risks to our staff and business and how we are managing the changing threat caused by Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), the new respiratory virus. The approach is applicable to other infectious diseases.
This policy does not describe COVID-19 in detail. RCG is not expert in this area and we refer to national health and international authorities for expert guidance. Official advice from governments where RCG operates is constantly changing as the situation develops. RCG will take all reasonable steps to prepare and protect our staff and clients in line with best available guidance.
The symptoms reported include mild to severe respiratory illness with fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing. In many cases COVID-19 illness is mild, but in some cases the people experience severe and potentially fatal illness, especially older people or people with certain underlying health conditions (such as heart disease, lung disease, or diabetes), who may be at a greater risk. It is increasingly evident that the long-term consequences of COVID-19 can also be debilitating for some people (so called “long COVID”).
As RCG continues to monitor the local, national and worldwide incidence of COVID-19, and the associated illness it causes, staff have been asked to review our policy and follow other specific guidance issued.
RCG’s policy is being updated regularly as the situation evolves and more becomes known.
RCG’s core advisory services have in the past typically required some degree of client contact, either to scope out work or to present deliverables. In some projects we work directly imbedded in client teams.
As the public health emergency evolved, most face-to-face meetings with clients have been cancelled.
If our staff are required to self-isolate or fall ill, this may affect the delivery of services to some clients.
RCG has had to restrict the deployment of staff due to the risk of becoming infected or because of travel restrictions.
RCG is limiting exposure to the illness by monitoring regional outbreaks and matching our risk response to those outbreaks. These risks will change over time as the virus emerges, spreads, and then subsides. RCG is working with our clients to limit the spread and impact of the infection. RCG’s risk assessment takes into account both the regional situation and individual sites.
RCG has implemented business continuity procedures to ensure the company is resilient to business disruptions, including those presented by COVID-19.
RCG has issued internal guidance on measures relating to COVID that should be taken by all staff, staff who are unwell, and staff who are at higher risk.
RCG is already set up for effective remote working. Where COVID-19 is prevalent and where govern advice dictates, staff who can work effectively from home have been requested to work remotely. Our office remain available for staff to use providing they are well, take recommended precautions to avoid infection, and this remains in line with advice from governments in their region. RCG’s staff can work indefinitely from other locations, including their homes, with no material impact to client services.
For key functions we have cross-trained each role to cover holiday and sickness absence.
RCG uses cloud-based technologies to maintain resilient communications (telephony, email and teleconferencing). We have secure access to data during any disruption, with no reliance on physical premises. All our staff have access to this resilient technology.
Potential disruption to client work caused by COVID-19 has been managed by delivering project work through remote means including conference calls and screen sharing.
Whilst an individual member of staff falling ill could impact our clients, RCG has measures in place to enable other RCG consultants to continue any work. These include project management systems containing project plans and updates, shared secure file storage to hold project work, and shared calendars recording appointments.
In a worst-case scenario, RCG will work with clients to prioritise urgent services and work.
RCG will keep clients and other stakeholders informed about our policy relating to COVID-19.
Should a member of the RCG team test positive for COVID-19 we will inform all those who could be affected as soon as possible.
We will seek reciprocal information from our clients, requesting that they report immediately if someone in their organisation becomes ill who may have been in contact with our team, so we can limit the potential spread of the virus. We will also request information on client’s COVID-19 policies and any implications to business continuity (office closures, travel restrictions, etc).
We are continuing to monitor and develop our contingency plans to prepare for a range of eventualities regarding the business impact of the virus. Our published policy has already been refined and amended as the public health emergency has developed.
If public health conditions worsen, RCG’s policy on COVID-19 may be further amended to deal will the impact of widespread illness or absences, more frequent needs for self-isolation or quarantine, and business continuity.
This policy shall be kept under constant review and amended in line with government guidance in countries where we operate. RCG intends to maintain normal business operations as much as possible.
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