Corps Security Press Releases Archives - Page 5 of 7

Corps Wins Three-Year Contract With Bird & Bird

Bird & Bird has appointed Corps Security to provide security services at 12 New Fetter Lane, in London. Under the three-year contract, we will deliver daily manned guarding for the building and provide security services at the reception. Twelve security colleagues will work at the site.

Bird & Bird is an international law firm with a focus on helping organisations being changed by technology and the digital world. It has over 1,300 lawyers in 29 offices across Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and North America. The office at 12 New Fetter Lane comprises 147,000 sq ft arranged over 12 floors, all of which will be looked after by our team of dedicated security officers.

Paul Lotter, our managing director, commented: “We are delighted to be providing our security services for such an esteemed law firm. Bird & Bird are frontrunners in global law, and their office in London reflects their ambition for greatness. We share the same ethos, our commitment to excellence aligns with Bird & Bird, and together we have already formed an excellent relationship. We’re very excited for the future ahead.”

“Corps Security are security specialists that have stood the test of time, with a culture and professionalism that fits perfectly with our own,” said Bird & Bird Facilities Director Mark Malone. Corps Security’s expert knowledge of security services coupled with their care for people and sustainability approach are the exact qualities we look for in our security services provider.”

November 30, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Corps Launches Diversity And Inclusion Initiative

Corps Security has formally launched Corps Together, a comprehensive campaign to improve equality, diversity and inclusion engagement across our organisation. The programme, which began over a year ago, aims to create a culture where heritage and differences are valued and celebrated while building an organisation which treats inclusion as an expectation not an aspiration

A group of volunteers, known as guardians, were recruited from within the business to take personal responsibility for the six protected characteristics: age, sex, religion, disability, gender and race.

The initiative includes the introduction of an ED&I charter which sets out our company level commitment to each Corps colleague and underpins the Corps value Everyone Matters. The senior team reviewed all Corps policies, procedures and recruitment processes to ensure ED&I best practice, introduced a Corps Together website, a short video and a quarterly magazine to engage people with the initiative together with a dedicated helpline/ email line to deal with any issues and panel support for HR issues or grievances so people feel supported if they’re raising a ED&I issue. here is also annual mandatory E&DI training for everyone in the business which is now undertaken using MOONHUB’s innovative virtual reality training platform.

The guardians also created a calendar of key dates across the six protective characteristics including faith festivals, LGBTQ History Month, Pride month and Black History Month and organise celebratory events for some of these key dates as well as social media activity.

The campaign is already having an impact. Corps’ annual Your Voice Matters colleague survey in summer 2021 demonstrated a growing understanding of ED&I issues thanks to the Corps Together initiative but with clear room for improvement. More than 60 percent of people are aware of Corps Together, just over 40 percent are aware of their guardian team members, almost 70 percent feel Corps proactively promotes equality diversity and inclusion and a similar number feel they can approach Corps if they have an issue relating to equality, diversity and inclusion.

“These results show that even where people aren’t aware of Corps Together, the majority feel Corps actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion,” says Seetan Varsani, director of major accounts and strategic development at Corps Security, who leads the campaign. “We will measure and hope to see a year-on-year improvement in these scores.”

The guardians are also planning an annual ED&I awards scheme and want to use the official launch to get more engagement from site-based colleagues. “We want people to feel not just included but a sense of belonging,” adds Varsani.

Corps is also exploring the adoption of ISO 30415 – the new business quality standard in ED&I – with the aim to achieve this in 2022.

“As a social enterprise, people are at our very heart. Corps Together demonstrates that we value each and every one of our more than 3,000 people and want to celebrate our diversity,” says Paul Lotter, managing director of Corps Security.

November 23, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

‘Buy Social’ – Helping To Achieve Your Environmental, Social And Governance (ESG) Goals

Ethical consumerism has become a big trend in recent years as consumers are becoming more concerned about where their money is going, and it’s not just individuals. Large corporations like PWC, Barclays, and Johnson & Johnson and government commissioners are all pledging to spend money with organisations that are prioritising their social, governance and environmental impact.

It is now a boardroom level commitment for many companies to allocate their procurement budget with those suppliers that align with or complement their own ESG goals. Choosing to ‘buy social’, within the diverse supplier and social enterprise community, gives consumers and companies a transparent, ethical and accountable way to spend their money.

Diverse suppliers and social enterprise businesses (often the two go hand in hand) range in size and are spread across a wide variety of sectors. From coffee and water suppliers to toilet paper and socks to design agencies and security companies, there are plenty of organisations to choose from when it comes to meeting diverse supplier spend targets.

What is a Social Enterprise Organisation?

To become a certified social enterprise organisation businesses must satisfy several key criteria, which importantly include proving how profits are distributed and invested as well as company ownership status and evidence of a social mission.

Social Enterprise UK is the leading global authority on social enterprise and the biggest network of social enterprises in the UK. They are a strategic partner to government departments and have led public policy on social enterprise for 15 years.

Social enterprise organisations are founded on a social or environmental mission and like any successful business they are committed to making profit. Unlike other businesses their profits must be reinvested or donated to charities or sustainability projects rather than paying dividends to shareholders.

Working with social enterprises and diverse suppliers is a simple way larger corporations can make a powerful ethical difference.

The £1 billion challenge

In 2016, Social Enterprise UK launched the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, the world’s largest commitment to social procurement. The government-backed initiative sees a group of high-profile businesses working together to maximise their engagement with social enterprise suppliers. These partners now include over 27 global companies including Zurich Insurance, GSK, and real estate giants CBRE.

Social Procurement through Social Enterprise

Large corporations are now more than ever concerned about the social and environmental impact they are having. Many have, or are looking to set up, a strategy to bring diversity, innovation, and sustainability to their supply chain. Social enterprises can help deliver on this strategy.

“More and more businesses are recognising just how powerful the impact – positive and negative – of their day-to-day business spend is on society. Here at Zurich, our ambition is to see our procurement practices drive positive social, environmental, and ethical outcomes. A core part of our strategy is engaging with business partners which can bring diversity, innovation, and sustainability into our supply chain. The good news is that there is a ready-made solution out there which delivers all of this – social enterprises.”
Janette Evans-Turner, Head of Sourcing & Procurement UK & IOM – Zurich Insurance, (https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/blogs/the-public-sector-must-lead-by-example-in-buying-social/)

“Supply Chain Diversity is increasingly important for CBRE and our clients. CBRE have made a commitment to spend $1bn with diverse suppliers in 2021 and to treble this over the next 5 years. We firmly believe that a diverse supply chain is a catalyst for innovation, creativity and doing good.”
Adrian Dalmedo, Procurement Director, CBRE

Corps Security – A Social Enterprise 160 years in the making

Since their inception in 1859 Corps Security have followed what they call the triple bottom line ethos of ‘people, planet, purpose’. That’s over a century and a half of social value.

Corps was originally founded to help veterans returning from the Crimean war to find gainful employment. To this day the Corps model still actively seeks to employee ex-military personnel.

In July 2021 Corps Security gained Social Enterprise status. This not only acknowledged the good work that Corps has been involved in since their beginning, it also sets them apart from all their competitors in the security sector.

“Social Enterprise status brings many benefits. For our business it guarantees that our social mission remains at the very heart of all we do and ensures we continue to operate in an ethical, transparent, and accountable way. It also means our customers can increase their own environmental, social and governance credentials by choosing to work with us. My hope is that together we can achieve great things for our people and our planet whilst supporting our purpose.”
Mark Rogers, Sales and Marketing Director of Corps Security

In common with all other Social Enterprise organisations Corps reinvest their profits back into their business, to support their teams. They also make considerable charitable donations to create positive social change within the ex-military community.

Combat Stress is their preferred charity and having Social Enterprise status means Corps can secure regular funding for them. This helps to pay for research, clinicians and counsellors to support ex-military personnel with their journey into civilian life and any mental health care they may need.

Since the withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 17th Combat Stress has seen an increase in calls to their Helpline with many veterans feeling let down, angry and frustrated. Recent coverage may be triggering difficult thoughts and feelings and could be re-traumatising some veterans or worsening existing conditions like PTSD.

Thanks to Corps Security’s clients, Combat Stress have funded 109 Days for the helpline. That is 4,500 calls of which 2,070 were new callers seeking help for the first time.

As well as meeting social enterprise criteria earlier this year and joining the growing number of companies able to offer that ‘diverse spend ’option, Corps Security have also recently been awarded the MOD’s Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award. This is in recognition of outstanding support for the Armed Forces community. Corps have been a Living Wage Foundation recognised service provider since 2020 and they’re also a carbon neutral company, funding projects across the world and offsetting 477 tons of carbon a year.

For more information about Corps Security as a Social Enterprise you can find out more here: https://www.corpssecurity.co.uk/why-choose-us/corps-awarded-social-enterprise-status/

November 10, 2021/by Corps Security

Five Minutes With Seetan Varsani And Paul Lotter

Corps Security Press Releases

Shrinivas Honap Joins The Corps Security Board

Shrinivas Honap has joined the Corps Security board as a Non-Executive Director. He took up the position on 1st November 2021.

Honap is a chartered accountant by profession and served with Vodafone, Capita, KPMG and Egg during his executive career. He holds a number of other non-executive roles including Non-Executive Director and audit committee Chair for the UK Atomic Energy Authority, Low Level Waste Repository Financial Ombudsman Service and UK Space Agency. He is also a Non-Executive Director for the Civil Service Pensions Board, Determination Panel and a Lay member for the Standards Committee on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. He was previously a Non-Executive Director and Chair for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and also held non-executive and sub-committee chair roles for the British Transport Police Authority, South Staffordshire NHS, Office of the Legal Ombudsman and Office of the Public Guardian.

Honap has particular interests in large transformation programmes, risk management, finance and developing technology.

He joins a board which comprises Malcolm Groat, Chairman; Nick Pearch, Non-Executive Director; Chris Nickols, Non-Executive Director; Fiona Strens, Non-Executive Director; Mike Bullock, Chief Executive Officer; and Paul Craggs, Chief Financial Officer. Nickols will take over as chairman in January 2022.

Shrinivas Honap said: “I am delighted to be joining the Corps Security board, particularly in supporting its role as a social enterprise and I look forward to supporting the team to develop the organisation to meet the needs of its customers, employees and the social causes it supports .”

Mike Bullock, CEO of Corps Security commented: “I’m very pleased that Shrinivas has joined us. He has enormous experience as a non-executive director in many industries and will bring a unique insight to Corps.”

November 1, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Chris Nickols Appointed Chairman Of Corps Security

Chris Nickols CB CBE DL has been named Chairman of Corps Security. He has been on the board as a Non-Executive Director since March 2020 and was a shareholder Trustee for the seven years before that.

Nickols completed a full career in the Royal Air Force, commanding at all levels and gaining extensive experience in security operations and public sector governance at the highest board levels. In his final role he was Chief of Defence Intelligence – Ministry of Defence. In this high-ranking role, he acted as one of the principal intelligence advisors to the UK government. He was also the leader of international and UK national intelligence collaboration and relationships and was responsible for security and management of some of the UK’s most sensitive sites.

Nickols will head up the Corps board comprising: Nick Pearch, Non-Executive Director; Fiona Strens, Non-Executive Director; Shrinivas Honap, non-executive director, Mike Bullock, Chief Executive Officer; and Paul Craggs, Chief Financial Officer. He will take up the position in January 2022.

Nickols’ appointment follows that of Fiona Strens, Professor of Practice on Security & Resilience at the University of Strathclyde, who joined the board as a Non-Executive Director earlier this month.

Chris Nickols said: “I am delighted to be heading up the Corps Security board after almost 10 years supporting the organisation. I hope that my deep understanding of threat assessment, as well as physical and technical security, will continue to bring value to Corps and its customers.”

Mike Bullock, CEO of Corps Security commented: “I’m very pleased that Chris Nickols has taken on the chairmanship of our board. His broad knowledge and experience of the security sector and military veterans will continue to be invaluable to us.”

October 26, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Black History Month – Derek Liverpool

In celebration of Black History Month, members of our Corps Together Race Guardian Team met with Derek Liverpool. Derek is our Assistant Security Manager at Somerset House, who is on a very special mission to uncover the history of black people within the armed forces.

With British Guyanese roots, Derek’s family moved to the UK in the 1950’s, settling in West London. His parents were academics, so he grew up around books. However, although European history was taught in schools and widely discussed, Derek’s parents made sure he understood his own cultural history.

Over the years Derek’s interest in black history developed, and when he came across a war medal inscribed with BWIR and the name and serial number of the soldier it was awarded to, his interest peaked. BWIR stands for British West Indies Regiment, a unit of the British Army formed of volunteers from British colonies in the West Indies, during the first World War. This discovery marked the beginning of a very special journey to learn more about the role of black people in the forces as well as slavery, and the story of people of colour throughout British history. Over the years Derek has collected hundreds of items relating to black soldiers and their sacrifice in conflict, researching every individual item and piecing together the story behind its existence – knowing that behind every item is a person, who’s memory deserves to be preserved, honoured, and celebrated.

His ultimate mission is to trace origins of every item and reunite them with the families of every soldier. More than this, Derek hopes to connect young people with the past, bringing to life the heroism, achievements and sometimes the struggle of people of colour, who fought so bravely to protect our freedom.

Working with the National Army Museum and Imperial War Museum Derek collates records and information relating to every artefact and its previous owner. He hopes to launch a special education initiative which will see him issue packs to schools, challenging students to research the items, collecting as much information as possible about its owner and history, in the hopes of tracing relatives and handing over the articles.

Learn more about the incredible journey Derek embarks on in his spare time, which is a true salute to the Black Community, with such a strong link to Corps Security and its heritage.

>> Black History Month – Derek Liverpool

October 26, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Corps Security Strengthens Board With New Non-Executive Director

Fiona Strens, Professor of Practice on Security & Resilience at the University of Strathclyde, joins Corps Security as non-executive director.

Prior to her position as Professor of Practice leading on Security & Resilience at the University of Strathclyde, Strens spent ten years leading CrowdVision, the video analytics company she co-founded. CrowdVision was designed to keep people safe and optimise traffic flow in crowded places like airports, events, and venues. Her career has spanned Government (UK Ministry of Defence), and consultancy, always with a focus on strategies and innovations for enhanced security and business efficiencies and productivity.

Strens has previous non-executive director and advisory experience, and mentors entrepreneurs and young people considering science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) careers.

Strens will sit alongside the Corps board comprising: Malcolm Groat, chairman; Chris Nickols, non-executive director; Nick Pearch, non-executive director; Mike Bullock, chief executive officer; and Paul Craggs, chief financial officer.

Fiona Strens, non-executive director, Corps Security said: “I am both delighted and proud to be joining the world’s oldest security company as non-executive director. With the organisation receiving social enterprise certification last month this is an exciting time to be joining the team.”

Malcolm Groat, chairman, Corps Security commented: “I’m very pleased to welcome Fiona to the board. Her depth of security expertise is invaluable. This combined with her board and mentoring experience means she was the natural choice. We are pleased to have Fiona onboard, and we welcome her to the Corps team.”

September 2, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Corps Security – Leading The Way Through New Social Enterprise Status

After 162 years of dedication to their social purpose, built on a desire to help war veterans into gainful employment, Corps Security are now celebrating their recently awarded Social Enterprise status.

Since their inception in 1859 they have followed, what we now term, the triple bottom line ethos of ‘people, planet, purpose’.That’s over a century and a half of social value.

Achieving Social Enterprise status acknowledges the good work that Corps was founded on and sets them apart from their competitors in the security sector.

Mike Bullock, CEO of Corps Security says, “We were already special in the industry. Being awarded Social Enterprise status will not change the running of our business, it simply gives official recognition to the social mission that we were founded on – it nails our colours to the mast.”

Gaining Social Enterprise Status

Social Enterprise UK is the leading global authority on social enterprise and the biggest network of social enterprises in the UK. They are a strategic partner to government departments and have led public policy on social enterprise for 15 years.

To become a certified social enterprise businesses must satisfy a number of key criteria, which importantly includes proving how profits are distributed and invested as well as company ownership status and evidence of a social mission.

Corps Security does this and more…

As well as ticking every box on the Social Enterprise criteria list, Corps Security can add a few of their own unique social achievements.

Corps Security are already a Living Wage Foundation recognised service provider. Introduced in 2019, they now pay 56% of colleagues a Real Living Wage. They also advocate for their customers to pay a Real Living Wage too.

Add to this their Gold Status Employer Recognition Scheme award and internal initiative, Corps Together (a programme promoting diversity), and you can see how committed Corps are to their people.

Corps are also a Carbon Neutral company, certified by Carbon Footprint in early 2020, after funding projects across the world and offsetting 477 tons of avoidable carbon.

A hard act to follow in the security sector

Social Enterprise status is not something other security companies can easily achieve. Corps has a unique constitution, operating as a Trust. There are no shareholders to pay dividends to and their profits are either reinvested or are donated to selected charity partners.

Combat Stress is their preferred charity and having Social Enterprise status means Corps can secure regular funding for them, to help pay for research, clinicians and counsellors to support ex-military personnel with their journey into civilian life and any mental health care they may so desperately need.

Mark Rogers, Sales and Marketing Director comments, “Social Enterprise status brings many benefits. For our business it guarantees that our social mission remains at the very heart of all we do and ensures we continue to operate in an ethical, transparent and accountable way. It also means our customers can increase their own environmental, social and governance credentials by choosing to work with us. My hope is that together we can achieve great things for our people and our planet whilst supporting our purpose.”

Further information out about Corps Social Enterprise status is available via this link.

August 24, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Corps Security Awarded Gold Status in Defence Employer Recognition Scheme

Security solutions specialist, Corps Security, was awarded Gold status in the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, run by the Ministry of Defence, on Friday 16th July.

Corps Security was among 139 other companies to be awarded the Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award for outstanding support towards the Armed Forces community, as announced by Defence Minister Leo Docherty on Friday.

Representing the highest badge of honour, Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Awards are awarded to companies that employ and support those who serve, veterans and their families. To win an award, organisations must provide 10 extra paid days leave for Reservists and have supportive HR policies in place for veterans, Reserves, and Cadet Force Adult Volunteers, as well as spouses and partners of those serving in the Armed Forces. Organisations must also advocate the benefits of supporting those within the Armed Forces community by encouraging others to sign the Armed Forces Covenant and engage in the Employer Recognition Scheme.

This Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Award for outstanding support towards the Armed Forces community comes at a time when Corps is elevating its focus on employee wellbeing and working towards becoming a social enterprise. This year’s awardees bring the total number of Gold holders to 493, which also includes CBRE, global commercial real estate and investment services company.

The Employer Recognition Scheme was launched in 2014 by the then Prime Minister David Cameron, to recognise employer support for the wider principles of the Armed Forces Covenant and the full spectrum of Defence personnel. This includes the Reserves, service leavers, cadets, spouses and wounded, injured and sick. The scheme encompasses bronze, silver and gold awards.

Mike Bullock, CEO, Corps Security said: “Corps was founded to provide employment for ex-servicemen returning from the Crimean War so the roots of our company are firmly ingrained in the military sector. We value every single member of the Armed Forces community employed at Corps. They bring a fantastic skill set and their contribution to Corps is invaluable. We are so proud to receive this very prestigious Gold Employer Recognition Scheme award. It doesn’t end there though. The military sector is so important to us and we’ll work harder to recruit and support those that have served our country as well as developing our client base in the military sector.”

July 20, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Security Press Releases

Recognising Our Reserves

Reserve Forces make up approximately one sixth of our Armed Forces personnel and as such are integral to protecting the nation’s security at home and overseas.

Here at Corps Security, our team consists of many Reservists. This includes our very own regional director, John Ford, who was recently mobilised into regular service for 10 months with the RAF Police at Brize Norton. In support of Reserves Day on Wednesday 23^rd June, our Reservists will wear their uniforms in civilian life, showing their pride and dedication to our military.

Reservists are everywhere, but you might not know it. Composed of citizen-soldiers who combine their military role with a civilian career, the existence of Reserve Forces allows a nation to reduce its peacetime military expenditures while maintaining a force ready to be called upon when needed.

On Reserves Day, during this years’ Armed Forces week, some of our mysterious Reservists will stop blending into society and show their colours for all to see. With so many of these brave men and women in our team, check out our social media platforms to see some of them in all their glory. There may be a couple of names or faces that surprise you.

Follow Corps’ social channels for updates and images of these and other activities. Please support SSAFA by donating here.

June 23, 2021/by Corps Security

Corps Wins Three-Year Contract With Bird & Bird

Corps Launches Diversity And Inclusion Initiative

Shrinivas Honap Joins The Corps Security Board

Chris Nickols Appointed Chairman Of Corps Security

Black History Month – Derek Liverpool

Corps Security Strengthens Board With New Non-Executive Director

Corps Security Awarded Gold Status in Defence Employer Recognition Scheme

Recognising Our Reserves

Reserve Forces make up approximately one sixth of our Armed Forces personnel and as such are integral to protecting the nation’s security at home and overseas.

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