ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Senior management have recently adopted an operational Environmental Policy statement with a set of clear objectives aimed at reducing the Group’s environmental impact and engaging with suppliers who share our vision and ambitions. This will be monitored on a regular basis to ensure the ongoing application of these objectives throughout the Group’s operational activities and strategic plans wherever practicable.

Our Buildings and Locations 

In the summer of 2021, we were delighted to establish our new Company headquarters at Dataworks in the Kings Hall Health and Wellbeing Park in Belfast. building we occupy is a new green building, with an “A” rated energy certificate. During the year 140,600 kWh of electricity were consumed in the full time use of the headquarters in Belfast, of which 46% of the energy was sourced from renewable sources. The Dataworks complex consists of smart office, lab patient testing and treatment organisations, and shared space adjacent to the iconic Kings Hall building. These offices position us in direct proximity to Belfast’s major hospitals, universities and innovative medical research facilities, and we are already seeing the benefits of the location as a thriving data hub enabling data analytics companies, medical professionals and patient centric groups to collaborate in this shared space. Research groups, companies and healthcare organisations can choose to co-locate alongside Diaceutics or to work alongside our team of highly qualified experts and to gain access to our global data repository through a joint data collaboration agreement. Amassed over the last decade, Diaceutics’ precision medicine data repository unlocks unrivalled access to deep analysis of the world’s richest source records and with 96 disease-specific treatment pathways, known internally as Diagnostic Deductive Pathways (‘DDPs’), developed via accelerated algorithmic applications. At our HQ there are several recycling initiatives which are facilitated and encouraged wherever possible within the building, including the provision of DXRX drinking flasks, boiling hot water taps, and low flush toilets. Diaceutics’ facilities management partner CBRE arranges regular confidential wastepaper recycling with secure recycle bins housed externally for all recyclable items apart from confidential wastepaper.

Operational Carbon Footprint

At Diaceutics, we recognise the importance of minimizing our environmental impact and promoting sustainability in all aspects of our business. We strive to implement practices and procedures that reduce our carbon footprint, conserve resources, and protect biodiversity. However, we also understand that faceto-face interaction with clients is a necessary part of our business operations, and we strive to find a balance between environmental responsibility and meeting the needs of our clients. While we encourage the use of digital communication channels and virtual meetings whenever possible, we also recognise that in some cases, in-person meetings and events are necessary to build relationships and provide our clients with the best possible service. Below are some key metrics that capture in 2022.

Future Reporting

Future Reporting For the future, Diaceutics has proactively taken steps towards introducing Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) by engaging a third-party supplier to establish a baseline with preliminary reporting available in 2023. This is a testament to our commitment towards tracking and reporting our energy consumption and carbon emissions in a timely and efficient manner, thereby demonstrating our environmental stewardship and sustainability efforts.

Our Culture

At Diaceutics, we recognise that the nexus of any workplace, is that employees determine success. Without our people, the purpose, products, services, and strategy of Diaceutics would not be possible, and it is therefore essential that employees work in an environment that provides them with opportunities to thrive. It was through this recognition that the ‘Diaceutics EFFECT’ values were born. Since their establishment in 2018, these six values (Empowerment, Foresight, Fun, Empathy, Communication and Trust) have been at the heart of all decisions made throughout all levels of the organisation and have gained extra momentum as the organisation has grown. With employees collaborating with one another across the globe it is more important than ever that we focus on our workplace culture to create the greatest benefit and highest impact possible. Culture activities are led by both official and unofficial Culture Ambassadors, in parallel with the dissemination of our values, throughout the Company and beyond, to our collaborators, lab partners, clients and investors. Our investors also recognise the value of our culture from a business perspective, identifying us as a “learning company,” working and learning with our clients, flexing as the environment requires - driving our entrepreneurial and EFFECT values home by being communicably collaborative, forward thinking and of course, a trust-worthy investment.

Our Ethics

At Diaceutics we are committed to maintaining high ethical standards throughout our business and ensuring that these are reflected in policies and procedures to support this commitment. These include an Equality, Inclusion and Diversity policy; Human Rights Policy; Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy; Whistleblowing policy and, an Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Statement. Our critical supplier assessment policy for new core suppliers, includes a request for information as to their code of ethics, thereby seeking to ensure that their culture aligns with ours, and assessments of existing suppliers is carried out as part of the regular risk review process. A Code of Conduct for Employees, which will also include ethics and ethical behaviour, will be introduced in 2023.

Further information on Our Focus on Our People, Inclusion and Diversity, Employee Engagement, Recruitment and Retention, and more can be found starting on Page 49 of Our Annual Report. 

Diaceutics is dedicated to having robust governance protocols and procedures throughout all aspects of our business. These help the business operate to high standards of conduct and to protect and grow the business for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Advancing Data Governance

At Diaceutics we strive to be a leader in the data governance space and stand out as a company who cares about their patients’ data. We embrace the challenge of complying with the evolving regulatory landscape around data, and welcome the highest levels of data governance as an expectation for those operating with patient data in the precision medicine space. 

Central to this is our commitment to ensuring the security and protection of all personal data that we process. We have built a robust data compliance framework and continue to look for ways to improve our data governance efforts. In 2022 this included the establishment of an operational environment which integrates all data handling within a quality management system and adoption of the process for ISO 27001 and Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Security, Trust, and Assurance and Risk (STAR) certification standards for our platform. 

A vital part of Diaceutics’ business is the development and evolution of its DXRX platform. We are excited to be part of a growing digital and data driven sector which is critical to the growth of the Company, but are equally committed to the safeguarding, access, privacy, ethical use, and security of all data.

Regulators

Diaceutics produces many of its products using data obtained from various channels and is committed to the security, protection and lawful treatment of personal data. We acknowledge that protecting the confidentiality and integrity of personal data is a critical responsibility that we must always take seriously. 

Diaceutics has a data protection regime in place, which ensures that all personnel are sufficiently trained to handle any personal data in accordance with internal policies and standard operating procedures. This regime continues to evolve to keep abreast of regulatory developments across the globe. 

Diaceutics’ Legal and Quality and Compliance departments play a key role in administering the data protection regime and ensuring Diaceutics’ activities are fully compliant with relevant regulatory requirements across the globe, including GDPR in the UK and HIPAA in the US.

Further information on our Governance Framework and Business Practices, Key Governance and Business Policies, Ongoing and Future ESG Policies, Risk Management and Stakeholder Engagement can be found on Page 60 of our Annual Report.