An Outsourcing Industry Professional’s Guide to Social Sustainability in ESG

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are gaining prominence in the dynamic world of business process outsourcing (BPO). Being human-centric, BPO providers and clients must put Social Sustainability at the heart of operations. But with various legal requirements, reporting frameworks, changing priorities and sprawling data collection requirements and little guidance – this is easier said than done. To help outsourcing industry professionals navigate the complexities of Social Sustainability, we’ve penned this white paper with impact experts at GCEOA and BPO-veteran turned ESG advisor, Alistair Niederer. It aims to equip BPO professionals with a solid understanding of ESG and Social Sustainability. By reading it you can:

• Grasp ESG and its relevance to the BPO industry
• Understand the Social Sustainability imperative for BPO providers and clients
• Get guidance on relevant metrics and data utilization for effective decision-making
• Set out steps to implement Social Sustainability practices in outsourcing activities
• Get inspired on how to leverage impact sourcing for positive social and economic outcomes

Download: Guide to Social Sustainability in ESG

Envirosite Corporation, a leading provider of environmental data solutions that enable better decision-making, announces today that it has been honored with the Project Merit: Information Technology award for its groundbreaking Open Environmental Data (OED) Platform as part of the 2018 Environmental Business Journal® (EBJ) Business Awards. Shelton, CT, and San Diego, CA, February 22, 2019 (Newswire.com) – Envirosite Corporation, a leading provider of environmental data solutions that enable better decision-making, announces today that it has been honored with the Project Merit: Information Technology award for its groundbreaking Open Environmental Data (OED) Platform as part of the 2018 Environmental Business Journal® (EBJ) Business Awards. Envirosite, an ADEC Innovation, developed the OED Platform to provide clients with an in-depth look into possible environmental contamination or hazardous materials that may hinder the economic development of a particular region. In 2018, Envirosite, in partnership with the Smart and Sustainable Action Association (SaSAA), collaborated with the Broome County, New York Department Planning Department in the creation of a specialized mapping system through the OED platform. This project will be vital to identifying possible contamination sites at the county’s parks, creating opportunities to implement health-related actions and strengthen incident prevention. EBJ is a business research publication which provides strategic information and market forecasts for executives involved in 14 business segments including environmental remediation, water and wastewater, air pollution control, environmental consulting and engineering, hazardous waste, instrumentation, pollution control equipment, waste management, resource recovery, and solid waste management. It presents its annual EBJ Business Achievement Awards to recognize outstanding business performance in the environmental services sector. “In what is widely regarded as a stable market, a number of companies exceeded the norms of low single-digit growth with double-digit growth or ambitious ventures into new practice areas or technology development,” said Grant Ferrier, president of Environmental Business International Inc. (EBI, Inc.), publisher of Environmental Business Journal. Envirosite President Mark Cerino said that the company is honored to be recognized by EBJ as it plays an important role in the environmental services community. “We have built our platforms to meet the ever-changing demands and challenges associated with environmental due diligence and risk management, and the OED platform empowers communities to use high-quality, accurate data to inform development decisions and make a positive impact.” The 2018 EBJ awards will be presented at a special ceremony at the Environmental Industry Summit XVII in San Diego on March 20, 2019, an annual three-day executive retreat hosted by EBI, Inc. ### About Envirosite Envirosite is a data solutions company that develops breakthrough technology that enables stakeholders to put environmental data into action. Our solutions are used throughout the industry for environmental risk management, site assessments, due diligence and research on commercial properties and companies. By uniting years of industry experience with innovative technical expertise, our responsive, cost-effective solutions provide stakeholders with the ability to harness multiple sources of environmental data quickly so they can explore it at scale to uncover business-critical insights. Visit https://www.envirositecorp.com/ to find out more. About the EBJ Business Achievement Awards In October-December 2018, Environmental Business Journal solicited nominations for the EBJ Business Achievement Awards. Nominations were accepted in 200-word essays in specific categories. Final awards were determined by a committee of EBJ editorial advisory board members. (Disclaimer: company audits were not conducted to verify information or claims submitted with nominations) About EBI Founded in 1988, Environmental Business International Inc. is a research, publishing and consulting company that specializes in defining emerging markets and generating strategic market intelligence for companies, investors and policymakers. EBI publishes Environmental Business Journal® and Climate Change Business Journal®. EBI also performs contract research for the US government and private sector and founded the Environmental Industry Summit Series, four annual conferences for executives in the environmental industry. Visit ebionline.org to find out more. Media Contact For ADEC Innovations  Jacki Fricke Phone: +1-714-508-4100 media@adec-innovations.com

ADEC Innovations has been awarded the OutSystems Innovation Awards 2018 Environmental Impact Award. Presented at the OutSystems NextStep conference in Boston on September 27, 2018 IRVINE, Calif., November 7, 2018 (Newswire.com) – ADEC Innovations has been awarded the OutSystems Innovation Awards 2018 Environmental Impact Award. Presented at the OutSystems NextStep conference in Boston on September 27, 2018, the award represents ongoing industry recognition of ADEC Innovations’ mission to pioneer environmental, social, and governance (ESG) solutions that create positive social and environmental impacts. It is the fifth award the company has received in the past year for its software solutions, recognizing its commitment to fostering sustainable practices within the global community. OutSystems is an industry-leading low code platform for application development. The OutSystems Innovation Awards recognize organizations that are using the OutSystems platform in exciting ways to create business value, drive innovation, and have a positive impact in the wider world. Explaining the decision to grant the Environmental Impact Award to ADEC Innovations, OutSystems named the company’s industry-changing software solutions. “With the ability to repurpose functionality from several applications to solve similar challenges in other markets, the team developed four customized apps. The ZDHC Gateway Chemical and Wastewater Modules identify greener chemistry within textile manufacturing processes. CleanChain helps ensure sustainable operational practices in the supply chain. CDPInsights helps companies understand and benchmark their climate change performance. And MetricsTrac helps companies improve their sustainability performance organization-wide.”

We are honored by OutSystems’ recognition of our dedication to empowering organizations to make a positive global impact. We are proud of our team’s efforts and are thrilled to be a part of an IT community that is passionate about advancing social and environmental sustainability.”Greg Scandret, ADEC InnovationsProduct Development Director

“U.S. environmental solutions company ADEC Innovations offers more value to its customers using OutSystems to deliver customizable solutions faster, without the cost or time required for ground-up enterprise software development,” said a representative from OutSystems. Committed to advancing sustainable practices around the world and helping organizations operate and grow responsibly, ADEC Innovations chose OutSystems for its attention to detail, ease of integration, and accessible user interface (UI). “We are honored by OutSystems’ recognition of our dedication to empowering organizations to make a positive global impact,” said ADEC Innovations Product Development Director, Greg Scandrett. “We are proud of our team’s efforts and are thrilled to be a part of an IT community that is passionate about advancing social and environmental sustainability.” ### About ADEC Innovations ADEC Innovations’ ESG business advances sustainable practices around the world and helps organizations responsibly grow and operate. With a global workforce of over 5,000 employees spanning five continents, ADEC Innovations is able to seamlessly deliver fully-integrated, costeffective consulting, data management, and software solutions to ensure they meet their clients’ everevolving ESG needs and help them save time, reduce costs, optimize resource use, and drive operational efficiencies. Visit esg.adec-innovations.com to find out more. About OutSystems Thousands of customers worldwide trust OutSystems, the number one low-code platform for rapid application development. Engineers with an obsessive attention to detail crafted every aspect of the OutSystems platform to help organizations build enterprise-grade apps and transform their business faster. OutSystems is the only solution that combines the power of low-code development with advanced mobile capabilities, enabling visual development of entire application portfolios that easily integrate with existing systems. Visit outsystems.com to find out more. Media Contact For OutSystems Ann Conrad, OutSystems +1 404-994-2614 ann.conrad@outsystems.com For ADEC Innovations Jacki Fricke Phone: +1-714-508-4100 media@adec-innovations.com

IRVINE, Calif. and Colombo, Sri Lanka, June 13, 2018 (Newswire.com)— MAS Holdings (MAS), a leading manufacturer of intimate apparel, sports, swim and performance wear, has invested in CleanChain, a software solution from ADEC Innovations, in its quest to be a zero toxic manufacturer. CleanChain, an ADEC Innovation, will be used by the group to manage chemical use throughout MAS’ global manufacturing operations and supply chain. As part of its zero toxic commitments, MAS needed a process and reporting system that provided inventory registration and management, usage tracking and dashboard views for each of their facilities spread around the globe. After reviewing a number of different solutions, MAS selected CleanChain because it offered a number of unique features not offered by other software companies and allowed them to create the solutions their manual approach had not delivered. Working together, MAS and ADEC Innovations implemented CleanChain to fulfill their specific reporting needs. MAS has since facilitated the adoption of CleanChain at 20 chemical intensive manufacturing facilities in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam. “We needed to more proactively and systematically manage the vast amounts of chemical information across our global operations,” said Sharika Senanayake, Director Environmental Sustainability, MAS Holdings. “Since implementing CleanChain and collaborating with the ADEC Innovations team, we have transformed our inefficient and labor-intensive processes into a comprehensive system that helps us better understand and reduce risks, and reduced our manual burden and the associated costs of aggregating supply chain data.” MAS attributes significant improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of chemical management across their supply chain to CleanChain. An early adopter of the platform, MAS joined in 2016 and has since played an important collaborative role in improving ADEC Innovations’ pioneering chemical information management solution. “ADEC Innovations is thrilled to partner with MAS Holdings in the deployment of CleanChain within their organization and across the supply chain,” said Robert A. Francisco, President, ADEC Innovations. “Our collaboration supports MAS Holdings’ continued commitment to being a proactive and forward-thinking organization with products, plans and strategies that focus on sustainability. Their core ideals are in direct alignment with ADEC Innovations’ mission of developing solutions like CleanChain, which accelerate positive, global impact, resulting in a more sustainable future.” CleanChain is a secure online chemical information management system, built for manufacturers and supported by many of the major brands they supply. It provides partner businesses with a library of over 32,000 chemicals, the results of analyses conducted on those chemical products by approved labs, custom tools to compare how different products comply across multiple Manufacturing Restricted Substance Lists (MRSLs), detailed questionnaires to help users share data on the products they use and an intuitive connections system to facilitate simple sharing of this data. More than 500 users have joined the platform. For more information on CleanChain, visit cleanchain.com. ### About MAS Holdings Being one of the world’s most recognized design to delivery solution providers in apparel and textile manufacturing, MAS manages a portfolio of businesses with revenue of USD 1.8bn. It is also the largest apparel and textile manufacturer in South Asia. Headquartered in Sri Lanka, MAS serves 53 manufacturing facilities placed across 16 countries, with over 95,000 people involved in its operation. With a diverse portfolio under its umbrella, MAS is driven by the vision to create a selfsustained ecosystem in the global business arena. About ADEC Innovations ADEC Innovations’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) business advances sustainable practices around the world and helps organizations responsibly grow and operate. With access to ADEC Innovations’ global workforce of over 5,000 employees spanning five continents, Asia, Australia, Europe, Africa and North America, ADEC Innovations ESG Solutions is able to seamlessly deliver fullyintegrated, cost-effective consulting, data management and software solutions to ensure we meet our clients’ ever-evolving ESG needs and help them save time, reduce costs, optimize resource use, and drive operational efficiencies. Please visit esg.adec-innovations.com to find out more.

ADEC Innovations was recognized as Solution Provider of the Year Finalist during Ethical Corporation’s 2017 Responsible Business Awards. London, United Kingdom, October 16, 2017 – ADEC Innovations was recognized as Solution Provider of the Year Finalist during Ethical Corporation’s 2017 Responsible Business Awards. ADEC Innovations was one of four global companies shortlisted for the Solution Provider of the Year award, which recognises outstanding software providers, consultants and service firms whose initiatives are consistently rooted in innovation, sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, which are necessary for the empowerment and progress of responsible business. The company’s inclusion among the finalists served to validate its continued commitment to developing Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) solutions and encouraging the private sector to do its part in contributing to sustainable development. ADEC Innovations’ CEO James Donovan and Director for the UK Ben Wilde were presented a certificate, which stated that Ethical Corporation was “delighted to shortlist and recognise ADEC Innovations for its pioneering work.” “Being recognised as a finalist at the Responsible Business Awards is something that ADEC Innovations is extremely proud of.  It reinforces the enthusiasm and hard work of our global team of professionals who are dedicated to developing global business solutions that promote the integration of sustainability into the core of everyone’s business agenda,” said Donovan. ADEC Innovations is known for delivering to the global market innovative and groundbreaking sustainable business solutions such as The ZDHC Gateway – Chemical Module, a safer chemistry database developed with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Programme. ZDHC is a global alliance of apparel, footwear and textile companies committed to ensuring sustainability in their global supply chains. Along with ZDHC, ADEC Innovations developed CleanChain, a chemical management software designed to help companies identify and eliminate harmful chemicals from their manufacturing processes. It also developed CDPInsights, which helps companies track, benchmark and maximise CDP performance so companies can improve climate change strategies and programs in both the short and long term. Having built the most comprehensive collection of self-reported environmental data in the world, CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) runs the global disclosure system that enables companies, cities, states and regions to measure and manage their environmental impacts. Now on its 7th year, the Responsible Business Awards is widely recognised as the world’s leading awards for sustainability, supply chain and business leaders.  Organised by the London-based Ethical Corporation, this annual event is known for recognising authentic and genuinely innovative approaches to making responsible business a reality. The Ethical Corporation is a leading provider of business intelligence solutions to multinational companies, NGO think-tanks, academia, governments and consultancies.

Unique Web-Based Tool Design Helps Chef and Managers IRVINE, CA and CHARLOTTE, NC (March 27, 2013)– FirstCarbon Solutions, a pioneer and industry leader in environmental sustainability business solutions, and Compass Group, the world’s leading food and support services company, announced the launch of the software tool being used to support Compass Group’s Carbon FOODprint™ toolkit. This unique, web-based tool, powered by FirstCarbon Solutions, is designed to help Compass Group’s food operations staff lower their environmental impact and operational costs. Early Carbon FOODPrint adopters to date include well-known companies, such as SAP, and colleges, including Auburn University and Green Mountain College. An easy-to-use toolkit, Carbon FOODPrint allows chefs and managers to create customized strategies to reduce their operations’ carbon footprints by decreasing waste disposal, and energy and water use. Foodservice managers can make up to 185 strategic choices in four key areas, including menu engineering, kitchen services, site equipment and facilities. Developed by FirstCarbon Solutions and hosted as part of its Sustainability Workbench platform, the web-based software application is an integral part of the Carbon FOODprint toolkit. This online technology allows cafes to benchmark and measure the improvements made throughout the café, which can be shared with clients for annual reports, sustainability indexes, and disclosure to public programs such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). To develop the strategic planning portion of the Carbon FOODprint toolkit, Compass Group partnered with key players who could provide specific contributions in their area of expertise, such as the Green Restaurant Association, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Food Service TechnologyCenter (supported by Pacific Gas & Electric). In “Phase 2” of this project, Compass Group teamed with FirstCarbon Solutions, to enhance the toolkit with sustainability metrics in a robust and user-friendly software platform, with cutting-edge dashboard applications for food service industry clients. Marc Zammit, Vice President of Sustainability Initiatives at Compass Group, said the web-based tool was created in response to his clients’ growing interest in having a strategic planning tool to measure, manage, and lower their operation costs and food service carbon footprint. “With Carbon FOODPrint, we now have an opportunity to provide our clients with cost effective solutions to lower the environmental impact of their food services,” Zammit said. “Commercial food service is a resource intense operation, and our onsite teams will use this scalable toolkit to make their operation more sustainable by minimizing carbon impact, while at the same time implementing best practices that lower operational costsin the areas of menuing, energy, water and waste. Supported by FirstCarbon Solutions software, managers will now have the information they need to make the best choices for their business, their clients and the environment.” As part of the design and collaboration with Compass Group, FirstCarbon Solutions collected thousands of pieces of data on the production, packaging, and transport of individually purchased food items, serving materials, and cleaning chemicals required to manage a foodservice operation “from cradle to customer.” The Toolkit couples this information with site-specific operational data from individual cafes to provide up-to-date dashboards on the carbon, energy, water, and wastes associated with all aspect of a food service operation (facilities, kitchen operations, kitchen services, and menu engineering). “Compass Group’s Carbon FOODprint proves the point that sustainability and profitability are not mutually exclusive,” said Robert Francisco, President, FirstCarbon Solutions. “With this innovative technology developed by FirstCarbon Solutions, Compass Group will help redefine sustainability within foodservice operations by providing cafes unprecedented visibility into the impact their operations have on the environment and helping teams create behavioral changes that will have long-term impacts and improvements.” Chet Chaffee, FirstCarbon Solutions Director of Supply Chain and Life Cycle Assessment added, “The software platform that FirstCarbon Solutions Group developed in support of the Carbon FOODPrint toolkit benchmarks the carbon, energy, water and waste footprints of each participating unit, and provides insights on where to make changes to maximize sustainable efficiencies across the operation. To my knowledge, such a comprehensive, systematic and technically sound program, that considers all these aspects of food operations, has never been tackled before.” Carbon FOODprint toolkit is currently generally available to all 9,900 Compass Group cafes in the United States. About Compass Group, North America Based in Charlotte NC, Compass Group North America is the leading foodservice management and support services company with $12 billion USD (£7.5 billion) in revenues in 2012. With over 500,000 associates worldwide, its parent company, UK-based Compass Group PLC had revenues of £16.9 billion in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. About FirstCarbon Solutions FCS advances sustainable practices around the world and helps organizations responsibly grow and operate their businesses. Seamlessly delivering fully integrated, cost-effective consulting, data management and software solutions, FCS helps clients save time, reduce costs, optimize resource use, and drive operational efficiencies in a world where sustainability matters. With more than 30 years of environmental and sustainability consulting experience, FCS meets its clients’ ever-evolving environmental and compliance needs in energy, air and carbon management; environmental assessments and planning; supply and life cycle assessments; permitting and compliance; software and data processing. FirstCarbon Solutions is a member of ADEC Innovations, a global provider of onshore managed services and offshore outsourcing solutions for governments and businesses worldwide. For additional information, visit ADEC Innovations.

Press Contacts:

For FirstCarbon Solutions:

Steve Fiore SS|PR Ph: +1-847-415-9329 Email: sfiore@sspr.comFor Compass Group:

Veronica Ospina Compass Group North America 704/328-4291 Email: veronica.ospina@compass-usa.com