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Sustainability
As a dynamic company with 961 employees in eleven countries, G5 has a responsibility to contribute to sustainable economic, environmental and social development in the countries where it operates. G5 is focused on developing appropriate policies and governance models to further develop the work in these areas. In the sustainability area, the company is focusing mainly on issues relating to its employees, in addition to environmental and ethical issues while our primary goal remains creating value for shareholders.
Governance
At G5, sustainability is integrated in the day-to-day operations. In the defined areas, policies that govern the day-to-day operations incorporate the key aspects outlined in the sustainability report. The company’s sustainability work is governed by the executive management team.
Non-financial matters as required by the Swedish Annual Accounts Act
The Board of Directors has evaluated the following non-financial matters: employee, social, environmental, respecting human rights as well as anti-corruption and bribery, as required by the Swedish Annual Accounts Act and set forth in EU Directive 2014/95/EU.
1. Employee
Identified key areas
Equality
G5 has no tolerance for discrimination and promotes an inclusive work environment where employees have equal opportunities. While the company takes non-discrimination seriously, the hiring and promotional decisions within the company are based on employee performance assessment only, as the company operates in a highly competitive industry. With a gender balance of 44 percent female, one of the highest in the industry, G5 has through its procedures proven that a healthy gender balance can be achieved in a technology company without affirmative action.
Career Development
Each employee is evaluated at least annually, for many roles bi-annualy, in terms of achieved results, skills development and possible changes in responsibilities. The evaluation is carried out by the respective departmental management together with HR. The goals for the departments and employees are set bi-annually using a top-down approach starting with the top management and propagating downward detailing specific goals and key performance indicators for all departments. Human talent development G5 provides and promotes learning opportunities for the employees. G5 provides opportunities for growth and multiple educational opportunities in related fields to one’s work specialisation, through internal webinars and paid specialised professional education courses for employees of different levels. In 2022, the company hosted 40 professional skills over 35 webinars on different topics for employees. G5 supports employees and their personal growth to develop their skills and grow within the group. In addition, G5 also provides language courses for all employees.
Human talent development
G5 provides and promotes learning opportunities for the employees. G5 provides opportunities for growth and multiple educational opportunities in related fields to one’s work specialisation, through internal webinars and paid specialised professional education courses for employees of different levels. In 2022, the company hosted 40 professional skills over 35 webinars on different topics for employees. G5 supports employees and their personal growth to develop their skills and grow within the group. In addition, G5 also provides language courses for all employees.
Working environment
G5 develops and digitally distributes software and therefore has no direct physical stressful work environment. In regards to the mental and social work environment, it is regulated in part by the applicable labour laws, which are well-developed in every country where G5 operates, and partly in the policy for each individual office. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine the physical environment for a large part of the workforce has been poor. G5 has during the year engaged in employee relocation activities both internally in the country as well as, where applicable, to other countries. G5 has supported the staff financially and also with technical equipment, in order to enable remote work. To some extent, the company also provided generators, backup batteries and Starlink systems for key employees in order to ensure uninterrupted work of the company during episodic electricity blackouts.
Governing Policies
Code of Conduct
G5 has a common code of conduct for the company as a whole. Also each office can have its own policies that do not constitute rules, but are clear recommendations for how employees interact, facilitate effective communication, and work to develop a good culture at the workplace. The basic principles for each employee’s conduct towards colleagues and companies, as well as the company’s responsibility and conduct, are included as part of each employment contract. All policies are featured in the core team workspace which new employees are required to go through.
Policies and legal framework
For the office in the United States, G5 has issued a local policy, “Personnel Management Rules for the United States Office”, which complies with US rules and practices regarding, for example, gender equality, equal treatment and integrity. For all operating locations G5 strictly adheres to the labour laws of the respective countries. Local laws in the countries where G5 operates cover issues such as non-discrimination and employee rights and obligations. The labour law thus constitutes an important regulator for both group companies and group employees.
Performance indicators
Net promoter score
The source for G5’s most important performance indicator for employee satisfaction is the annual employee survey. The 2022 employee survey showed higher results than in 2021. Remote mode of work did not impact the survey negatively. The company continued with processes established during the pandemic with new formats of activities and training. New positive challenges, growth of the company and projects have also impacted the numbers positively. The Employee Net Promoter Score was a high 57.1% (65.7%) as well as a high Satisfaction Index of about 88.5% (85.3%). The company believes that the reduction of NPS score has to do with a difficult year and the difficult decisions that had to be made in connection with the conflict. There are still areas for improvements pointed out by the employees such as education, career path and deeper individual plans of development of employees that remain from previous year.
Employee turnover
G5 regularly monitors the development of the company’s staff turnover, as this is an important indicator of the mood of employees and how well the work processes function. In 2022, staff turnover was 13.3 percent (18.7), a decrease from last year. G5 has increased the staff at a fast pace in recent years but has stabilised the staff count from the second quarter in 2022. A large part of the company’s employees are young and it is not uncommon that it is their first job. These factors have a negative impact on staff turnover, especially when they have passed their first year. G5 evaluates and compares its staff turnover with the overall market as well as IT companies specifically, and in those comparisons G5 is very well-placed.
Whistleblowing policy
To ensure that G5 operates with sound business ethics and that the above mentioned policies and procedures are adhered to, G5 has a Whistleblowing policy and procedures in place to support the policy. The function of the whistleblowing policy is to provide a safety net if the regular procedures are not enough to capture unwanted behaviour. The whistleblowing policy includes channels to circumvent management layers depending on the complaint the employee has. There have been no incidents during the year that have been escalated and through the complaint have either had the outcome of sanctioning a team member in any significant way or indicated that policies or procedures within the company have been breached in any significant way
2. Social
Identified key areas
Social responsibility
G5’s games are mostly family friendly and targeted at the widest possible audience. The majority of the games have an age rating of 4+ or equivalent.
Data privacy
G5 is diligent in following the rules and regulations with regards to data privacy. GDPR specifically, and other local rules and procedures in general, is an important topic for the organisation, maintaining and monitoring established rules and procedures is integrated in the daily work within the company. G5’s website contains information on the rights that users have and also descriptions of how we process personal data. G5 has its own social network built into the games called the G5 Friends network. Some general personal data is collected when provided by the player explicitly, that gives the user the ability to play the games on multiple devices and store their progress. No credit card, or other payment information, is saved on company servers at any time. The company can also assist players in recovering their games if they get issues with their devices. In compliance with laws, upon a written request the company will fully delete any personal information belonging to the player.
Responsible marketing
G5 is committed to ensure that our marketing practices are responsible and reflect a creative and safe environment for our players. We continually strive to have a positive gaming culture through our diverse portfolio of games and through our G5 Friends network.
Economic sustainability
G5 contributes to local, regional and national economic growth by directly and indirectly creating jobs, as well as paying taxes and duties where the business is conducted. The group usually hosts two corporate events each year, which also contributes to local economic growth. Long-term growth and profitability for G5 is good for both society and employees. At the same time, G5 will be a responsible company that always acts in accordance with existing legislation at national, regional and local levels.
War in Ukraine
During the year G5 started its own charitable initiative “G5 Charity for Ukraine”. The initiative was established in 2022 with the purpose of contributing, engaging and supporting charitable programs and campaigns to support Ukraine. So far the charity has contributed over SEK 2.4 M in donations (from employees and players through campaigns) and has helped to support equipment and supplies to people in need in various regions of Ukraine in addition to the efforts the company has made during the year.
Governing policies
G5 has IT security policies that aim to protect client data as well as G5’s own data.
Performance indicators
With regard to IT security, G5 monitors and tracks incidents that occur. During the year there have been no significant breaches recorded. Significant breaches in this context are breaches where internal or GDPR-protected data is leaked. G5 also measures financial KPI’s as a part of its aim for economic sustainability. G5 has achieved a CAGR of 28% over the last decade while at the same time delivering a positive result during nine out of ten years. G5 has not set any targets relating to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the supporting efforts that are done.
3. Environment
Identified key areas
Carbon dioxide emissions
G5’s core business operations generate limited CO2 emissions. G5 has identified three primary areas of emissions, day-to-day computer usage of the staff, infrastructure (servers etc.) and travel.
During 2022 the company has terminated the majority of its office leases, and only retains a few smaller offices for administrative personnel. As the vast majority of the staff is working from home, G5’s electricity consumption is therefore aligned with the local energy mix and will improve as corresponding countries reduce their carbon emissions. G5 encourages the use of sustainable energy sources where available.
The group’s infrastructure primarily consists of servers. G5 utilises external providers for the majority of its servers and corresponding equipment needed for operations. The majority of G5’s servers are with Amazon Web Services (AWS). According to AWS their infrastructure is 3.6 times more energy efficient than the median data centre and the company has a goal to have 100% of its energy coming from renewable sources in 2025. Where G5 has the opportunity to choose electricity supplier, the company chooses larger, recognized partners. This is for two reasons, partly because certain functions of the company are dependent on electricity supply and partly because major suppliers are already carrying out their own sustainability work.
As G5 is a geographically diversified company, with offices in eleven countries as of Dec 31, 2022, G5 affects the environment through employee travel. Where possible, the company strives to replace travelling with internet-based communications, such as video conferencing, both for environmental and cost-related reasons. During 2022 most employees worked from home whilst travel increased due to relocations caused by the war in Ukraine. Transportation types with the least possible environmental impact are used when possible.
Hardware
As a company in the technology industry, all our employees use computer hardware on a daily basis. As is normal for all companies in the technology industry the hardware needs to be replaced on an ongoing basis. G5 strives, as much as possible, that the expired and outdated equipment is sent for proper recovery. The largest volumes in this respect are created at the company’s office in Ukraine, where most employees are located. Recycling of hardware in Ukraine has not been a priority for the company during the year due to the war. As the other units in G5 are small and relatively autonomous in terms of administrative issues, recycling is adapted to local conditions and requirements.
Governing policies
G5 has adopted travel policies which incorporate the focus on limited travels, a strict approval process for travelling and guidelines for the use of transportation types with the least environmental impact. For hardware G5 has policies that make sure that the company optimises the usage over time and reuses the equipment as far as possible. G5 buys equipment from well-known and market leading brands.
Performance indicators
G5 has not established any performance indicators that are regularly tracked to measure the environmental impact from its operations. It is noted that G5 during 2022, due to the war in Ukraine, have worked actively to provide electricity to both its employees as well as civil society. The electricity production is done through generators which have an adverse impact on the CO2 emissions produced by the company, however generators are used on the days when normal electricity supply is disturbed. There has also been a temporary increase in travel as significant relocations have occurred due to the war.
4. Human Rights
Through its operations, G5 has limited exposure to events that could negatively impact an individual’s human rights. G5 operates in countries where laws prohibit any infringements of human rights. G5’s products are sold globally but are not considered to have any harmful impact either. G5 does not have a specific policy that governs the area nor any performance indicators that are regularly tracked.
5. Anti-corruption and bribery
G5 has zero tolerance against bribery and corruption. We observe the standards of conduct set in applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption law and regulations of the countries where we operate. In addition, G5 continually strives to maintain a high standard to protect its players from card fraud when playing our games, and we comply with all applicable legislations.
Governing policies
The G5 Board has issued a special policy dealing with corruption and bribery: G5 Entertainment AB Anti-Corruption and Bribery Policy. The policy will ensure compliance with rules regarding bribery and corruption principles. It applies to all employees and suppliers in all markets and also in relationships with customers and partners. G5 has specific resources that assess and evaluate all purchases to spot any indication of corruption or bribery. If there are suspicions of violation of the policy, an internal investigation will be carried out immediately, which may be supplemented by an external review, if necessary, by an independent actor. All events are reported to the company management and board. G5’s CFO is responsible for anti-corruption work.
Performance indicators
As G5 has a zero tolerance against bribery and corruption, any reported instance is escalated. During 2022 there have been no recorded instances of bribery or corruption.
Working towards the UN SDGs
In accordance with Agenda 2030 and the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, G5 has selected 5 main goals that are considered to be aligned with the areas of focus:
3 - Good heath and well-being
Ensuring good health and promoting the well-being of G5’s employees is essential to G5’s sustainable development. Even though a large majority of employees continue to work from home since the pandemic in 2020, G5 still ensures that all employees are provided an opportunity to use a flexible hours work model and have a healthy and good work/life balance so that employees can perform at their full potential over the long term.
4 - Quality Education
As a workplace that encourages personal development, G5 offers all employees training and development opportunities through digital seminars and webbased online courses. We provide opportunities to advance employees’ qualifications in the line of work they are pursuing within G5, and advance the skills applicable in their work through digital seminars and online courses provided by the company.
5 - Gender Equality
G5 is an equal-opportunity and inclusive company and stays committed to ensuring that the working environment is inclusive. As we have a larger geographical presence compared to 2021, G5 continues to strive to create a workplace that is gender inclusive and equal gender representative.
8 - Decent work and economic growth
With 961 employees in 11 offices globally, G5 continually makes an effort to be an attractive employer in the industry. To achieve this, we promote our diverse and secure working environment and promote our training and development opportunities so that employees have the opportunity to develop and thrive within the company.
10 - Reduced inequalities
G5’s continuous objective is to be an open and inclusive employer. With eleven offices the company has a no tolerance policy for discrimination and all employees have an equal opportunity to achieve their full potential. By promoting a culturally diverse workplace results in a more inclusive working environment, increased creativity, increased cooperation between employees and ultimately a more diversified influence in the games we create.