Corporate Social Responsibility

Community & Development

We are committed to making a positive difference to society, community and the environment, whilst achieving sustainable growth.   Our goal is to address sustainable issues and deliver change through both our business and charitable activities.  

Our charitable giving

At Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC we encourage employees to maximise their potential and help others along the way.

We have developed a comprehensive charity policy, forming partnerships with several national organisations that are addressing sustainability related issues including FareShare and The Wildlife Trusts.  We also support smaller, charitable organisations in the regions where we have our offices to support local communities and last year donated over £250,000 to different causes.

Working with young people 

We’re playing an active role in empowering the talent of tomorrow by establishing connections between education and the world of work. Through our Gamechangers Apprenticeship scheme we’re unlocking hidden pathways for students from diverse social backgrounds to pursue careers in financial services.  

We have also formed a partnership with Young Enterprise, the UK’s largest business, enterprise and financial education charity that works with young people by supporting them with the knowledge and confidence to succeed in their future career.  Through this programme, we’ve supported 1,250 students to develop their financial literacy and understanding of key business skills.

The Wildlife Trusts partnership video

Our Chief Executive Officer, Robert Gordon discusses Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC's partnership with The Wildlife Trusts, outlining how our volunteers support their work to maintain 2,300 nature reserves across 98,000 hectares throughout the UK.

Inclusion & Diversity

As a leading financial services business, we are aware of the role we need to play to encourage greater inclusion and diversity, with a workplace that welcomes everyone.

Our aim is to create an environment that ensures all our people have the opportunity to benefit from a sustainable and achievable career path and fulfil their potential.

Many of our initiatives, such as our WE Mean Business programme, are also extended to participants from other organisations to foster learning and sharing with the wider community.

Gender parity

We are working to enhance gender parity in Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, focusing on actively supporting female progression into senior roles while also implementing more flexible and agile working options. 

You can find out how we’re striving towards achieving greater gender balance and building a more diverse and equal workforce culture in our latest Gender Pay Gap Report.

Mentoring Circles

Our Mentoring Circles programme launched in 2016 and has seen groups of mentees mentored by more experienced staff. To date, we’ve reported 5,000 hours of mentoring which has so far enabled more than 200 of our people to participate in the programme.

We have also introduced reverse mentoring, where junior members of staff mentor senior employees and aims to bridge the gap between generations, helping colleagues to understand each other’s perspectives.

Corporate communities

Our corporate communities are run by our employees, for our employees to bring people together across the company, providing peer support and giving colleagues a collective voice on important topics. 

Sustainable Business

Our vision is to be the trusted brand of financial services in the UK and across Europe. We realise our vision by supporting businesses that are making a sustainable difference in helping to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have set an aspirational target of 20% of our assets being directly connected to climate action and affordable clean energy within the next five years. Our strategic focus is on sectors that have a positive impact on people and their lives including environment, energy, infrastructure and agriculture.

Energy and mobility

Our strategic partnership with GRIDSERVE is creating the infrastructure required for electric vehicle adoption on a large scale, using sustainable energy. Together we are developing technically advanced hybrid solar farms, in conjunction with a network of over 100 solar-powered Electric Forecourts® across the UK to provide ultra-fast charging for electric vehicles.

Vehicle electrification

Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions is a pioneer in alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs), helping fleets realise significant environmental and economic benefits through transitioning to lower and ultimately zero emissions. By 2030, Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions aims to electrify 100% of the 62,500+ funded car & small van fleet (3.5t and under), and 50% of the funded van fleet (vehicles over 3.5t).

Agriculture

Hitachi Capital Business Finance provides funding for the agricultural sector which supports the reduction of carbon emissions. During 2019/20, we provided more than £15 million of funding to farmers to invest in green energy projects such as biomass, solar panels and irrigation systems.

Infrastructure

Hitachi Capital European Vendor Solutions is facilitating significant road and rail infrastructure projects by lending to customers in the construction sector.  Last year we financed £73 million of Hitachi Construction assets in the UK, which were used on road and infrastructure projects, to improve transport and future mobility and contribute towards economic growth. 

Our bespoke finance solutions have helped Hitachi Rail to supply 122 Hitachi-made trains consisting of 866 carriages from 2017 to 2020.  Hitachi Super Express trains on the Great Western and East Coast main lines of the UK rail network provide a faster service with increased capacity and reduced environmental impact.

Green Financing Framework

At Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC we intend to issue green debt instruments to demonstrate to investors our commitment and intentions around meeting our sustainability goals and accelerating the transition to low carbon transport. You can find out more about our sustainability strategy in our Green Financing Framework.

Environmental, Social & Governance Performance

In 2015 the United Nations adopted the '2030 Agenda' for Sustainable Development to address a range of urgent global challenges.

As part of our commitment to supporting society and communities in which we operate, we’re working towards contributing to the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We evidence our contribution to society and social value creation by focussing on five key indicators as part of our ESG reporting:

• Corporate governance
• Customers
• Colleagues
• Communities
• Sustainability

You can find out how we’re working towards a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable society, aligning our business towards the SDGs, in our latest ESG Report.