Report - COP Prototype

2022 Communication on Progress

DNA Economics (Pty) Ltd

Published date

June 28, 2022

No. of questions

Supplemental files

CEO Statement

Signed

Governance

Policies and Responsibilities

1. Does the Board / highest governance body or most senior executive of the company:

Issue an annual statement about the relevance of sustainable development to the company

Issue an annual statement that addresses impacts on both people and the environment

Issue an annual statement highlighting a zero tolerance for corruption

Sign off on organizational sustainability targets

Supervise Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting

Regularly review potential risks related to the business model

None of the above

Optional comment

DNA Economics is a small niche development economics company and some of the above are dealt with by the management committee of the company.

2. Does the company have a publicly stated commitment regarding the following sustainability topics?

	No, this is not a current priority	No, but we plan to have a commitment within 2 years	Yes, and the commitment is focused on our own operations	Yes, and the commitment includes our own operations and the value chain	Yes, and the commitment includes our own operations and the value chain along with communities and society
Human Rights
Labour Rights / Decent Work
Environment
Anti-Corruption

Optional comment

Some of the above requirements are part of legislative compliance in South Africa and DNA Economics has internal policies and procedures in place ito Human Rights, Labour Rights and Anti-Corruption.

3. Does the company have in place a code of conduct regarding each of the following sustainability topics?

	No, this is not a current priority	No, but we plan to have a code of conduct within two years	Yes, focused on employee conduct	Yes, focused on employees and suppliers	Yes, focused on employees, suppliers, and other business relationships
Human Rights
Labour Rights / Decent Work
Environment
Anti-Corruption

4. Has the company appointed an individual or group responsible for each of the following sustainability topics?

	No one is specifically responsible for this topic	Yes, with limited influence on outcomes (e.g., limited access to internal information, limited decision-making authority)	Yes, with moderate influence on outcomes (e.g., has access to relevant information, reports to senior manager)	Yes, with direct influence of some outcomes (e.g., has access to relevant information, includes one or more senior manager with decision making rights	Yes, with direct influence at the highest levels of the organization (e.g., has access to relevant information, includes most senior members of organization)
Human Rights
Labour Rights / Decent Work
Environment
Anti-Corruption

5. Does the company have a formal structure(s) (such as a cross-functional committee) to address each of the following sustainability topics?

	No formal structure	Yes, and with limited influence on outcomes (e.g., limited access to internal information necessary to understand risks, poor representation from relevant departments or functions)	Yes, with moderate influence on outcomes (e.g., it includes representatives of some functions, departments, or business units most relevant for addressing the risks concerned, has access to relevant information, reports to senior manager)	Yes, with direct influence on some outcomes (e.g., it includes representatives of functions, departments, or business units most relevant for addressing the risks concerned, has access to relevant information, it involves one or more members of senior management)	Yes, and with direct influence at the highest level of the organization (e.g., full access to relevant information, it involves members at highest level of organization)
Human Rights
Labour Rights / Decent Work
Environment
Anti-Corruption

Optional comment

DNA Economics is a small niche development economics services company with limited resources to develop, coordinate and manage the above. Decisions on policies and processes are mostly driven by the management committee of the company, with focus on compliance to South African legislation and legislative and / or governance requirements as may be required by clients from time to time.

Prevention

6. Does the company have a process or processes to assess risk?

	No, this is not a current priority	No, but we are planning to develop one in the next two years	Yes, related to our own operations	Yes, related to our own operations and entire value chain and other business relationships
Human rights risks
Labour rights risks
Environmental risks
Corruption risks

7. Does the company have a due diligence process through which it identifies, prevents, mitigates, and accounts for actual and potential negative impacts on sustainability topics?

	No, this is not a current priority	No, but we are planning to develop one in the next two years	Yes, related to our own operations	Yes, related to our own operations and entire value chain and other business relationships
Human rights risks
Labour rights risks
Environmental risks
Corruption risks

Optional comment

DNA Economics identifies and discusses project and business risks weekly for mitigation and action during its management committee meeting, and keeps an internal risks register.

Concerns and grievance mechanisms

8. Are there any processes through which members of the company’s workforce can raise concerns about the company’s conduct related to human rights, labour rights, environment, or anti-corruption?

No, this is not a current priority

No, but we plan to within two years

Yes, we have an informal process (e.g., through supervisors, others)

Yes, we have a formal process

8.1. Please provide additional detail regarding the process(es) the company has through which members of the company’s workforce can raise concerns about the company’s conduct.

	No	Yes
Is the process communicated to all employees/workers in local languages?
Is the process available to non-employees (e.g., contractors, vendors, suppliers)?
Is the process confidential (e.g., whistleblowing process)?
Are there processes in place to avoid retaliation?
Can concerns be raised about suppliers or other business relationships (e.g., clients, partners, etc.)
Other (Please provide additional information)

9. Does the company provide or enable access to effective remedy to right holders / stakeholders where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact?

	No process to enable remedy to stakeholders	Remedy available to some stakeholders (i.e., some geographies, employees only)	Remedy is available to all affected stakeholders	Remedy is available to all stakeholders, and suppliers are expected to have similar policies
Human Rights
Labour Rights / Decent Work
Environment
Anti-Corruption

Lessons

10. How does the company capture lessons regarding each of the following sustainability topics?

	No lessons are regularly captured	Conducts root cause analyses/investigation of major incidents	Conducts root cause analyses/investigation and changes organizational policies, processes, and practices accordingly	Systematically conducts root cause analyses/investigation and leverages learnings to influence both internal and external affairs
Human Rights
Labour Rights / Decent Work
Environment
Anti-Corruption

Optional comment

DNA Economics keeps a risk register and any mitigation and or action items are discussed at a weekly management committee meeting.

Executive Pay

11. Is executive pay linked to performance on one or more of the following sustainability topics?

Board Composition

12. Percentage of individuals within the company’s Board / highest governance body by:

	Number/Percentage	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Total number of board members (#)	4
Male (%)	100
Female (%)	0
Non-binary (%)	0
Under 30 years old (%)	0
30-50 years old (%)	50
Above 50 years old (%)	50
From minority or vulnerable groups (%)	50
Executive (%)	75
Independent (%)	25

Data Assurance

14. Is the information disclosed in this questionnaire assured by a third-party?

No assurance for any metrics

Limited assurance for minority of metrics (e.g., GHG emissions only)

Limited assurance for majority of metrics

Reasonable assurance for minority of metrics

Reasonable assurance for majority of metrics

Other (Please provide additional information)

Human Rights

Commitment

2. Does the company have a policy commitment in relation to the following human rights issues?

	No, and we have no plans to develop a policy	No, but we plan to in the next two years	Yes, included within a broader policy	Yes, articulated as a stand-alone policy
Rights of women and/or girls
Freedom of expression
Rights of refugees and migrants
Digital security / privacy
Rights of indigenous peoples
Access to culture
Free, prior and informed consent
Access to water and sanitation

Prevention

3. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following human rights issues?

	No engagement on this topic	To better understand the risks/ impacts in question	To discuss potential ways to prevent or mitigate the risks/ impacts in question	To agree on a way to prevent/ mitigate the risks/ impacts in question	To assess progress in preventing /mitigating the risks/impacts in question	To collaborate in the prevention/ mitigation of the risks/ impacts in question
Rights of women and/or girls
Freedom of expression
Rights of refugees and migrants
Digital security / privacy
Rights of indigenous peoples
Access to culture
Free, prior and informed consent
Access to water and sanitation

4. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with this human rights issue?

	Provided internal training/ capacity building for the direct workforce	Building capacity among relevant business relationships (e.g., partners, suppliers, clients, etc.)	Conducting an audit process and/or corrective action plan	Collective Action with peers or other stakeholders to address the issue	Collaboration with governmental or regulatory bodies	Other (Please provide additional information)	No action within reporting period
Rights of women and/or girls
Freedom of expression
Rights of refugees and migrants
Digital security / privacy
Rights of indigenous peoples
Access to culture
Free, prior and informed consent
Access to water and sanitation

5. Who receives training for the following human rights issues?

	No training provided	Select employees	All employees	Contractors	Direct suppliers of the organization	Indirect suppliers of the organization	Other – such as partners, clients, etc.
Rights of women and/or girls
Freedom of expression
Rights of refugees and migrants
Digital security / privacy
Rights of indigenous peoples
Access to culture
Free, prior and informed consent
Access to water and sanitation

6. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following human rights issues?

	No monitoring of progress	Review issues on ad-hoc basis	Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal programs only)	Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal and external programs)	Other (Please provide additional information)
Rights of women and/or girls
Freedom of expression
Rights of refugees and migrants
Digital security / privacy
Rights of indigenous peoples
Access to culture
Free, prior and informed consent
Access to water and sanitation

Response

7. During the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy where it has caused or contributed to adverse impact associated with the following human rights issue(s)?

	Yes	No	Choose to not disclose	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Rights of women and/or girls
Freedom of expression
There were no incidents during the reporting period.
Rights of refugees and migrants
Digital security / privacy
Rights of indigenous peoples
Access to culture
Free, prior and informed consent
Access to water and sanitation

8. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the human rights principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

DNA Economics developed various stand-alone policies to comply with labour legislation in South Africa, which also provide guidance for prevention and mitigation.

Labour

Commitment

1. Does the company have a policy commitment in relation to the following labour rights principles?

	No, and we have no plans to develop a policy	No, but we plan to in the next two years	Yes, included within a broader policy	Yes, articulated as a stand-alone policy	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
2018
Forced labour
Child labour
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
2018
Occupational safety and health
2022
Working conditions (wages, working hours)
2022

1.1. For each labour rights policy, is it:

	Aligned with international labour standards?	Publicly available?	Approved at most senior level of the company?	Applied to the company’s own operations?	Applied to the company’s supply chain and/or other business relationships?	Developed involving labour rights expertise from inside and outside the company?	Other (Please provide additional information)
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Forced labour
Child labour
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
Occupational safety and health
Working conditions (wages, working hours)

Prevention

2. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following labour rights issues?

	No engagement on this topic	To better understand the risks/ impacts in question	To discuss potential ways to prevent or mitigate the risks/ impacts in question	To agree on a way to prevent/ mitigate the risks/ impacts in question	To assess progress in preventing/ mitigating the risks /impacts in question	To collaborate in the prevention/ mitigation of the risks/ impacts in question	Other (Please provide additional information)
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Forced labour
Child labour
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
Occupational safety and health
Working conditions (wages, working hours)

3. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with this labour rights issue?

	Provided internal training/ capacity building for the direct workforce	Building capacity among relevant business relationships (e.g., partners, suppliers, clients, etc.)	Conducting an audit process and/or corrective action plan	Collective Action with peers or other stakeholders, in particular workers' organizations, to address the issue	Collaboration with governmental or regulatory bodies	Other (Please provide additional information)	No action within reporting period
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Forced labour
Child labour
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
Occupational safety and health
Working conditions (wages, working hours)

4. Who receives training for the following labour rights issues?

	No training provided	Select employees	All employees	Contractors	Direct suppliers of the organization	Indirect suppliers of the organization	Other – such as partners, clients, etc.
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Forced labour
Child labour
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
Occupational safety and health
Working conditions (wages, working hours)

5. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following labour rights issues?

	No monitoring of progress	Review issues on ad-hoc basis	Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal programs only)	Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal and external programs)	Other (Please provide additional information)
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
Forced labour
Child labour
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
DNA Economics report annually, in line with South African legislation, on employment equity targets.
Occupational safety and health
DNA Economics comply with the
Working conditions (wages, working hours)
DNA Economics conducted a salary benchmarking exercise in 2022 through an independent services provider to review its current salary structure against market standards. Remuneration are also reviewed annually based on performance evaluations for increases and internal promotions.

Performance

6. What is the percentage of employees covered under collective bargaining agreements?

	Percent of employees (%)	Unknown
Employees covered under collective bargaining (%)	100

Optional comment

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) in South Africa is a statutory body established in terms of Section 112 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act no. 66 of 1995) [as amended] (LRA) and draws its legislative mandate principally from Section 23 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (1996) and the LRA. CCMA derives its mandate from the purpose of the LRA, which is to “advance economic development, social justice, labour peace and the democratisation of the workplace”. The CCMA mandatory functions include, but not limited to conciliate workplace disputes; arbitrate certain categories of disputes that remain unresolved after conciliation; establish picketing rules in respect of protected strikes and lookouts; etc. DNA's internal policies are aligned with the rights of employees to be treated fairly at work ito the above.

7. What is the percentage of employees in a trade union or other workers' organization?

	Percent of employees (%)	Unknown	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Employees in a trade union or on a worker committee (%)
The South African Constitution and labour laws provide for freedom of association and allow workers and employers to join and form unions. This right is regulated by the Labour Relations Act.

Optional comment

The South African Constitution and labour laws in the country provide for freedom of association and allow workers and employers to join and form unions. This right is regulated by the Labour Relations Act.

8. In the course of the reporting period, what was the percentage of women in:

	Percent of women (%)	Unknown
Senior leadership level position	0
Non-executive board	0

9. What was the average ratio of the basic salary and remuneration of women to men (comparing jobs of equal value) during the reporting period?

	Salary ratio (%)	Unknown	Choose to not disclose
Women / Men (%)

10. In the course of the reporting period, how frequently were workers injured (injuries per hour worked)?

	Frequency of injury	Unknown	Choose to not disclose
Frequency of injury	0

11. In the course of the reporting period, what was the company’s incident rate?

	Incident rate	Unknown	Choose to not disclose
Incident rate	0

Response and Reporting

12. In the course of the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy where it has caused or contributed to the adverse impact associated with the following labour rights issues?

	Yes	No	Choose to not disclose	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining
There were no incidents during the reporting period.
Forced labour
There were no incidents during the reporting period.
Child labour
There were no incidents during the reporting period.
Non-discrimination in respect of employment and occupation
There were no incidents during the reporting period.
Occupational safety and health
There were no incidents during the reporting period.
Working conditions (wages, working hours)
There were no incidents during the reporting period.

13. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the labour rights principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

There were no incidents during the reporting period for remediation. DNA Economics have policies in place assisting with the implementation of labour rights regulated by legislation in South Africa, including prevention of any infringement on employees rights.

Environment

Commitment

1. Does the company have a formal policy on the following environmental topics?

	No, and we have no plans to develop a policy	No, but we plan to in the next two years	Yes, included within a broader policy	Yes, articulated as a stand-alone policy	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Climate Action
Water
Oceans
Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use
Air Pollution
Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)
Energy & Resource Use

Optional comment

DNA Economics is a small consultancy firm in the services industry with a limited impact on carbon footprint in the course of its operations.

Prevention

2. In the course of the reporting period, has the company engaged with affected stakeholders or their legitimate representatives in relation to the following environmental issues?

	No engagement on this topic	To better understand the risks/ impacts in question	To discuss potential ways to prevent or mitigate the risks/ impacts in question	To agree on a way to prevent/ mitigate the risks/ impacts in question	To assess progress in preventing/ mitigating the risks/ impacts in question	To collaborate in the prevention/ mitigation of the risks/ impacts in question	Other (Please provide additional information)
Climate Action
Water
Oceans
Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use
Air Pollution
Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)
Energy & Resource Use

3. What type of action has the company taken in the reporting period with the aim of preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with these environmental topics?

	Provided internal training/ capacity building for the direct workforce	Building capacity among relevant business relationships (e.g., partners, suppliers, clients, etc.)	Conducting an audit process and/or corrective action plan	Collective Action with peers or other stakeholders to address the issue	Collaboration with governmental or regulatory bodies	Other (Please provide additional information)	No action within reporting period
Climate Action
Water
Oceans
Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use
Air Pollution
Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)
Energy & Resource Use

4. How does the company assess progress in preventing/mitigating the risks/impacts associated with the following environmental topics?

	No monitoring of progress	Review issues on ad-hoc basis	Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal programs only)	Set annual targets/ goals, track progress over time (internal and external programs)	Other (Please provide additional information)
Climate Action
Water
Oceans
Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use
Air Pollution
Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)
Energy & Resource Use

5. In the course of the reporting period, has the company been involved in providing or enabling remedy for any actual impacts associated with the following environmental issue(s)?

	Yes	No	Choose to not disclose	Not applicable (Please provide additional information)
Climate Action
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.
Water
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.
Oceans
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.
Forests / Biodiversity / Land Use
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.
Air Pollution
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.
Waste (e.g., chemical spills, solid waste, hazardous, plastic, etc.)
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.
Energy & Resource Use
No impacts were identified during the reporting period.

Climate Action

6. What were the company’s gross global greenhouse gas emissions for the reporting period?

Scope 1 Emissions

Full

None

We are a services company providing consulting services and with no assets that can be classified as Scope 1 emitters.

Emissions (tCO2e)

Scope 2 Emissions

Full

None

Scope 2 emissions have not been measured, and is currently not a legislative requirement for our type of business.

Emissions (tCO2e)

Scope 3 Emissions

Full

Partial

None

Scope 3 emissions have not been measured, and is currently not a legislative requirement for our type of business.

Emissions (tCO2e)

7. What percentage of the company's revenue was invested in R&D of low-carbon products/services during this reporting period?

Percent of revenue (%)

Unknown

Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

As a small services (consulting) company we make no use of assets that require additional R&D for carbon reduction purposes.

8. Has the organization acted to support climate change adaptation and resilience?

We have taken action to increase organization-wide resilience to climate change

We have taken action to increase resilience in our supply chains

We have taken action to increase resilience in the communities in which we operate

We have provided funding for climate change adaptation and resilience initiatives and projects

We have not taken actions to build climate change resilience in the reporting period

Other (Please provide additional information)

Unknown

Energy / Resource Use

9. Please report the company's renewable energy consumption as a percentage of total energy consumption in the reporting period.

% of total energy consumption

Unknown

Technology

10. What percent of the company's revenue came from environmentally friendly products / services during this reporting period?

Percent of total revenue (%)

Unknown

Not applicable (Please provide additional information)

Overall Environment

21. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the environment principles, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

DNA Economics did not take any actions or plan to implement environmental principles at this point. The company developed a basic Environmental policy to create awareness.

Anti-corruption

Commitment

1. Does the company have an anti-corruption compliance programme?

No, it is not an immediate business priority

No, but we plan to in the next two years

Yes

2020

2. Does your company have policies and recommendations for employees on how to act in case of doubt and/or in situations that may represent a conflict of interest, e.g. with regard to gifts and hospitality, donations, sponsorship, or interactions with public officials?

No, and we have no plans to develop a policy

No, but we plan to in the next two years

Yes, included within a broader policy

Yes, articulated as a stand-alone policy

Response and Reporting

5. Please report the company's total number and nature of incidents of corruption during the reporting year.

	Number of incident(s)	Unknown	Choose to not disclose
Confirmed during the current year, but related to previous years	0
There were no incidents confirmed during the current year relating to previous years.
Confirmed during the current year, and related to this year	0
There were no incidents during the reporting period.

6. Within the reporting period, what measures has the company taken to address suspected incidents of corruption independently or in response to a dispute or investigation by a government regulator?

Initial case assessment

Internal investigation

Review by risk / ethics committee

Review by board of directors

External audit / review

Other (please provide additional information)

Not applicable/no incidents in the reporting period

7. Does your company engage in Collective Action against corruption?

No, it is not an immediate business priority

No, but we plan to in the next two years

Yes (please explain)

8. Briefly describe practical actions the company has taken during the reporting period and/or plans to take to implement the anti-corruption principle, including any challenges faced and actions taken towards prevention and/or remediation.

DNA Economics developed a stand-alone policy to prevent, guide, and mitigate any incidents.