Corporate Social Responsibility

Here at Prestons, we strive to provide exceptional service at all levels of the business. As a family-owned retailer, our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we are deeply invested in our local communities and the world around us. We take our responsibilities to our people and our planet extremely seriously.

Our Team

Without the talent and expertise of our team, it would be impossible to make the Prestons Experience as special as it is. We are dedicated to supporting each member of our team, and actively work to create a fair and open environment in each of our showrooms, workshops and offices. We pride ourselves on being a people centric employer and actively promote an open and fair culture across our group. We encourage collaborative ways of working to get the best out of our people so that our clients always receive an exceptional experience.

We are committed to being an employer of choice within our industry and we understand the importance of upskilling our employees and investing in their training and professional development to enable them to reach their full potential. We are passionate about creating opportunities to grow our own talent within the Company and we continually review our career pathways and scope opportunities to enrich roles within our Company to support colleagues with their career ambitions.

We engage with our colleagues by regularly carrying out experience surveys throughout the year to seek feedback from our workforce on their experience as an employee, as we strive to continually seek ways to improve, as well as operating an open-door policy. We regularly communicate to our colleagues across the group and produce internal newsletters and communications to keep all colleagues abreast of our vision, to provide updates and to celebrate successes and milestones that we achieve together and as individuals. We also regularly provide opportunities for colleagues to team-build and socialise with each other to create strong working relationships and to create a positive working environment. We also support opportunities for colleagues to engage with our local communities by volunteering with local charities.

Our Company policies provide a framework that upholds the high standards that we work to and are regularly reviewed to ensure that we remain to be legally compliant and continually work in line with best practice.

Our Commitment to Equal Opportunities

We are committed to ensuring that there is equality of opportunity for all of our colleagues, and we recognise the importance of maintaining a positive working experience throughout their time with the Company by assuring that:

• Our recruitment processes are fair and inclusive
• Our employment terms and conditions are fair and pay is regularly reviewed and benchmarked to ensure that there is equal pay
• We recognise and support our colleagues wellbeing, family life and lifestyle in our dedicated flexible working and family friendly policies
• We encourage our colleagues to be the best that they can be by providing opportunities for learning, development, role enrichment and creating clear career pathways in our structures to enable growth
• Our Company policies are applied appropriately and fairly
• We have policies in place to enable colleagues to raise concerns
• We are committed to ensuring that our communications are inclusive and that information shared within the Company is accessible to all
• We recognise and support our colleagues individual needs and protected characteristics
• We support collaboration in our working practices and encourage positive working relationships by creating opportunities for our colleagues to team build and share knowledge
• We promote an open culture by creating opportunities for our colleagues to provide feedback on their experience as an employee so that we can continually strive for excellence and maintain an exceptional service standard to our customers

Supporting Our Communities

Supporting our local communities is very close to our heart, and we actively encourage engagement and partnerships with local charities with both of our employees and clients. We regularly donate to charities that have been selected by clients and colleagues and more recently, supported our local food banks with donations as part of our pledge to give back to our community.

Quality, Honesty and Service

Prestons operates to traditional values and exceptionally high standards of quality, honesty and service. We continuously strive to improve, in consultation with our team and the feedback we receive from our clients.

As a partner of some of the finest brands in the world, we provide our team members with first-class training for each product we showcase. When a client visits one of our showrooms, it is important to us that they receive expert guidance in a warm and welcoming environment.

Responsible Sourcing

The team at our London workshop uses the finest diamonds and gemstones to create our in-house collections and bespoke jewellery. Such rare natural materials come with an inherent responsibility to protect the people and places involved in their extraction. Prestons is committed to sourcing our diamonds and gemstones only from the most reputable, ethical and conflict-free areas and ensure that we adhere to the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).

Our diamond and gemstone buyer uses their wealth of expertise to ensure that each and every stone we select meets our exacting standards in terms of both ethics and quality. They collaborate closely with our suppliers to ensure they uphold our commitment to sustainability and Human Rights.

We actively engage with our suppliers to evaluate their compliance with our Supplier Code of Conduct, including conducting audits and assessments as needed. We collaborate closely with suppliers to address any issues identified and engage with suppliers that uphold our expectations and commitments to Human Rights.

Environment and Sustainability

Prestons are committed to upholding high standards of ethics and sustainability. As a Company, we have made a pledge to donate to local green charities and national green causes to support charities who help to maintain the world around us. We also make a conscious effort to off-setting our energy consumption, as we recognise our responsibilities. Through regular reviews of our carbon footprint and energy usage we aim to reduce the impact of our day-to-day practices. Prestons also prioritises supporting local businesses and selects eco-friendly products wherever possible.

The Future

Prestons is dedicated to upholding and improving our ethical and sustainable practices over the long term. Over the 150 years of our history, Prestons has stood for quality, honesty and service. This integrity lies behind everything we do, and influences all aspects of the business.