Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Development

Sustainable development and the continuous pursuit of "responsible entrepreneurship" are a strategic orientation and commitment of the Quest Group and its subsidiaries, who aim in value creation for all our stakeholders, our market, our country.

Provided our leading position in the Greek ICT industry, for more than 40 years we are playing a critical role in the dissemination of new digital technologies in the market, actively contributing at the prosperity of our society and the improvement of the standard of living.

Through a set of policies, principles, values, and commitments, in accordance with the principles of the Quest Group’s Corporate Governance Model, we are seeking for the systematic expansion of our activities, the continuous improvement of our working environment and development of our employees, the reduction of our environmental footprint and the support of an inclusive, more advanced society.

Value Creation

Our Business Model for Sustainable Development

Our progress

With the aim of continuous improvement and with responsibility towards our stakeholders and society, since 2014 we have been publishing our progress in Sustainable Development issues, setting goals, establishing performance indicators and implementing actions.

Our Sustainability Report is prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards and is based on the 17 UN Global Sustainable Development Goals to identify the impacts of its core sustainability issues and to establish performance indicators. External Assurance of the report is carried out by an independent external body [TÜV HELLAS (TÜV NORD)] for compliance with the above standards. In particular, in order to verify compliance with the requirements of AA1000AP (2018), the provisions of the AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS v3).

Sustainability Report Info Quest Technologies 2021

Sustainability Report (FlipingBook)

Highlights of our Sustainability Progress

Award EcoVadis Silver

Ecovadis Certification

During 2022 our Company received the Silver Medal form EcoVadis, the world’s largest and most trusted provider of business sustainability ratings. EcoVadis rates more than 100.000 companies, in 175+ countries, in 200+ industries. The EcoVadis methodology framework assesses companies' policies and actions as well as their published reporting related to the environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.

With our performance, we are in the top 5% of companies rated by EcoVadis in the Wholesale of computers, computer peripheral equipment and software industry.

Our new ESG Strategy

Environment

1	Reduce Scope 1, 2 absolute emissions by 40% by 2030 and Climate Neutral by 2050^*

2	Promote circular economy and eliminate avoidable waste by 2025

Our People

3	Maintain LTIF below 2.3 and TRIR below 1.2 for the Group’s employees by 2030

4	10% increase in employees’ training hours by 2025

5	Build an inclusive culture and act as an ambassador of diversity and equity to empower our people to excel by 2025

Responsible Business

6	Best effort to maintain zero data breach incidents by 2025

7	Link 15% of variable pay elements (annual bonus) of Group’s and main subsidiaries CEOs with ESG targets by 2025

8	Build an inclusive culture and act as an ambassador of diversity and equity to empower our people to excel by 2025^**

Sustainable Products

9	<6% of revenue from sustainable products and services by 2025

10	<50% increase in Green ΜW installed base by 2025

* Base year 2021 (1.5oC scenario). Carbon neutrality by 2050 refers to scope 1 & 2 emissions, taking into account the maturity of technological advancements. The target will be revised in 2030.
** For equal performance suppliers with higher ESG scores will be preferred.

Contribution to the Field of IT and New Technologies

Info Quest Technologies, completing more than 40 years of activity in the field of digital technologies and an active participation in the shaping of the industry, has recorded in its assets the evolutionary course of the dissemination of new technologies in Greek society, having contributed:

The shaping and evolution of the Greek IT market
The development and diffusion of new technologies in Greece
The introduction and usage of IT in education
The diffusion and widespread usage of IT in our society

The education and development of Human Resources
The creation of new institutional frameworks pertaining to the acceptance and usage of new technologies
The modernization and improvement of the living standards of Greek citizens

Human Capital

Human Resources is the most important asset of our Company. We provide equal opportunities to everybody to develop their skills and creativity. We support young people to apply their knowledge, to take initiatives, to collaborate with notable professionals and to evolve. We offer scholarships, mentoring, internships and organize digital skills enhancement programs. Many of the experienced IT and executives in the local market started their careers in our company.

Focus on Continuous Learning

We strongly support that in today’s world, continuous learning is a necessary condition for development and progress. The development of our employees is our key priority, recognizing that achieving our goals and creating value is inextricably linked to the value and quality of our employees.

We offer continuous training though development programs for soft and hard skills, mentoring and internships. In collaboration with our partners/ vendors, we provide technical trainings that lead to advanced certifications, while we collaborate with well- known education institutions to provide specialized training – such as the Quest Mini MBA program by ALBA. In addition, we provide access to online training platforms to all our employees.

Health, Safety & Well-being

Health, safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority. Our goal is to strive continuously to upgrade and create a modern and pleasant working environment that promotes teamwork, development and excellence and make employees happier and more creative.

Find out more about our HR initiatives & policies here

Responsible Supplies

Info Quest Technologies is a “platform” that connects top of class ICT products and services with the whole market -resellers, enterprises, organizations, consumers.

Our company, given its leading position in the market and its standard goal of providing cutting-edge products and services, selects well-established suppliers, with good international reputation and strong dedication to proper business practices. We implement Group Policies that govern the relationship of our companies with its suppliers and partners, as well as the Procedures for selecting and annually evaluating these suppliers and partners in accordance with the ISO 9001:2015 standard and the Supplier Code of Conduct.

Environmental Policy

As a responsible member of the supply chain, we develop our business being fully aware of our responsibility to reduce the potential negative impact on the environment, systematically adapting our business practices to the needs of environmental protection and resource savings. We are certified according to the ISO 14001:2015 Standard for the Environmental Management System that we apply, and we also follow the Environmental Policy and the principles and goals set by the Group.

Moreover:

We identify and manage risks related to environmental issues and set improvement goals.
We strictly adhere to our obligations concerning the payment of recycling fees resulting from our operation.
We invest in, develop and implement new digital technologies - which reduce resource consumption (paper, fuel, etc.) and improve productivity.
We provide services, based on the principles of circular economy, such as trade back programs for smartphones.
We introduce new IoT, e-mobility, smart living and energy management products and solutions, that support a more sustainable way of leaving and driving.
We provide technical services, device upgrade etc. - which help to extend the life of the devices and reduce their disposal.

We participate in the official schemes of withdrawal, upgrade and/or repair of materials of the manufacturers for which we operate as an authorized Service Center.
We make it easy for our customers and partners to promote products in our repair center.
We systematically measure our carbon footprint and seek to reduce it every year.
We systematically promote the recycling of materials and we have collectors for the main recyclable materials (paper, batteries, lamps, etc.) in all the facilities of the company.
We work with authorized bodies for the recycling of materials.
As of 2018, we have been replacing the disposable plastic items we used, such as glasses, straws, stirrers, with biodegradable/eco-friendly products, while we systematically seek to reduce consumption of disposable products.
We systematically develop internal campaigns towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle, indicating simple ways and ideas that everyone can apply to his everyday life.

You can learn more about our Environmental Policy here and about the actions we implement in our recent Sustainable Development Report.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Quality Education – Digital Skills

Digital Skills, Coding and Innovation

We participate in the Group’s program ”Mind the Code” that gives scholarships to young people to learn coding ant the opportunity to join the Group’s Companies
We support initiatives that improve young entrepreneurship, digital skills and innovation, such us IT Pro | Dev Connections, το CodeBiz, MS Azure Bootcamp, κetc.
By linking quality education to full-time work, we are constantly working with Higher Education Institutions, and we offer students intenrships and practice opportunities

We support schools and organizations offering ITPCs and IT equipment.
In 2020, we supported the operation of the Innovation Center created by Cisco in Thessaloniki, with 17 workstations for the operation of the training room. When conditions allow, the Cisco Innovation Center will act as a vehicle for disseminating innovative ideas and initiatives.

National Cybersecurity Team Support & National Youth Informatics Team Support

We support, over time, the National Cyber Security and IT Teams as a Sponsor.

Entrepreneurship and Career Panorama

We systematically participate as a Sponsor in the "Panorama of Entrepreneurship and Career", actively contributing to the very important initiative of connecting the business with the educational community.

«Quest PC Assembly» Program

Info Quest Technologies, implementing the Group's Sustainable Growth Vision, summarized in the three-pillar "Technology, Innovation, Entrepreneurship", has long been close to the educational community, and systematically supports organizations through actions, products and services promoting and enhancing the use of information technology in the educational process. A flagship of our actions is the "Assembling the Quest Computer" program, the only one for Greek data, a program for the hosting of pupils of public and private schools in the Quest computer production and distribution center, which has been systematically implementing the last fifteen years. The aim of the program is to offer high school students a substantial experience of familiarity with the PC Components, a presentation of modern technology trends and a first acquaintance with a structured corporate environment and executives with experience and ability to communicate their knowledge and encourage innovation.

Every year more than 350 students participate in the program.

Fighting poverty, hunger and inequalities

We systematically supports the work of the Organizations "The Smile of the Child", "Make a Wish", “Diazoma”, "The Center for Reception and Solidarity of the Municipality of Athens" (KYADA), as well as the "Mother" Children's Protection Center of Attica with a Charity Bazaar organized by the employees.

Support our Society to overcome large scale emergency needs

The Quest Group and its Companies, as active members of our society, are "present" in dealing with large-scale emergency needs, such as the support of fire or flood victims, etc.. It is worh mentioning that regarding the support of refugees from Ukraine, beyond from financial assistance, Ukrainian Citizens where given the option if they wish to work in the companies of the Group.

In 2022, the Quest Group, taking into account the extremely increased cost of living, a result of geopolitical issues, cost of energy and inflation, and the great impact on the daily life of citizens, proceeded with an extraordinary financial aid of €1.4 million to the lowest paid employees of the Group's companies.

Supporting Society in dealing with Covid-19 Pandemic

In 2020, the Quest Group, as an active member of our society and with great empathy, stood by the collective effort of our country to respond to the effects of the pandemic. Info Quest Technologies actively participated in all the initiatives of the Group, which focused mainly on the field of education and the fundamental priority to continue the educational process, in the provision of technological equipment to critical bodies.

Distance education - Total Group Donation over € 400,000:

Significant donation to the Ministry of Education and Religions, offering 1,018 iPad 4G to meet the needs of primary schools in distance education, along with training and support services for teaching staff, who were invited to use this technology, bringing Public Education in contact with Apple's innovative digital learning curriculum.

Health Units (Donations over € 100,000):
Provision of state-of-the-art IT equipment to the National Organization of Public Health (EODY) - 120 laptops and desktops and 15 multifunction machines in order to meet its demanding work.
Provision of 2 high oxygen flow devices (respirators) at the "Attikon" hospital
Provision of 5 special screens in the hospital "I Pammakaristos", in order to monitor the recovery of patients.

Sponsorship to the "Greece 2021" Commission

In 2020, the Group responded to the request of the Committee "Greece 2021", supporting with free distribution of IT equipment worth over € 100,000 the work of the Committee.

Quest Group Sustainability and ESG Strategy

For comments and suggestions regarding the main actions of the Group and the company for Corporate Social Responsibility as well as for any remarks regarding the publication of the Sustainable Development Report, you can contact pr@quest.gr