Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Empiric is a Real Living Wage Employer, ensuring all direct employees are paid at or above the Real Living Wage.

Private healthcare is included in the comprehensive benefits package offered to all employees. The CEO to median employee pay ratio is 55:1. The median gender pay gap is 3.17%, indicating that women earn approximately 96.83% of men's median pay. The company's Injury Rate (IR) is 2.7, with no work-related fatalities for direct employees. Employee engagement is reported at 78%. The average voluntary employee turnover rate across the Group in 2024 was 22%.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

The company has reported zero substantiated forced or child labour incidents in the last three years, with no incidents mentioned across multiple reporting periods up to February 2026, and specifically zero whistleblowing reports related to Modern Slavery in 2025.

It is committed to understanding and mitigating modern slavery risks within its business and supply chain. All suppliers are required to comply with the company's modern slavery policy under the terms of trade. The company is reviewing current contractors and suppliers, strengthening compliance review processes in procurement, and developing relationships with UK-based suppliers that align with its business code of conduct expectations. Systems are in place to encourage the reporting of concerns and the protection of whistleblowers in its supply chain.

Honest & Fair Business

The company demonstrates strong audit coverage, with 100% of Group profit before tax, revenue, and total assets audited in both 2022 and 2024.

However, its 2024 ESG report has not undergone external assurance, indicating a lack of independent verification for ethical claims. The company maintains an anti-bribery policy with a zero-tolerance approach, requiring employees to read and confirm their understanding annually. A comprehensive Group Whistleblowing Policy, reviewed on 8 August 2024, applies to all employees, suppliers, agents, contractors, and customers, protecting whistleblowers from victimisation and ensuring reports are acknowledged within five working days. No whistleblowing incidents were reported during the financial year.

Kind to Animals

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles that directly align with the quantitative thresholds or definitions of the 'Kind to Animals' KPIs for Empiric Student Property PLC. As a real estate investment trust, many of the animal-related KPIs (e.g., cruelty-free products, animal testing, ethical ingredients, animal agriculture) are not applicable to its core business model, and no evidence was found to suggest otherwise. While the company's redevelopment of St Mary’s Hospital in Bristol included living walls that reportedly attracted wildlife, this does not provide measurable biodiversity impact or species recovery metrics required by the 'wildlife_conservation_impact' KPI.

The donation of duvets to a local dog charity is a charitable act but does not map to any specific KPI. Furthermore, the company's internal guidance and policies for accommodating assistance animals for students do not constitute 'public_policy_engagement' in animal welfare legislation or advocacy as defined by the rubric.

Planet-Friendly Business

Total Scope 1, 2, and 3 (transportation only) emissions were 6,690.56 tCO2e in 2024, representing an 8.76% reduction from 2023.

The company intends to align and validate its Net Zero strategy and targets with SBTi by 2026. 100% of the company's electricity is obtained from 100% renewable sources through energy contracts, and 51% of energy consumption from district heating and cooling is from renewable sources. In 2024, the company achieved a waste diversion rate of 57.6%. No environmental compliance violations were reported in 2024. The company conducted decarbonisation surveys for 14 sites in 2024. It aims for Net-Zero across operations, developments, property portfolio, and energy consumption (Scopes 1 and 2) by 2033, and absolute net-zero for all emissions (including Scope 3) by 2050, with published interim targets. The company complies with all 11 TCFD recommendations. A comprehensive climate scenario analysis was conducted in August 2024, considering Below 2°C, 2-3°C, and Above 3°C pathways, identifying 10 material risks. The company provides minimal disclosure of climate asset risks, with generic statements acknowledging the risk to asset value from decarbonization misalignment. Small-scale biodiversity initiatives, including living green walls, green roofs, and bird and bat boxes, have been implemented at a specific site.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The company has no reported cultural appropriation incidents.

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes are not applicable to its operations. The company engages in general charitable giving, supporting a corporate charity partnership with Switch 180, the British Heart Foundation nationally, a local dog charity in Birmingham, and local food banks in Aberdeen. Team members invested over 300 days and raised over £4,000 for charitable and community initiatives. Duvets were donated to a local dog charity in Birmingham. , and litter collection was organized at a local beach in Falmouth. The company also made a book donation to ESOL students.

Safe & Smart Tech

The company retains personal information for successfully placed candidates for a maximum of 7 years, and for candidates who register but do not interact for a maximum of 2 years.

It states that it complies with all applicable data protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, CPRA, and the UK Data Protection Act, as well as employment and immigration regulations. Users are granted rights to access, update, delete, restrict processing, prevent direct marketing, receive a copy of, and object to the use of their personal information.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

The company achieved a waste diversion rate of 57.60% in 2024, diverting waste through recycling and energy recovery, an increase from 36.75% in 2023.

Empiric integrates circular design principles by strategically repurposing assets to extend their life and reuse existing buildings, exemplified by the St Mary’s Hospital redevelopment completed in August 2022. Several waste reduction initiatives are in place, including a mattress recycling program where mattresses are reconditioned and recycled every 3-4 years. The company also partners with the British Heart Foundation for its #PackForGood campaign, which collected nearly 3,000 bags of preloved items and diverted 23,994kg of waste in the most recent year, raising over £63,000. Other initiatives include donating duvets to a dog charity and local litter collection. For customer waste education, the company provides bins, actively promotes recycling and waste segregation within properties, and seeks student feedback on recycling practices.