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Carbon Offset Programme Accreditation

To the management of Man Group plc
We have been asked to review Man Group’s CO2 Offset Programme and its Carbon Programme for employees and their families (the Programmes). Our accreditation statement follows.

The limitations of our activity
We interviewed Man’s management, employees and external stakeholders mainly in the UK, but we have also reviewed employee feedback from workshops in Switzerland.

    We assessed the completeness of the energy consumption data used as the basis for offsets by reviewing the returns submitted to the Corporate Responsibility team in London from the worldwide offices. This consisted of data from sources such as:
  • Its audited bought ledger (such as utilities’ invoices)
  • Credible third party suppliers (such as internationally based travel agencies)

Whilst we have not seen the original invoices, based on systems and procedures reviewed, we are confident in the accuracy and completeness of the data.

In addition, whilst we only reviewed the impact assessments of the carbon offset projects (produced by credible third party agencies), we are confident that their work is a fair representation of these impacts.

Our conclusions
    Our conclusions on the quality and effectiveness of Man’s Carbon Programmes, based on our approach described above, are as follows:
  • We are satisfied with the accuracy of the data for energy consumption data for Man offices representing 80% of headcount worldwide, together with data for business travel (for flights only)
  • The conversion factors for calculation of emissions are robust and adhere to recommended Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and equivalent United Nations Conference on Trade and Development guidelines
  • The decision making process for selection of the offset projects was effective and took full account of Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs and United Nations CDM and CER guidelines for such projects
  • Local stakeholder dialogue and a robust social impact assessment were undertaken as part of the Malavalli and Nhambita projects, on behalf of Man Group
  • We believe that the approach taken for engaging employees is exemplary and will be effective in raising their awareness and motivating them to take action at work and at home
  • We are satisfied that Man Group’s 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report portrays a fair and balanced representation of the Carbon Programmes in the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, and that there are processes in place for identifying and managing climate change issues
  • We consider that the statements relating to the Programmes made by management within the Corporate Responsibility Report are accurate
  • We consider that the transfer of relevant data from the consolidated data records into the tables presented in the Report has been carried out accurately
  • We are confident that no material information has been withheld
Other observations based on undertaking this work
    There are several observations we would wish to make:
  • The travel data relate only to air travel, and do not include car or rail journeys. Whilst their impacts are relatively small, we recommend that these journeys are considered for inclusion in future
  • It is important that a target for the reduction of emissions has been published for the first time this year (having had a central internal target for the past year). We believe that this will help to focus management and employees on performance, and enable external stakeholders to judge the effectiveness of the Programmes
  • The Group has achieved a great deal on carbon management in a very short time, and is already starting to demonstrate leadership within the financial sector on its climate change activities
  • Man should also consider more communication of its support for the development of low carbon technologies, through its products and investment strategies. We feel that the quality of these activities is sufficient for Man to take a more proactive public profile
  • Finally, Man’s raised profile in the climate change debate gives it an opportunity to engage with government and regulators in the public arena, on the adoption of more effective national climate change measures, for example

Our conclusions presented above are not affected by these observations.

Our independence
This is the first year that The Virtuous Circle Ltd has provided independent accreditation services in relation to Man Group’s Carbon Programme. In addition to this work we have provided accreditation services relating to Man Group’s corporate responsibility reporting and advice and support to Man’s Corporate Responsibility team in their development of submissions for Dow Jones Sustainability Index and a shadow benchmarking exercise for the Business in the Community Corporate Responsibility Index.

Tony Hoskins          Martin Batt
The Virtuous Circle Ltd
30 June 2007