Elena Espinoza, Senior Engagement Analyst covering Social Issues for Phoenix Group, has recently joined Impactt as Independent Trustee Chair of the Employee Ownership Trust.
We caught up with her to learn more about the wealth of experience she brings to the position, what she’s excited about regarding the role, and the exciting challenge she is taking on, overseeing Impactt’s employee-owned business structure.
Lovely to meet you, Elena. Could you tell us about yourself and where you are based?
I have been based in London since 2009, so 15 years now. Since the moment I arrived in the UK, I have been focused on working with businesses on responsible business practices. When I came here, I started working for Business in the Community.
I then moved to Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). I was there for almost five years, working with investors on how to integrate human rights and social issues into investment strategies and engagement with investee companies. My experience at PRI connects very well with the work of Impactt.
A year ago, I started working at Phoenix Group, which is the UK’s largest long-term savings institution. My job in the stewardship team is about researching companies, setting objectives, providing feedback, sharing best practice examples and reflect on progress made, and within the team I focus on human rights so the S of ESG.
I have been following Impactt’s work for a long time because of my personal interest in human rights and social issues, and I wanted to link this with the regulatory and ESG work I have been doing for Phoenix Group.
I wanted to work with an organisation that really delivers on the ground, and works directly with people on key issues, and righting wrongs for workers.
Can you tell is about your new role at Impactt? What does it involve?
I am the chair of their Employee Ownership Trust. Impactt transitioned to being employee-owned in 2021.
Employee ownership is such an interesting concept and there is no one definition of how it can work. What it usually means is that all or a significant proportion of ownership is held by or on behalf of most of the employees.
But the benefits of being employee-owned usually far outweigh it being just about ownership. It really helps to breed a more collaborative and cohesive culture, where everyone is truly working together to achieve a shared goal. It really helps to overcome the ‘us’ vs ‘them’ mentality that can permeate some companies.
So, in Impactt’s model, the shares of the company are held by a Trust. This Trust will always hold the majority of shares, and that Trust has a Board. I serve as the Independent Chair of that Board.
The role of the EOT Trust is to monitor the performance of the business, to ensure the values of the company are maintained and the business is being run in the best interest of the employees.
What attracted you to this role in particular?
With the companies that I work with, you don’t see the employee owned element very often. The closest I have seen, and it’s still very far away from Impactt’s concept, is when you have an employee representative on the company’s Board, and that still isn’t very common. I was intrigued by this structure of an employee owned company, with these two Boards that work together, but have very separate mandates and very separate responsibilities.
The mission of Impactt—making what works for workers work for business—is one that is close to my heart. I felt that Impactt was really walking the walk – to become owned by workers, for workers. I was excited by the opportunity to have a role in this organisation, to support the growth and reach of Impactt.
You mentioned that many of your previous roles had focused on social issues. What social issues are you particularly passionate about and how have these aligned with your career?
In my last few years at the PRI, I worked a lot on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. I’m most passionate about the Equity side of things – in short, making sure that everyone has access to the same opportunities.
We understand meritocracy and that people can get ahead on merit, but we also need to understand that different people have access to different advantages, and some people are faced with many more obstacles than others.
Labour rights are also a big aspect of my work. Equity for workers is a key driver for me: making sure they are paid at least a Living Wage, they have social protections and that their rights to assembly and collective bargaining are respected.
It’s really important to work with companies to make sure that they are respecting those rights, and helping to improve work conditions.
We also need to do this in a way which increases profit. Sometimes, it can feel like workers are a cost centre but improvement in working conditions can translate into productivity and benefits for businesses as well.
What brought you to working in the human rights sector?
My undergraduate degree was in Engineering, but when I finished my undergraduate, I realised that I didn’t want to work as an engineer. I was always interested in sustainability, and in my undergrad, we covered a lot of environmental topics, the E of ESG.
From the moment I started a new route, studying International Development, I knew it was right for me. Through my master’s, I became very passionate about people, economic development, poverty reduction and related topics. This passion is still true to this day.
In your opinion, what do you think should be next on the radar for business leaders when it comes to human rights or regulation or both?
Well, everyone in the human rights space is very excited about the CSDDD – the new legislation which is Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. Though the legislation does not apply in the UK , as we know, legislation that is developed in the EU, often eventually makes an appearance in the UK.
The CSDDD is an exciting piece of legislation because it puts into the law that companies need to look at their impacts beyond just financial, so including environmental and social impacts, and not just for direct operations but also down supply chains.
Addressing social issues requires a system approach—it’s a lot of people doing the right thing at the same time. With this legislation, we hope we will see more transparency and better management of social risks. Ideally, this will have ripple effects in other countries as well.
What unique skill or perspective do you bring to the Impactt team?
My experience in the investment space and working with multiple companies across various sectors. From an investor perspective, I often find myself needing to justify the work that I do, and being very clear about the business case, focusing on outcomes and impact. I can bring that perspective to Impactt, and the organisation’s clients.
Thank you very much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to share?
Just that I am very excited about the work with the EOT and really looking forward to contributing to the great work that Impactt is already doing.
I’m excited to play my small part in the growth of the organisation, as the work Impactt does is critically important.
Please note, the opinions expressed in this blog are Elena’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Phoenix Group or any associated parties.
