
Pharos Energy Annual Report and Accounts 2021
87
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT - CONTINUED
presence to post and disseminate
key information promptly to a wide
audience. The Company’s website is
regularly used by shareholders and
stakeholders for email communication
with management. The official Twitter
and LinkedIn accounts of Pharos
continue to be used actively. The
Company uses a PR agency to provide
assistance in the dissemination of
information to shareholders and the
general public and also to solicit active
feedback as to the effectiveness of
such efforts. Additionally, in 2021,
for the first time ever, the Company
embedded an analyst research feed
on to its corporate website at https://
www.pharos.energy/investors/
analyst-research/. This was to allow
a wider audience of private and retail
shareholder free access to analyst
research notes about the Company.
Also in 2021, the Company engaged
with an online platform Investor Meet
Company to host an online meeting
with a Q&A session in April to allow
the wider public a free platform
to raise questions directly to the
Executive Directors. During the year,
the Executive Directors and investor
relations colleagues met and engaged
with 29 different institutions and family
offices in over 40 meetings.
The NEDs are each responsible for
taking sufficient steps to understand
shareholder views, including any
issues or concerns. This includes
being available to major institutional
shareholders and responding to
requests for additional communication
with the Chair, Senior Independent
Director or other NEDs. The delegated
role of the Senior Independent Director
includes being available to shareholders
if they have concerns which cannot be
fully or appropriately addressed by the
Chair or the Executive Directors.
Additionally, both before and after
the formal proceedings of each
AGM, and subject to travel or public
gathering restrictions in response to
the COVID-19 pandemic, all Directors
and senior management, including
the Chairs of the Audit and Risk,
Remuneration and Nominations
Committees, make themselves
available to answer shareholder
questions and respond to any specific
queries.
• Local communities, governments
and employees
Our goal is to have a responsible and
positive presence in the regions in
which we operate, resulting in value
for host countries, local communities,
employees, contractors, suppliers and
shareholders, and we engage with
them on a regular basis. Additionally,
the requirements in the Modern Slavery
Act are dealt with through our due
diligence and on boarding processes
with suppliers.
In Vietnam, commitment to local
sourcing, employment, training
and industry capacity building has
continued with a training levy of
$300,000 per year in a ring-fenced
fund to support developing future
Vietnamese expertise in the industry. In
Egypt, under the El Fayum and North
Beni Suef Concession Agreements,
the Contractor contributes a total
of $200,000 per year split equally
between the two Concessions to
support training and development in
industry.
In recent years, we have structured
our social investment programme to
align more with the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals (UN
SDGs). In Vietnam, in 2021, in addition
to the training levy mentioned above,
a further $265,000 was invested in
12 community projects. The JOCs
actively inquired and listened to locals
to find out which areas of the country
would need the greatest assistance in
order to ensure that we were investing
in local projects that would bring the
most sustainable positive impact to the
community. For instance, in Q1 2021,
the Group provided financial support for
autistic children at Anh Dao Specialised
Educational Centre in Ha Tinh province,
with additional donations towards
providing therapy for children with
disabilities at An Tue Social Assistance
Centre, Thua Thien Hue province (UN
SDG 3: Good health & wellbeing and
UN SDG 4: Quality education). In Q2
2021, the Donation Programme helped
fund the construction of a community
culture house in Hop Hung commune,
Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province
which, once finishes, will act as a
communal education house for children
in the area for years to come (UN SDG
4 Quality education and UN SDG 9:
Industry, innovation and infrastructure).
For full details of all the projects the
JOCs have invested in 2021, please
see our Corporate Responsibility report
on pages 58 to 78.
• Conflicts of interests & Ethics hotline
Our Whistleblowing Policy and
associated procedures ensure that
employees are protected from possible
reprisals when raising concerns in good
faith. In addition to internal reporting
channels, we have a dedicated,
anonymous and confidential ethics
hotline supported by EthicsPoint with
numbers displayed in local offices
available 24 hours a day all year round.
Zero calls were made to the EthicsPoint
hotline in 2021.
Division of Roles & Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Board
The statutory duty of the Directors is to
act in what they consider to be in the
best interests of the Company and, as
a unitary Board, they are responsible for
the long-term success of the Company.
The Board determines and develops the
strategy for the business and provides
it with the necessary entrepreneurial
leadership. It ensures the Company is
adequately resourced to meet its strategic
objectives and can meet its obligations
to its stakeholders. The Board sets the
values, standards and controls necessary
for risk to be effectively assessed and
managed. Some of its responsibilities
have been delegated to committees
of the Board, including the Audit and
Risk, Remuneration and Nominations
Committees.
The roles of the Chair and Chief
Executive Officer are separated and their
responsibilities are clearly established, set
out in writing and agreed by the Board.
Both are collectively responsible for the
leadership of the Company. The Chair
chairs the Board meetings, leads the
NEDs in the constructive challenge of
the Executive Directors’ strategy and is
accountable for the Board’s effectiveness.
This includes encouraging an open and
frank boardroom culture, setting the
Board’s agenda, facilitating the NEDs’
contribution and ensuring sufficient time
and information to promote effective and
challenging discussions. The Chair has
been in his current role since March 2020.
The CEO is responsible for the everyday
management of the Company. The
CEO leads the Executive Directors and
management team in the implementation
of the Board’s strategy and management’s
performance in running the business.
The NEDs have a supervisory role that
contributes to the development of
the strategy through supportive and
challenging inquiry. They scrutinise the
Executive Directors’ performance in
meeting their agreed goals and objectives,
and play a key role in their appointment or
removal.
The Company Secretary is appointed
by the Board. He facilitates the
communications and processes of the
Board, the induction programme for new
Directors and provides advice through the
Chair as may be required in the ongoing
discharge of the Directors’ duties. This
includes ensuring that the Company
provides the necessary resources for
access to independent advice and
any individual professional training and
development needs agreed with each
Director.