APS Group has helped Premier’s Carbon Capture® programme raise over £1.83 million to date for the Woodland Trust, funding more than 480,000 trees with the potential to capture approximately 110,580 tonnes of CO2e over their lifetime. 100% of the funds raised through the programme are passed directly to the Trust to fund woodland conservation and the planting of trees, which will absorb carbon from the atmosphere during their lifetime. The new woodland created provides habitats for wildlife and green spaces for all to enjoy. We’re delighted to be part of this programme, and sharing our values of a responsible approach to the environment.

The Woodland Trust work tirelessly to protect, restore, create and care for our woodlands to ensure that they can be enjoyed for generations to come. Find out more on the Trust’s work and strategy here.

Supporting the Woodland Trust’s to establish 60,000 hectares of native woodland across the UK by 2030

The Trust’s woodland carbon scheme helps organisations reduce their carbon footprint by locking up unavoidable carbon emissions while helping nature thrive. Trees don’t just mitigate carbon, removing it from the atmosphere, they also sequester it – absorbing carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and then locking it up for centuries. In 2022 the Trust turned 50, over that time 500,000 people from the UK and beyond have been inspired to be a member or supporter of the Woodland Trust. The Woodland Trust care for more than 1,000 free public woods, growing more than 50 million trees.

Woodland covers just 13.2% of the UK, with only 7% of all Britain’s native woodland in good ecological condition. Climate change has meant that spring happens on average 8.5 days earlier which is having catastrophic effects on a multitude of different species. For example, blue tit chicks are hatching later than the caterpillars they feed on. Although woodland cover is gradually increasing, woodland wildlife populations are dramatically decreasing so it’s vital we’re part of this programme to ensure our woodlands can be enjoyed for years to come.

See more on our sustainability commitment.

This week, we cemented our commitment to combat climate change in collaboration with the Woodland Trust by helping to plant 3,500 native saplings on the picturesque former Frodsham Golf Course in Cheshire. We joined 20 other businesses and around 100 of their enthusiastic employees and customers for a day of planting saplings which will one day grow into a thriving native forest.

Native trees such as Maple, Oak and Silver Birch, hold the key to addressing the immediate challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Being a part of Premier’s tree planting initiative, Carbon Capture®, demonstrates a joint dedication to providing sustainable solutions for excess CO₂ emissions within our industry.

The Frodsham site is set to be transformed into native broadleaf woodland, contributing to the growth of The Mersey Forest and the larger Northern Forest, which spans from Liverpool to the Yorkshire coast. With tree cover in Merseyside and Cheshire at 6 to 7%, some way below the national average of 13%, this initiative serves as a beacon for environmental conservation and mitigating climate change.

The objectives for the Frodsham site are to support nature recovery, climate change mitigation, and increase community involvement. The new woodland will also provide habitats for wildlife, offer public recreation spaces, and contribute to long-term carbon storage.

“APS Group have engaged with the Woodland Trust for many Years and actively takes part in the Tree Planting days organised through one of our key Suppliers ‘Premier Paper Group.’ The Carbon Capture programme focuses on the UK, protecting ancient, veteran and valuable woods, plus creating new quality woodland and growing UK native trees to benefit nature, the climate and future generations. It is a perfect initiative which we at APS are glad to support and gives companies and their clients the opportunity to mitigate carbon and demonstrate their sustainable development goals.”

Brian Henners, Global In-Direct Supply Chain Director at APS Group

We’re proud to contribute to the UK’s ‘net zero by 2050’ target by being a part of Premier’s Carbon Capture® programme. This initiative has created over 3 million square meters of new native woodland in the UK, which equates to 107,571 tonnes of CO₂e to be mitigated. We can’t wait to join the initiative again next year!

Read more out about our sustainability commitments here.

Last Tuesday marked World Mental Health Day, a time for awareness, education, and advocacy against social stigma. We wanted to find a way to support our colleagues around the globe that would allow them time to focus on self-care and self-expression.

After much planning, the very first APS Wellbeing Week was brought to life through a lineup of free activities and events. The response we had to the initiative has been fantastic, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part, shared their creations, and made the week a success!

The week started with sharing our motivational Spotify playlist, which compiled over an hour of songs to help uplift, soothe, and inspire your Monday morning. To listen again, scan the image below in your Spotify app or click here.

On Monday, we also had the first of our two one hour free yoga sessions with Maria Kelly to help release any stress or tension throughout your body and encourage mindful breathing.

Next, we hosted a webinar with Marie-Clare from Sunflower Thinking, who creates hope through safe and positive mental health training. This session was based around mental health first aid and practical ways you can help to support those around you who may be struggling.

Also, throughout the week, fresh fruit hampers were delivered to our offices, and our Graphic Designer, Simon Rhodes, designed several colouring book pages so that staff could engage in a moment of mindfulness and calm.

Lastly, we also held a nature photo competition which was by far the most popular event of the week! There’s so much evidence to show that getting out in nature and being amongst green and blue spaces can positively impact both your mental and physical wellbeing, so we challenged our teams to get outside as much as possible and share the best image from their excursions! It’s safe to say, that not only do our colleagues live in some beautiful parts of the world, but they have a real talent for photography too! Take a look through the submissions below.

Congratulations to Ray Cane from our Cheadle production team who won the nature photo competition with the incredible image of a bumblebee on a sunflower featured at the top of this page.

Again, thank you to all who took part this week and made it a success!

In the UK, the FCA has recently announced the version of their Consumer Duty regulation which will intrinsically improve how consumers are protected. The changes impose higher standards for consumer care and are designed to increase consumer protection whilst promoting effective competition across the retail and financial services sectors.

Previously, the approach had been reactive, which limited the extent of protection for consumers. However, this outcome-based approach places consumers’ needs firmly at the forefront of the regulation and ensures that products and services will meet consumer requirements. Furthermore, it’s expected that these changes will encourage firms to become more innovative and agile to meet the needs of their consumers with the introduction of clearer guidelines in areas such as cost-cutting and communication.

The Timeline

Feedback received in consultation with stakeholders confirmed that more time was required and that the review of closed book products and services was likely to be the most onerous. As a result, the new schedule for implementation of the Consumer Duty is as follows:

• 31^st July 2023 for new and existing products or services that are open to sale or renewal
• 31^st July 2024 for closed products or services

The Components

The Duty comprises three main elements: the consumer principle, cross-cutting rules, and the four outcomes.

The new Consumer Principle requires ‘a firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers’ and is supported by the cross-cutting rules that require firms to take all reasonable steps to:

1. Avoid foreseeable harm to customers
2. Enable customers to pursue their financial objectives
3. Act in good faith toward customers

The four outcomes the FCA are seeking are as follows:

1. Fair value – consumers receive fair prices and quality
2. Suitability and treatment – consumers receive suitable products and services and receive good treatment
3. Confidence – consumers have strong confidence and levels of participation in markets
4. Access – diverse consumer needs are met

Scope

The scope of the Consumer Duty is broad, as the term ‘retail customers’ also applies to products and services delivered to corporate entities as well as individuals. The Duty will also apply to firms that do not have a direct relationship with the end customer and have a material influence on retail customer outcomes. However, it is not applicable to a company that provides IT systems.

Under the new regulation, firms will have to consider every single step of the customer journey throughout a product’s life – including product design, marketing communications, and customer service across the entire product life cycle.

Impact

Whilst many firms are already providing good service and fair customer outcomes, others will require renewed focus and potentially significant effort to comply and meet the deadline. Initially, all firms will be required to complete detailed product reviews and document all decisions made along with their recommended actions.

This regulation could require some financial services firms to undertake a large-scale review of their products, IT, operations, customer service, and customer communications. This regulation includes products sold direct to customers as well as through third parties, therefore the product owner is always accountable to comply with the regulation, potentially adding complexity and cost to some organisations.

The Consumer Duty could impact some firms’ profitability, as customer service must meet the reasonable needs of the consumer. Organisations’ back-office operations, customer service, and communications capabilities could need significant changes to comply with the regulation. Complying includes supporting the ability of customers to easily leave, cancel or transfer their product in a frictionless way. In other words, it must be as easy to exit or transfer as it was to purchase.

Firms will also need to assess their products as to whether they deliver ‘fair value’. This will need to be fully documented in their own assessment of pricing structures, and the review process may lead some firms to conclude high margin products need to be reassessed, potentially impacting overall profitability.

Implementation

The FCA has set out its expectations for the implementation period:

1. Implementation plan ratified by the board – Oct 2022
2. Complete review of all products and services prior to April 2023 and then remedies by July 2023
3. Prioritise any serious items causing immediate consumer harm
4. Consider bringing forward any changes that give consumers better outcomes
5. Engage with FCA where products and services will be withdrawn
6. Boards responsible for review and monitoring to keep on track
7. Alert the FCA if work will not be complete. Prioritise those actions with the biggest impacts on consumer outcomes
8. At the end of the implementation period boards should be sure that they are complying and remedy any gaps or weaknesses

Communications

A firm’s communications form a vital part of delivering a good outcome for their customers, an example might be the need to clearly communicate alternative product offerings. There is also very specific guidance on how to support vulnerable customers. We will delve more into communications and the Duty in our next blog.

Enforcement and monitoring

To meet the new requirements set out by the Duty, governance processes will need to be reviewed and updated, and customer outcomes will need to be tracked and measured. Entire customer service processes, measurement and reporting will need to be reviewed and updated to ensure the right outcomes for customers, and any product changes quickly and effectively managed and communicated.

The FCA will expect a company to be able to provide them with:

• Evidence of the appointment of a champion at board level
• MI specific to the Duty
• Part of the Annual report dedicated to the Duty

While currently there are no regulatory reporting requirements firms will still be expected to be able to demonstrate data collection and the results of their monitoring. Some consumer groups involved in the consultation felt that no regular reporting requirement would lead to non-compliance. However, the FCA has indicated that it will use its full range of powers to tackle any serious misconduct which could include a fine or securing redress for customers that have suffered harm.

“When considering whether a firm has fallen short of our expectations, we form a judgement on whether the firm has acted reasonably taking into account the rules and guidance applicable, as well as the facts and circumstances of each case. This will not change under the Duty. The only difference is that firms will be judged against the higher standard set out in our new rules and guidance.”

Third-party support

In support of the four outcomes (the key elements of the firm-consumer relationship), firms could choose to work with third parties to help shape and deliver improved customer service and communications. Working closely with specialist communication companies, such as APS Group, across the key areas listed below, could create a simpler path to compliance whilst improving customer service and communication, and ultimately managing operational costs down.

1. Communications
2. Product design
3. Customer service
4. Price and value

As customer communication specialists, APS Group can support your Consumer Duty-related review and future requirements to meet the regulation. Using its specialists to advise on all communications, starting with the output from the product design phase, they can work with you to complete detailed customer journey mapping of each product and design bespoke communications, giving your customers individual flexibility in their communications and channel of choice.

APS Group will advise, design, build and deliver an ongoing service to all of your regulatory customer communications, in a secure pay-as-you-go model.

Sources

https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/policy-statements/ps22-9-new-consumer-duty

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/finalised-guidance/fg22-5.pdf

https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/policy/ps22-9.pdf