We continue to review our client communications, our processes to embrace technology where appropriate to meet our client requirements and all this dovetails nicely with our consumer duty obligations.
Has it changed how we give advice? It has changed how we look to deliver advice in terms of costs/value/using tools where relevant/reducing travel/ensuring documents are as clear as possible.
We also include information on other areas that a client should consider even if it doesn’t form the advice we are giving at the time to ensure they are able to make informed decisions and understand the impact of exclusions on the
advice /service we can provide. We have extended our processes to be more educational in certain aspects such as ESG investing too. Much of that is an extension of consumer duty.
But in terms of the advice we give then it hasn’t changed anything.
Would I do it again?
Absolutely; and I’d encourage others to join us. But it isn’t easy and it’s not a tick box exercise.
The piece of work we did around our Greenhouse Gas emissions was particularly tricky. Scope 1 was relatively straightforward as we don’t own company vehicles or premises. But the Scope 2 emissions requirement was very hard to monitor as we use rented offices and particularly as our head office is in an old building. However, we did learn a lot here and have certainly become more mindful of our impact.
The hardest part was, and continues to be, being able to account for our Scope 3 Carbon emissions: indirect emissions ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream' emissions which includes the processing of sold products, leased assets and investments. These tend to account for the largest part of our footprint and we continue to learn from the challenge of its management and reduction.
Apart from receiving the email telling us we’d been awarded B Corp Status, the best bit was our logo being on the front of the Coutts building in London during March 2023 for International Women’s Month. It was good to feel part of something.
Also, there’s personal satisfaction in the recognition that the policies we designed meet a higher standard in terms of governance, people development and client care; that we hadn’t just delivered a minimum standard. Recognition that we cared and that we gave a damn.
There’s also pride, especially when clients, our people and others recognise the commitment we’ve made and what it means. That it’s not about us but about them and everyone and everything that surrounds us.
