Over the last 12 months, Informed Financial Planning (IFP) have made some small changes to the way we work, and we have set ourselves a mission to ‘Go Green’ and reduce our environmental footprint! Let’s take a look at what we’ve changed so far…
Reduced Printing and Travel
It’s no secret that the Covid-19 pandemic has played a huge part in pushing us to ‘go green’. With 28 out of our 32 members of staff continuing to work from home, and our office not currently open to the public, we have actively encouraged our clients to receive all documentation via email, instead of receiving it by post. This has reduced our printing significantly, and we plan to continue with this method even when the pandemic is over. The majority of our clients prefer this approach, but we’ll always accommodate your individual preferences where we can!
We have also designed and implemented new digital First Meeting Kit’s for potential clients as part of our onboarding process, and we plan to re-design the majority of our onboarding documentation to ensure they are all fit for digital purposes!
Not only has our printing reduced, but we have also had great success in holding virtual meetings for our clients over the last 12 months, which we hope to continue, in order to reduce travel and CO2 emissions! Don’t worry, we love nothing more than seeing our clients face to face, but we also know some people prefer this method so as always, it’s whatever suits you best!
DocuSign
We have provided all staff with access to DocuSign, a new software which has transformed how we prepare, sign, act on, and manage documentation. With DocuSign, not only have we reduced paper consumption in line with our ‘green’ policy, but we have also increased the speed of client communication, resulting in faster completion of the advice process!
Just to give you an idea of how successful this software has been in our push for ‘Going Green’, in the last 12 months 337 ‘envelopes’ have been completed on DocuSign! Considering many of our documents are more than 5 pages long, and envelopes can often contain multiple documents, we feel this software has significantly improved our processes and we’re on the right track so saving those trees!
The Personal Finance Portal
We have implemented the Personal Finance Portal (PFP), a revolutionary app exclusive to clients of IFP. The PFP allows our clients to send and receive secure messages and documents to their financial planner. This is done using a secure document vault for sensitive information, which again reduces our paper consumption, whilst also increasing efficiency!
If you haven’t already signed up for the PFP, you can do so by clicking here.
Building Improvements
In February 2021, we replaced all the windows at our Hessle office. This not only gives us a sleek new look, but also reduces the loss of heat in the building and saves on energy!
Recycling
Sometimes wet signatures are required, or clients do not have access to emails to receive documents virtually, resulting in us having to print and post a small amount of documentation. We do ensure any printing and post that is no longer needed is recycled (and shredded of course, you’re safe with us!) to ensure we are still doing our part, when we can’t use an alternative solution.
We also have separate bins for food, general, and recyclable waste around the office including in the canteen (we call it ‘The Galley!’) and on all floors.
If you have any suggestions on what we could do to reduce our environmental footprint further, we are open to your thoughts! Just pop us an email at [email protected] with your suggestions, and we’ll take on-board your feedback!
We’re not the only ones trying to do our part, click here to view the Government’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution!
