Listen to Lowell's Group CEO, Colin Storrar, talk about what Sustainability means to him and the importance of Lowell's mission
"Our mission acts as a solid anchor to guide us as we continue to build a better business with a sustainable future."
We are committed to making a positive impact and leading the way in the credit management sector. Our approach is guided by a clear Sustainability Strategy and set of goals on which we share our progress against in our annual Sustainability Report.
Our Sustainability Strategy is there to support our mission and address wider societal needs for a more inclusive and sustainable future. We have set clear ambitions across four key areas so we can measure our positive impact on our customers and clients, our people, their communities, and the environment for the long term. It is underpinned by a set of KPIs and performance targets, with progress regularly monitored and measured.
In our latest Sustainability Report we provide an update against our targets and deeper insight into our actions as a responsible business. Our reporting is aligned to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and we support the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
All of our reports can be found on the Sustainability Reporting Hub.
Download our2022 Sustainability Report
"Our mission acts as a solid anchor to guide us as we continue to build a better business with a sustainable future."
We are proud of our performance and achievements in 2022 across the four pillars of our strategy. Better for Customers, Better Ethics and Understanding, Better for Society and Responsible Business. Here are some highlights from 2022:
million customers became debt-free with Lowell in 2022
Group client satisfaction score
consumers reached to raise financial awareness
Group client customer treatment score
In a welcome addition to our strategy, we also joined the UN Global Compact network in January 2023 and are committed to their four areas of impact including human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, which adds additional focus to our efforts.
Across our business, our experience helps our clients address a wide range of financial and operational challenges. This also extends to sharing our knowledge and learnings. In 2022, we focused on financial abuse following its incorporation by the UK government into domestic abuse law, and, by sharing our learning, we helped our clients to increase their knowledge and introduce new policies.
Also key to our partnership approach is understanding the unique challenges our clients face and offering solutions.
In 2022, we developed a bespoke approach for purchasing ring-fenced portfolios of customers in vulnerable situations, drawing on our skills and experience in working with such customers and offering innovative solutions for our clients.
Sharing our sector knowledge and expertise also assists clients to better understand the customer journey and how that can help customers avoid problem debt in the first place. Through our Customer Panel, Client Satisfaction Index and feedback from our Customer Engagement Centre, we can gain insights into the issues that matter most to customers and share this knowledge.
In April, Lowell UK sponsored a special parliamentary reception to launch Credit Week 2022. Aimed at MPs, the event provided an opportunity to share insights from our Financial Vulnerability Index with legislators and discuss key issues and challenges for the credit industry. We were joined by nine clients, with discussions around key themes such as financial inclusion, debt management and financial wellness. We will be staging a similar parliamentary event in 2023.
Good corporate governance practice is fundamental to Lowell in creating and building internal and external stakeholder value and delivering against our Sustainability Strategy. Our Sustainability Development Group (SDG) is pivotal to the successful delivery of our strategy and is responsible for supporting its delivery against our leadership ambitions.
More information on sustainability governance is available on our Responsible Business sustainability page, while copies of some of our main policies and procedures can be found on our main Governance page.
Climate goals (as re-set in August 2023 when we committed to set Science Based Targets):
CCS Awards
Winner, Debt Purchaser of the Year
Winner, Company Award for Sustainability
Finalist, Best Vulnerable Customer Support Initiative
Engage Awards
Highly Commended, Best Use of Technology in Employee Engagement
Women in Credit Awards
Silver winner, Employer of the Year (non-creditor category)
Wokplace Savings and Benefits Awards
Winner, Best Flexible Benefits Strategy
Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (company number 4857418) and Lowell Financial Ltd (company number 4558936) are incorporated in England and Wales with their registered offices at No.1 The Square, Thorpe Park View, Thorpe Park, Leeds, LS15 8GH. Both Lowell Portfolio I Ltd (FCA number 730071) and Lowell Financial Ltd (FCA number 730175) are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.