ARGENTEX GROUP PLC
Climate Impact & Sustainability Data (2022-04 to 2022-12, 2023)
Reporting Period: 2022-04 to 2022-12
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:1721.65 CO2t removed
ESG Focus Areas
- Planet
- People
- Partners
Environmental Achievements
- Planted circa 44,000 trees and removed 1721.65 CO2t in the reported period. Partnered with Earthly to plant one tree per trade.
- Maintained Planet Mark certification showcasing a reduction in its carbon footprint for two years.
Social Achievements
- Partnered with the Social Mobility Foundation (SMF) to launch the Argentex Academy program, supporting students from diverse backgrounds.
- Formed a Culture Committee to drive meaningful action across the Group for diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
- Maintained commitment to employee wellness with facilities for physical and mental wellbeing.
Governance Achievements
- Appointed David Winney as Chief Compliance and Risk Officer.
- Introduced the Argentex Group Value Creation Plan (VCP) to incentivize and retain senior employees.
- Implemented a robust compliance and risk framework.
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Determine path to net zero emissions.
Medium-term Goals:
- Achieve further international expansion in Europe and explore new territories.
Short-term Goals:
- Double the footprint of UK and European headquarters during H1 2023.
Environmental Challenges
- Macroeconomic uncertainties including the UK mini-budget, the war in Ukraine, rising interest rates, and a cost-of-living crisis.
- Increased credit risk due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, cost-of-living crisis, rising interest rates, and the likely recession.
Mitigation Strategies
- Maintained a prudent approach to risk management, focusing on the quality and diversification of its client base.
- Implemented a credit policy including assessment of client creditworthiness, exposure limits, timely margin calls, and regular stress testing.
- Continued to invest in technology resilience and robust data security, improving automation and recovery times.
- Developed business continuity programs and responses to external threats.
Supply Chain Management
Responsible Procurement
- Prioritising domestic supply chains where possible.
Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities
Reporting Period: 2023
Environmental Metrics
Total Carbon Emissions:70.4 tCO2e (offset)
Scope 1 Emissions:0.0 tCO2e
Scope 2 Emissions:32.8 tCO2e
Scope 3 Emissions:37.6 tCO2e
Waste Generated:8.5 tons (2023); 4.1 tons (2022)
Carbon Intensity:0.27 tCO2e per £m revenue (FY22/23)
ESG Focus Areas
- Sustainability
- Social Mobility
Environmental Achievements
- Reduction in carbon footprint per turnover intensity metric (London office only) from 0.31 tCO2e in FY21/22 to 0.27 tCO2e in FY22/23. 69,426 trees planted through 'Trees for Trades' initiative, sequestering 2,611.8 tCO2e. Offset carbon footprint of 70.4 tCO2e via Earthly.
Social Achievements
- Second year of Argentex Academy partnership with Social Mobility Foundation, providing paid internships to five students from low-income backgrounds. One intern secured a place on the Graduate Sales Accelerator Programme. Employee engagement survey returned an overall score of 80%.
Governance Achievements
- Implementation of a compliance monitoring programme. Regular calls and meetings held between shareholders and Executive Directors. Board changes and succession planning.
Climate Goals & Targets
Long-term Goals:
- Become a global financial solution expert.
- Achieve Net Zero (commitment mentioned, no target year specified).
Medium-term Goals:
- Expand into broader payments and alternative banking markets.
- Diversify product offering to increase exposure to more visible, stable revenue streams.
- Geographic expansion leveraging existing locations and licenses.
Short-term Goals:
- Align costs more appropriately with revenues.
- Enhance client retention.
Environmental Challenges
- Challenging market conditions in core foreign exchange broking business due to lower foreign exchange volatility, leading to lower demand. Costs grew faster than revenues in 2023.
- Attrition in senior leadership team.
- Increased credit, cyber, and fraud risks due to macroeconomic environment.
Mitigation Strategies
- Strategic review to reposition the business for growth, focusing on product diversification, operational efficiencies, and cost alignment with revenues.
- Refinement of key goals and strong execution planning to mitigate leadership changes.
- Strengthening regulatory capital controls, accelerating liquidity management responses, building regulatory horizon scanning capabilities, and innovating to remain agile.