Last amended: 28 March 2023 

Introduction to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

Corporate Social Responsibility (or ESG, Environment, Social & Governance) is about how businesses operate to ensure their activities have a positive impact on the wider community. CSR policies aim to guarantee that companies work ethically, considering human rights and the social, economic and environmental implications of what they do as a business. Businesses should meet – and aim to exceed – any relevant legislation, and if legislation does not exist in a particular area, the company should ensure they carry out best practices anyway.

First Copy Corporation Ltd (FCC) is committed to conducting business as ethically as possible by following the policy below. Our policy sets out how we adhere to ‘Triple Bottom Line’ (TBL) principles, which consider not just profit but also people and the planet. 

Who we are and what we do 

First Copy Corporation Ltd was established over 30 years ago and has always been a mono-branded Xerox partner. In 2018, the company moved its office products and services under the brand name FCC Innovation to reflect the move away from the predominantly printed page to the predominantly digital page for our office customers. In 2023, the brands were reunited, and the visual identity was refreshed.

Hereafter, when we refer to ‘First Copy’, we mean the whole company: office, production, software and services. 

Our mission is to support businesses and other organisations to print and manage documents flexibly, sustainably, securely and to a high standard. Our customers expect excellent products and management services, and we do our best to support them as their needs evolve. 

We know our partners’ CSR policies are as important as ours (not least Xerox’s policy). We’re pleased to say that Xerox’s commitment to CSR is well-documented, certified and recognised. 

“Behaving responsibly as a global citizen is an inextricable part of our heritage, and we uphold the highest ideals of integrity, innovation and excellence in all we do. We turn investments in innovation into technology and services that help our customers be more productive, profitable and sustainable. We do this with the same core values our founder established decades ago.”

You can find regular reporting about Xerox’s commitments to Governance, Environment and Society on its website.

We endeavour to post regularly about Xerox and partner ESG updates in our news posts.

Looking after Employees

The success of First Copy is down to its team. As a company, we meet (and try to exceed) the relevant legislation relating to the Human Rights Act 2010, Modern Slavery Act 2015 (please note our turnover is under £36 million), and Health and Safety Reporting and Procedures. 

Beyond the legislation, our company ethos is to support each other as far as possible, and not just with issues directly related to work. We are particularly proud of our flexible working approach, which has ensured that, for example, parents returning from maternity/paternity leave can work in ways that suit them and the business – retaining their knowledge for the company and promoting staff wellbeing. 

Everybody at First Copy is an essential part of the business, and most team members have shares in it. The company’s success is the team’s success. Although every team member has a specific role description, we actively encourage individuals to learn new skills and develop knowledge to shape their future career paths. Starting in one position is not a barrier to moving into another department and we pride ourselves in supporting our team to achieve their potential. 

We ensure that we have up-to-date Employee Handbooks and HR policies and keep communication channels open between employees and their managers. Beyond that, we plan a programme of events and volunteering time all year round to support our workforce and their communities. 

Looking after Customers

Customer relationships are the core of our business. We work in a competitive industry. We wouldn’t be here after thirty years if we didn’t work so hard to develop successful partnerships with our office and production customers.

No one likes being passed around a call centre, so our customers have dedicated account managers and can get to know our in-house helpdesk and analyst teams. Unlike some competitors, we have our own specialists and can have our own ‘boots on the ground’ when necessary. Our staff are highly trained and experienced in what they do; our team’s average length of service is more than thirteen years.

We keep in regular contact with our customers so that we can listen to what they need and propose solutions. Our regular newsletter keeps everyone up-to-date alongside regular catch-ups with their account managers and analysts.  

At First Copy, we only work with trusted partners to provide high-quality products and services. Xerox is a well-recognised global company known for its longevity, innovation and market-leading technology. Similarly, we choose other partners carefully, knowing that our customers expect us to do nothing less.  

Suppliers’ Standards

We expect our suppliers to take their standards seriously, including and not limited to the following:

• Modern Slavery Act 2015
• Bribery Act 2010
• GDPR
• Required British Standards and EU Directives for products 

We are committed to clear communication with our suppliers, both local and further afield. Moreover, we encourage suppliers to have their own CSR policies and ensure products have energy efficiency certifications and similar sustainability-minded credentials. 

Protecting the Environment

First Copy aims to reduce its environmental impact and improve its sustainability. Although it may seem odd that a print company helps customers reduce the amount of print they do, we understand that our industry has moved to a ‘new normal’ with less reliance on hard-copy documents and more focus on digital ones. 

That said, we are learning much more about the impact of cloud technologies and data on the environment. Five years ago, there was a drive towards paperless offices; today, we know sustainability is more complex than ‘paper bad, digital good’. Data centres impact the environment too, and paper, when well-managed, can be sustainable.

The list below includes ways we are trying to lower our carbon footprint and make our business greener. 

Environment

• We choose products that limit wastage and plastic wherever possible, re-using what we can and recycling where possible.

• We share information with our customers about their supplies to ensure they can use the Eco Box scheme and recycle as much of their consumables packaging and cartridges as possible. In addition, we work hard to help companies use the print management tools that work best for them to reduce wasted prints and work with production print companies to help them create sustainable packaging that replaces single-use plastic.

• In 2020, we changed our company cars to all-electric Kia eNiro vehicles. We quickly realised we needed additional chargers and now have four chargers in our car park for staff and visitors. In 2022, we bought our first electric van for transporting machines to customer sites. In 2023, our second fleet of electric vehicles will arrive, replacing the first generation. 
• We encourage greener transport wherever possible but have also embraced hybrid and remote working, meaning that most of the team don’t need to travel to our offices daily. We also offer these technological solutions to our customers to help them reduce their carbon footprints.

• Xerox works hard to make each generation of its products more energy efficient and sustainable than the last. All new products come with ENERGY STAR certification and are registered with EPEAT. We regularly report on energy consumption and other sustainability themes in our Insights.
• Within the office, we encourage staff to be mindful of the energy and water they are using and aim to equip ourselves with the most energy-efficient products and solutions possible.

• We offer Technology As A Service (TaaS), helping our customers move toward a circular economy, using only what they need – when they need it.
• Later this year we will have direct access to an Advanced Analytics dashboard that will allow us to proactively spot issues with machines and report on energy and paper usage to customers in real time.

• When we run events, we choose local venues and do our best to use locally-produced food. We offer sustainable branded items to visitors at events and trade shows. 

• In January 2022, we partnered with Ecologi to plant trees for every installation and enquiry. The scheme has since been extended to planting an additional 200 trees for a successful referral and another for each new newsletter signup. When going to press, we were heading for 5000 trees. A ticker in our website footer shows our progress, and you can visit our virtual forest.

Community Engagement

Over the last three decades, we have supported many local causes with sponsorship and donations. We have also supported staff (teams and individuals) to fundraise for good causes. At the time First Copy updated this policy, we were involved in the following:

• Cambridge Standing Tall. After two successful trails (Cows About Cambridge in 2021 and GoGoDiscover 2022 (Norwich)), First Copy was proud to be an inaugural sponsor of Cambridge’s second community art trail, which will provide a leisure activity for 350,000 trail visitors and boost the economy in our nearest city while also raising money for children’s charity, Break.
• Toilet Twinning. Our office toilets were twinned in 2020, helping the charity to fund projects in poor communities that need access to safe toilets, clean water and information about hygiene.
• In 2022, we sponsored the Bottisham Bobcats U14s Girls’ Football team for the next two seasons.
• Our support of Break has also led to a member of staff completing a charity firewalk at Roarr!
• After the success of the Kickstart Scheme at First Copy, in 2023, we took on our first Content Creator Apprentice in partnership with Cambridge Marketing College.
• In 2023, we gave all our staff a day’s volunteering during work time for the first time. We look forward to seeing what they all use it for – and we are looking to plan a group volunteering day in the summer for a good cause.

Updating our policy

This plan will be updated annually in March to take stock of our achievements and revise content. Our Insights page will include our latest environment-themed news and blogs throughout the year. We also encourage you to visit our Environment Hub and browse our most recent ESG posts, highlighted below.