Comply Direct celebrate business growth, staff progression & appoint new managing director

It is an exciting time of change for environmental consultancy and compliance scheme Comply Direct, based in Skipton North Yorkshire, as they welcome a new managing director from within their existing team, and implement a staff re-structure as the business grows and launches new service offerings

Comply Direct board of directors. (Left to right - Jessica Aldersley, Gareth Roberts and Sarah Foster)

Gareth Roberts established Comply Direct in 2006 to fill a gap in the market and provide a customer-centric environmental compliance scheme solution. As the company marks its 15-year anniversary, Gareth is stepping into the position of Executive Chairman, whilst Sarah Foster has taken over as Managing Director as of 1 April 2021. Previously Commercial Director, Sarah has been with the company since 2014 working in numerous positions across the business, and with over 10 years of experience in the environmental sector, Sarah is perfectly positioned to lead the company successfully and ensure strategic alignment for Comply Direct to achieve its full potential in the years ahead.

As Executive Chairman, Gareth will ensure that the board is effective in its task of setting and implementing the company’s direction and strategy. In response to Sarah taking over his previous Managing Director role, Gareth expressed his support and reflections:

“Firstly, I am delighted Sarah is replacing me as MD of Comply Direct. Having now worked alongside her for many years, I am confident that Sarah’s leadership and professionalism will ensure she will be a success in the role. It is certainly an exciting time for Comply Direct and for Sarah with a lot happening in our sector.

Along with all the existing team members and those that have come and gone over the past 15 years, I would like to personally thank all our customers and suppliers for their continued support. We really are like a family doing all we can to look after each other and I have really felt the benefit of this whilst being in the privileged position of MD. I am very proud and extremely grateful for all that we have collectively achieved together. I can honestly say that I have thoroughly enjoyed myself since setting up Comply Direct, but more than anything else, I have immensely enjoyed seeing the capability of the team develop and strengthen as we have passed each growth milestone. I look forward to taking up my new role as Executive Chairman and to adding as much value as I can to help ensure we fulfil our maximum potential as a business for many years to come.”

Comply Direct are celebrating continuous business growth and have recently launched multiple new consultancy services across sustainability, carbon management and packaging optimisation to provide a closed-loop environmental service for businesses to achieve their sustainability goals, as well meeting their compliance obligations. This is in line with the company’s vision to contribute to a more sustainable planet by empowering Comply Direct partners to unleash their eco potential.

The company fosters a high-performance culture to enable employees to shape their own progression and career path, recognising that employees are the business and that they all have valuable ideas and suggestions for driving the business forward. With a team of high achievers which has shaped the development of Comply Direct’s new service offerings, many current employees have recently progressed into different roles, including newly created positions to deliver these additional services successfully.

Multiple staff members have stepped up into leadership roles, as well as into new specialised capacities in line with their areas of expertise, ensuring the right skill sets are aligned with the right responsibilities, so Comply Direct can continue providing premium quality customer service and environmental solutions as the business keeps growing. Furthermore, additional roles have naturally arisen within the account management, compliance and sales teams due to the increasing number of customers choosing to join Comply Direct and the company now has 33 members of staff; a growth of just under 10 employees since 2020.

The future is exciting for Comply Direct and their influence on the environmental sector is going to be key as the upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations come into force, which Gareth summarises when he says;

It is fair to say that the industry does face some uncertainty ahead as we navigate through new EPR legislation in the coming years but there are undoubtedly many opportunities for Comply Direct to add value. With the fabulous team we have in place, I am sure that Comply Direct is very well placed to continue building upon its success to date.”

To discover more about how Comply Direct can help your business achieve its sustainability goals and environmental compliance obligations, please contact us on marketing@complydirect.com or call 01756 794 951