D&G sustainability lead Will Ashton-Smith on ESG compliance: “It needs to become more of a shared responsibility”

Leading a two-person sustainability team at appliance insurance firm Domestic & General, Will Ashton-Smith says keeping abreast of regulatory changes is one of his biggest challenges – and believes the compliance responsibility should be shared with the finance and risk departments.

Domestic & General (D&G) offers subscriptions for appliance repairs and replacements to over 30 million customers in 12 countries. The growing public focus on circularity is acting as wind in the 100-year-old firm’s sales: the company reported revenues of almost £1 billion last year, with subscription income up 8%.

“What we do is protect and repair stuff at home that people rely on: things like home appliances, boilers, electronics, that sort of thing,” the Director of Brand and Sustainability tells CSO Futures, adding that D&G repaired two and a half million appliances last year.