We recognise innovation is a critical element for sustainable growth enabling the Group to meet our current customer expectations, enhance our contribution to help customers meet their own sustainability ambitions, and to optimise new opportunities.

Chief Digital Officer and Chief Technology Officer roles were created, and appointments made in October 2023 and January 2024.

The appointments provide an exciting opportunity for us to build key partnerships with customers, suppliers and technology institutes and plays a critical role in our climate transition.

Various client engagement meetings took place in 2023 to discuss how we can support and work together, resulting in service innovation work with some of our key customers

How we will deliver against targets

With focus on client value creation, energy transition and harnessing the blue economy we are driving innovation and R&D at James Fisher via digital transformation and New Product Development (NPD).

During 2024 we plan to:

• Combine our deep industry expertise with strategic digital partners to co-develop new products and services and drive client value creation 
• Build out skills around Core Technology; autonomy, IOT (Internet of Things), workflow optimisation and digital twin, to create new client value and drive operational efficiencies
• Develop and test robust NPD processes providing consistency, transparency and accountability 
• Develop an innovation pipeline across the Group with prioritised portfolio choices for each of our Product Lines

With a network of world-wide operators, partners, industry experts and support bases, we are well placed to support our customers across the globe.

At James Fisher we recognise the importance of working closely with our customers. We are well placed to influence and help our customers through shared ambitions and an unrivalled 175+ years of expertise spanning marine, energy and defence.

As we strive for excellence throughout the business, we are inspired and driven by our customers, collectively pioneering specialist solutions to some of the most demanding industry, operational and technical challenges around the globe.

Importantly, we share the need to ensure continuity of service, often in time sensitive or emergency response situations, while enhancing our contribution to help customers shift their energy portfolio towards lower-carbon emissions and working collaboratively to develop our low emission products and services.

Additionally, in collaboration with our Project Management Office we are working towards Group-wide standardisation of our customer feedback approach.

How we will deliver against targets

We are seeing increased value in Asia Pacific for Offshore wind solutions, and market demands and pressures driving sustainable change. James Fisher is already able to support and provide solutions to the market such as electric compressors vs. diesel operated, and we are continuing to build on this.

The Group's new customer feedback process will roll out in 2024 as part of a transformed order to cash framework in development.

Additionally our CRM systems and processes are undergoing standardisation which will better serve our customers. We are working towards the implementation of Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a performance indicator across the Group. Currently data capture is inconsistent which we are addressing.

We believe that ethical leadership and effective stewardship, consistent with our valued behaviours are essential attributes for the Group's success.

Progress in 2023

During 2023 the Board approved our first Sustainability Policy which sets the expectations for James Fisher aligned with our Sustainability Strategy, and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance. To bring our sustainability pillars (People, Planet and Partnerships) to life the Sustainability Policy states we aim to:

• Demonstrate sustainability stewardship by acting responsibly and upholding sustainable practices
• Continuously assess how we work to make good ESG decisions and sustainable improvements without negatively impacting our stakeholders
• Act transparently and hold ourselves to account through verifiable data disclosure and performance reporting 
• Work to Company standards, procedures and policies designed to protect our people, local communities and the environment. 

How we will deliver against targets

During 2023 we have continued to enhance the Governance protocols of the Group. This work will continue during 2024 following the appointment of our Head of Ethics and Compliance who is leading a review of all current policies, procedures and guidance documents.

With a renewed Working Group to support and as we work towards embedding environmental and social considerations into business as usual, we will be screening all governance documents to ensure ESG considerations have been made.

Our document control platform was upgraded during 2023 providing enhanced support to our Group functions in the publication, revision and withdrawal of controlled documents through quick links and resource documents.

During 2024 we aim to:

• Finalise the design of the wider Group Governance framework and three-year implementation plan 
• Complete the development, approval and implementation of new and updated Group policies, standards, procedures and guidelines across all Group functions
• Complete the implementation of our new document framework and processes to ensure a consistent framework for the development, review and approval of Group Governance documents 
• Design and implement a new third-party risk mitigation strategy to assess and mitigate legal and reputational risks associated with doing business with and/or the assistance of third parties
• Implement new internal approval and reporting controls for gifts, hospitality, sponsorships and donations 
• Draft a new Group Code of Conduct 
• Update the training provided to our employees on the new Governance controls implemented in 2024.