ACS is run by its members for its members, and we’re structured to be as lean and responsive to members as possible. Need help? Give us or an advice line a call. Got an opinion on a policy issue? Get in touch and we’d love you to join one of our expert groups. Want to come to an event? Sign up and come along!
It’s these day-to-day interactions that drive what we do and help us to speak for the sector. Of course we also need to make sure that we’re balancing members’ views and making sure that we operate legally and ethically and that we’re solvent. Our governance structure is as simple as we can make it, setting the framework for members to drive what we do, and every group detailed below has been formed to meet a specific need. There are no chains of office, minimal meeting administration and paperwork, and maximum discussion and engagement from retailers.
Our boards, expert groups and committees are there to serve members, and any member can put themselves forward to join one of these groups. Here’s how it works and how you can get involved:
Expert Groups: Ed and his team run regular online calls and sometimes face-to-face meetings to hear from members with expertise and interest in their field. The groups currently cover Employment, Crime Prevention, Responsible Retailing, Property and Fuel. It’s these groups who will check over submissions to government consultations, may well be part of meetings with government officials and other stakeholders, and will be at the forefront of advising ACS on its policy work and campaigns. If you have expertise or an interest in one of these areas, please get in touch with Ed or any member of the team, we need your input and hope we can offer some insight and contacts with like-minded retailers as well.
Emerging Leaders Network: ACS can play a really important part early in people’s careers by sharing the insights, contacts and information that can supercharge career development. Our Emerging Leaders Network brings together people who want to form a network with other people early in their careers, take part in ACS events, and home the skills they need to forge a successful career. Retailers and suppliers can take part and there’s no formal age limit.
Women's Independent Retailer Network: We want to include a diverse range of people in ACS events and other activities, but for too long these were male-dominated, perceived as being for men, and as a consequence were less welcoming for women. We committed to change this with the formation of the WIRN, run by Sarah and including a growing number of women working in our industry. This group provides a valuable support network, makes sure that all our activity is equally relevant and directed towards everyone, and enriches our events with content and attendance. Any woman working in the sector can take part.
Member Committees: You can also join one of our committees to help bring together our work across different areas. We have a policy committee that takes the work of the expert groups and makes sure we’re running coherent campaigns and getting our overall messages right. The events committee helps us put together our annual conference and other events. We would welcome your views and input to help us on these committees.
ACS Board: ACS is a not-for-profit limited company and like every other organisation of our type, we have legal responsibilities and commitments to the people who work for ACS, we have to bring together all the input from members to form our strategy, and we have to allocate resources to give ourselves the best chance of achieving those goals. That’s the job of the ACS board. To make sure that we balance the broad ACS membership, we have the same number of multiple retailers, symbol groups and independent retailers elected to the board, and we augment that by asking some people with specific skills and experience to join us.
Independents board: Seven in ten convenience stores are operated by independent retailers. While independent retailers can and do engage in all of ACS’ forums, it’s incredibly helpful to bring together a group of the top independent retailers so they can advise what ACS does and make sure independent retailer voices are right at the centre of ACS’ work. The board is made up of 24 retailers, and when one steps down or is unable to fulfil their role on this board, replacements are voted onto the board from among the ACS ambassadors.
