Materiality

In line with our devolved business model, assessing and prioritising material environmental and social impacts, risks and opportunities starts with our businesses. This process builds on their business-level assessments of overall risk and opportunities, including ESG matters.

At Group level, we aggregate the material ESG topics and risks identified by our businesses and incorporate a Group perspective. This includes considering topics discussed through stakeholder engagement, including with investors.

Within our Group material topics we have a number of Group priorities, which evolve as programmes come to completion or issues emerge across our businesses and their value chains. For example, last year, waste water treatment at AB Mauri was a Group priority, however with the investment and programme of work now close to completion, it is no longer a Group priority. Our Group priorities are:

human and labour rights in the Primark supply chain;
decarbonisation at British Sugar;
employee accommodation and living standards at our sugar businesses in Africa;
understanding our wider Scope 3 GHG emissions across our businesses; and
human and labour rights in the Twinings supply chain.

We will continue to focus on these Group priorities and expect our individual businesses to set their own additional priorities as they see fit.

There will always be a need for the Group and our businesses to be responsive to new and emerging priorities that may occur at any time.

In addition, the topics presented in the table have been identified as material for the Group. Most are material for some or all businesses, however the degree to which each topic is material for each business varies.

As part of our ongoing review of material topics at Group level, we will update the consolidation of topics as necessary. Our current grouping of material topics is detailed below:

our people;
people in our supply chains and surrounding communities;
carbon and climate;
water;
waste and packaging;
food safety and nutrition; and
agriculture and farming practices.

Double materiality and CSRD

With divisions operating across the EU, we have continued to prepare for the upcoming disclosure requirements under CSRD, including supporting businesses with their double materiality assessments where relevant.

The EU Omnibus has had an impact in terms of the timing and potentially the content of the CSRD reporting requirements. We have spent time working through the implications of the recent EU Omnibus proposal and this has been taken into account in our approach to meeting the requirements of the Directive.

Our material topics

Our business segments


	Retail		Grocery		Ingredients		Sugar		Agriculture

Our value chain


	Supply chains		Operations		Products


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
Health, safety and wellbeing			Our businesses’ priority is to safeguard the wellbeing, health and safety of employees, contractors and visitors to sites.
Diversity, equity and inclusion			Fostering inclusive cultures and providing tailored support makes the most of all employees’ unique backgrounds and characteristics.
Engagement and development			We support our people to develop skills and capabilities through training, and we create opportunities for professional and personal development.


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
Human and labour rights in our supply chains			The risk of human rights and labour issues occurring across our businesses’ supply chains.
Supporting communities			Contributing to the development of the communities in which our businesses work protects our licence to operate, supports job creation and builds public trust.


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
GHG emissions			Our businesses and supply chains operate in many areas subject to climate risks and opportunities as we transition to a lower carbon world. Our success depends on managing and mitigating these risks and making the most of the opportunities. We need to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and build resilience to secure a net zero future.
Energy and renewables			Efficient energy use and switching to renewables in our businesses’ operations and supply chains are vital to reducing emissions and costs and increasing energy security.


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
Water use			Our suppliers and our operations use water, and the communities and environment around them need it too. We recognise water as a very valuable, shared resource that is becoming increasingly scarce in some parts of the world.
Water treatment			Water treatment is essential for our businesses to minimise environmental impact, ensure legal compliance, and manage water risks at their production sites. It also enables some sites to reuse water and recover valuable co-products.


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
Waste and circularity			A shift towards a more circular economy, focusing on waste reduction and sustainable material use, presents significant opportunities and urgent challenges for our businesses.
Plastic and packaging			Packaging has an important role to play in ensuring the safety and quality of food products. Less plastic and using plastic which contains more recycled materials and is recyclable contributes to reducing waste and moving towards circularity.


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
Nutrition and health			Governments and consumers are increasingly focused on healthier lifestyles. We want to support consumers’ preferences and governments to achieve their wider health and wellbeing goals.
Food safety			As a leading food manufacturer and retailer, it is vital that we manage the safety and quality of our products throughout our operations and value chain.


Group-level material topics	Impacts on the business segments	Impacts in the value chain	Why it is material
Responsible agriculture			Our businesses depend upon agricultural systems for most of the raw materials we use in our products.
Biodiversity and land use			Our products are made from agricultural commodities, which are dependent on biodiversity and healthy natural ecosystems.
Animal health and welfare			A number of our businesses have direct involvement with animals. Several also purchase ingredients derived from animals and some sell products into the livestock industry.

Our impact on the Sustainable Development Goals

We understand the potential to contribute towards certain Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the ESG programmes of some of our businesses. Click here for more information.

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Materiality