Responsibility Report
People,
customers,
shareholders,
suppliers and
the communities
C&C is committed to conducting business as efficiently, sustainably and responsibly as possible. This is demonstrated in the way we engage with our people, customers, shareholders, suppliers and the communities in which we operate.
We recognise that we must play a strong and leading role in promoting the safe and responsible consumption of alcohol in society. Alcohol is enjoyed by the vast majority of consumers but we recognise that it can have a damaging impact on individuals and in society in cases where it is abused. We work hard to advocate the responsible consumption of alcohol among consumers; promote and support Minimum Unit Pricing of alcohol; and, offer low-alcohol options where possible.
We also recognise that we have an important role to play in supporting the communities in which we operate. We undertake a range of initiatives that benefit our local areas and details on these initiatives are set out below.
At C&C, sustainability is also a core facet of the development of our strategy and we welcome the increasing focus on it from a number of stakeholders. We believe that by improving our environmental and sustainability performance, we will unlock benefits across our business and beyond. In this report, we outline how we have embedded good practices and our performance areas that are central to the sustainable creation of value for our stakeholders and society generally. Our progress in FY2020 against our environmental and sustainability targets is set on page 12.
Alcohol and Social Responsibility
We are a sector leader in promoting enhanced public policy on responsible alcohol consumption. We work at a local, national and international level with a particular focus on the Minimum Unit Pricing (‘MUP’) of alcohol.
We were strong supporters of the Scottish Government’s introduction of MUP, which the Group believes is a responsible measure to help reduce the misuse of alcohol in society. We are encouraged by the early, positive impact of this legislation. We welcome the Public Health (Alcohol) Act in Ireland and the introduction of MUP in the Irish market in due course. We will continue to advocate and support the introduction of MUP in England and Northern Ireland.
We were the first drinks organisation to carry the UK Chief Medical Officer’s new responsible drinking guidelines on our packaging in the UK. We also offer low alcohol alternatives to our core brands. The need to ensure that communities are well educated and protected in terms of their relationship with our products is central to our business and consistent with the role we want to play within our local communities. We are funders of Drinkaware, which performs the valuable role of equipping consumers with information about responsible alcohol consumption. We also promote Drinkaware on our packaging and advertising materials.
We are members of the UK’s National Association of Cider Makers (‘NACM’), which works closely with apple growers and the agricultural communities in cider regions in the UK. This working relationship puts us at the heart of many UK Government discussions relating to the responsible use of alcohol. The NACM is also engaged with tax and regulatory departments and opinion-forming bodies having an interest in cider and alcohol generally. We are also a member of the European Cider and Fruit Wine Association (‘AICV’).
Consistent with our commitment towards responsible alcohol consumption, and to ensure that consumers are provided with full detail on our products, we voluntarily display calorie information on our packaging in the UK and Ireland. Our products are relatively low in sugar content with our leading cider brands containing less sugar than their key competitors. Tennent’s lager contains only trace levels of sugar.
Community and Local Responsibility
The Group is committed to the communities in which it operates and undertakes a range of initiatives that benefit our local communities; in particular supporting charitable activities. Our commitment to the community is set out below.
Ireland
As worldwide concerns grow for the future of our ecosystems, so do ours. With the utmost respect for the South Tipperary Beekeepers association, our site in Clonmel has donated a space in our 165 acre site for the association to build a large apiary, with over 15 hives.
We are currently in the process of applying for Origin Green membership. This programme enables us to set and achieve measurable sustainability targets that respect the environment and serve our local communities more effectively.
We supported a number of local schools in Ireland by providing student work experience opportunities at our Clonmel production site for students in technical and manufacturing subjects. We are a contributor to schools fundraising initiatives, donating iPads, and we have also contributed to school building projects, trips and the purchase of equipment.
C&C proudly sponsor local teams including the Tipperary Ladies Gaelic Football Team and under age soccer clubs: Kilcullen AFC and Crumlin AFC. Through our Five Lamps craft beer, we are also proud sponsors of Liffey Wanderers, a leading inner-city Dublin soccer team.
Plans are underway to open a Bulmers visitor centre at the original site of Dowd’s Lane in Clonmel, in conjunction with Tipperary County Council, as a major element of the county tourism plan.
We have an established partnership with Inner City Enterprise (ICE) in Dublin to which C&C donates €15,000 annually. ICE is a charity which advises and assists unemployed people in Dublin’s inner city to set up their own businesses. We have provided ICE with funding to support their initiatives and a number of our staff have joined their panel of business advisors to support the entrepreneurs that they work with.
During FY2020, we donated €20,000 to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC), Ireland’s national child protection charity to support their freephone number, text number, online chat system, school outreach programme and their campaigning for children’s rights, all run by professionally trained ISPCC staff and volunteers.
Scotland
The Group supports a diverse range of sporting, charitable and community projects across Scotland and has endeavoured to use its support of sports to generate opportunities for community engagement and fundraising. The Tennent’s Training Academy continues to provide a range of training courses to the local community.
We held several fundraising events during the year to support KidsOut, a charity which provides support to disadvantaged children across the UK. This included a Question of Sport dinner, at which over 300 people across the sector attended raising approximately £70,000. Tennent’s also signed up to the KidsOut Just Giving Tree, providing thousands of gifts to children less fortunate at Christmas.
Sales of Tennent’s Light at certain bars in the BT Murrayfield stadium and selected Edinburgh rugby hubs on the day of Scotland vs France match in March 2020 saw a donation of £1 per pint from draught sales of its new low calorie, low ABV product to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which provides support for those affected my motor neuron disease, and the 40tude cancer charity.
Tennent’s continues its longstanding partnership with The Benevolent Society of Scotland, which aids people of all ages who have worked in the licensed trade for at least three years full-time. Beneficiaries receive annual financial assistance as well as discretionary grants for emergency situations. Tennent’s contribution in FY2020 amounted to circa £20,000.
Tennent’s Training Academy
The award-winning Tennent’s Training Academy – situated on the Wellpark Brewery site - continues its work in supporting charities and schools with a programme of training and learning sessions across a range of hospitality sectors. Our diverse range of courses and classes have seen continued growth with over 45,000 students having passed through our doors.
For the past five years the Tennent’s Training Academy has been working closely with Glasgow City Council Education Services to provide alternative provision for pupils who are attending special needs schools.
The successful ‘Yes Chef’ programme, aimed at rehabilitating young adult males recently released from prison, has seen sponsorship of six students who train over three months before cooking and serving a seven-course meal for 200 delegates at the Glasgow Hilton hotel.
The Magners Employability Scheme sees the continued partnership between Magners, the Celtic FC Foundation and the Tennent’s Training Academy to teach new skills to adults who are registered as long-term unemployed. This intensive ten week project has helped 37 participants gain employment in the hospitality sector or move into further education since it began in 2015.
England
In 2019, Matthew Clark, partnered with Pubaid to support Charity Pub of the Year to highlight the incredible support provided by pub teams and customers for charities and good causes. Pubs in the UK raise approximately £100 million every year for charity and contribute a further £40 million to grassroots sport, making them a powerful force for good in their local communities and wider society.
North America and Europe
In FY2020, the Vermont business continued its commitment to local orchard partners as well as to its allied industry associations. The team voluntarily serves on the board of directors for the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association, the Vermont Cider Makers Association and the United States Association of Cider Makers. The Vermont business also participates in renewable energy by supplying the cider lees to the Vermont Cow Power program which turns waste into power, and partnered with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to help preserve and clean trails along sections of the Appalachian Trail in Vermont.
Heverlee is created in association with the Abbey of the Order of Premontre (known as Park Abbey) and is inspired by the beers first brewed by the monks in medieval times. The Abbey lies just outside Leuven, Belgium, and is the largest of its kind in the country, founded in 1129. Today, every pint of Heverlee sold supports the major multi-million Euro restoration of Park Abbey ensuring Heverlee is as bound to the Abbey’s future as we are indebted to its past.
COVID-19 Frontline Support
Since the emergence of COVID-19 across the globe, the pressure on those we are depending on the most – frontline healthcare workers – has been immense. All businesses must do their utmost in an effort to ease the burden of those workers insofar as possible. In each of our main markets, we have implemented a number of initiatives. From the provision of hand sanitizer and facemasks in Dublin, providing bottled water and soft drinks in Northern Ireland and Scotland, to supporting foodbanks across the UK, we are doing our best to give to those who need it most. In the face of such a threat to society, we will continue to search for ways that all of our business units can contribute to the cause.
Sustainability and Environmental Responsibility
During the year, the Group formed a working group tasked with progressing our sustainability agenda, comprising of employees from a range of departments including operations and legal. Our overall objective is to operate as efficiently and sustainably as possible by focussing efforts across six key pillars, which support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. These six pillars aim to reduce our consumption of our planet’s valuable resources and promote a positive impact with regards to our customers and product.
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Resources |
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Conservation of Energy and Water Energy and water are central to our operations and our conservation programme focuses on how we manage consumption. We have set ourselves stringent targets to drive change including manufacturing site operations to be carbon neutral by 2025, with 100% of the power being provided by renewable sources; and achieve a water usage ratio of 2.5 by 2022. 
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Carbon Emissions We recognise that it is of paramount importance to monitor the impact that our operations have on the environment and look to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We are aiming for our manufacturing sites to be carbon neutral by 2025. 
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Waste Reduction As a manufacturing business we recognise the Group’s responsibility to reduce the waste disposed of and to conserve the use of valuable resources. Zero waste was sent to landfill for the Group’s sites at Wellpark and Clonmel. 100% of by-products are recycled for use as animal feed or organic compost. |
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Customer and Product |
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Sustainable Partnerships The success of any sustainability strategy is dependent on our partners embracing these practices at every stage of the supply chain. We continue to work to enhance our partnerships with suppliers. 
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Sustainable Packaging We are aiming to eliminate single use plastics from our manufacturing by 2022. The Group is a member of the UK “Plastic Pact” which sets additional targets for plastic packaging. 
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Sustainable Transport We recognise that our carbon footprint extends to the transportation of our products. We are trialling electric vehicles in the UK & Ireland. The Group also continues its focus on eliminating unnecessary journeys and improving vehicle efficiency. |
The Group has achieved the ISO 14001 certification for its Clonmel, Matthew Clark (Whitchurch) and Bibendum sites, which is the international standard specifying the requirements for an effective environmental management system. Our Wellpark site has been recognised for its consistently excellent environmental compliance by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
Resources
Conservation of Energy & Water Usage
The Group has employed various practices to conserve the use of energy and water across operations.
For energy efficiency these include:
- Biogas energy: anaerobic Digestion technology installed at Wellpark Brewery.
- Solar energy: at our cidery in Vermont, USA, we make energy from our “solar orchard” which is a 26 array solar project providing sustainable electricity and revenue diversification for local farmers. Clonmel is exploring the use of a solar array to provide up to 1MW of energy.
- Geothermal energy: investigating a ground heat source at Wellpark Brewery with the potential to reduce carbon footprint by more than 20%.
- Pasteurisation control system: there is an on the can pasteuriser at Wellpark Brewery. This control system delivered a 10% reduction in steam usage year on year, as well as further improving the finished product quality.
- Energy efficiency technology: Matthew Clark has rolled out a £0.5 million investment on LED motion sensor lighting for all main depots.
Solutions for water consumption include:
- Can rinsing system using de-ionised air was commissioned in Clonmel in early 2020. Expected to reduce water consumption of by more than five million litres per annum.
- Pasteurisation control system (as before): has reduced water consumption in the canning operation by 14 million litres per annum.
- Groundwater protection programme: the Clonmel site commenced a three-year programme in 2018 to upgrade the site drainage and wastewater network. This will protect the water sources of the surrounding Tipperary countryside.
Heat Intensity (KWh/hl)
Power Intensity (Kwh/hl)
The graphs above display the total usage of electricity or gas measured against the amount of product produced from the sites in Wellpark and Clonmel. This gives a measure of the energy efficiency improvement in the last 5 years.
Carbon Emissions
We assess and manage climate change related risks and opportunities, including the impact on the availability and security of our sources of raw materials, such as aquifers, orchards and maltings. We have set the target for our manufacturing sites to be carbon neutral by 2025.
In 2020, we will install a carbon capture process in the Wellpark Brewery, similar to that already installed in Clonmel. This will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 4,000 tonnes per annum. We will maximise the use of recovered CO2 and use collected gas for product carbonation initially then covert other processes to CO2 instead of N2 where possible.
We actively monitor our carbon emissions and have participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Supply Chain Programme since 2012. The Group were pleased to be awarded a B rating in 2020. Our manufacturing sites year on year performance is shown in the table below:
Site | Estimates only FY2020 | FY2019 | Reduction |
|---|---|---|---|
Clonmel:* | 10,558 tonnes | 10,792 tonnes | 2.2% |
Wellpark: | 15,304 tonnes | 15,408 tonnes | 0.7% |
Vermont:* | 1,412 tonnes | 2,505 tonnes | 43.6% |
Others: | 1,536 tonnes | 1,536 tonnes | - |
Total | 28,810 tonnes | 30,241 tonnes | 4.7% |
*Adjusted to reflect the local electricity factors from SEAI (Ireland) and EPA (US).
Waste Reduction
The group has a long term objective of sending zero waste to landfill, in FY2020 our main manufacturing sites at Clonmel and Wellpark both achieved this target. We will continue to use a waste hierarchy approach through prevention, re-use and recycling.
- In our manufacturing operations, we routinely monitor our waste stream and target improvement annually. We measure raw material usage and yields on a weekly basis to ensure the efficient use of our resources.
- Within the Matthew Clark business they are maximising use of return journeys when the vehicles are empty and backhauling cardboard and plastic to main depots. The cardboard and plastic are baled and sent for recycling. This not only negates the need for a standalone recycling service, but it also protects the quality of the recycled materials and ensures maximum recycling rates are achieved.
Case study
Wellpark Brewery – Wastewater Improvements
At C&C, we regard sustainability as vital in driving our organisation forward. Sustainability is essential, not just for our business but also for the environment and our stakeholders. At Wellpark Brewery in Glasgow, we encountered a unique challenge, one that would test our sustainability credentials and deliver benefits beyond the original scope of the project.
Brewing at Wellpark can be traced back to 1556. The brewery is located in the east end of Glasgow, approximately one mile from the city centre. The site is a recognised landmark and Tennents lager has been brewed here since 1885.
Wellpark Brewery currently produces 240 million litres of beer per annum. One of the key raw materials is locally sourced water. Despite our highly efficient brewing process we generate approximately 500 million litres of wastewater each year to meet the Company’s required hygiene standards.
Due to the historic nature and location of the site, and the decades of development, Wellpark Brewery had always discharged its wastewater at up to six locations on the property. These locations, known as outfalls, were connected to a public sewer system which passes through the brewery. Discharges were untreated and were subject to routine sampling (by Tennent’s/Scottish Water) to confirm discharge strength and volume. The wastewater was then treated at the Scottish Water treatment facility at Dalmarnock, before it reached the River Clyde. The Wellpark Brewery management team determined that a more efficient and sustainable solution was necessary.
By reducing the brewery’s waste water emissions – namely by improving the quality of the wastewater on site – C&C would curtail the cost of the external treatment at the Dalmarnock facility, which had risen significantly in previous years.
The brewery sits within a tight physical footprint, confined by its city centre location. There was no significant room for expansion so any new development had to be accommodated within the existing site. This clearly provided a unique set of challenges for the business while it also presented a desirable objective for C&C to strengthen its sustainability credentials.
Before introducing a treatment facility the first step was to redesign the site’s existing wastewater network so that all flows returned to a single point. Wellpark Brewery is a 24/7 operation so this was no small undertaking. The works were carried out and the pipe network was re-engineered to a single new location adjacent to the main vehicle entrance. This was completed in 2018, ahead of the anaerobic digestion plant installation in 2019, without interruption to the brewery’s operations.
The most important stage of the process was to identify the most efficient and effective form of treatment for our wastewater. Various technologies were considered but the selected anaerobic treatment solution fulfilled several essential criteria:
- Compact design meant a smaller footprint;
- Lower running costs;
- Fully automated;
- Low energy requirement and highly efficient;
- Minimal sludge production;
- Significant Chemical Oxygen Demand (‘COD’) reduction capability;
- Ability to generate biogas as a fuel; and
- Less susceptible to environmental changes.
The treatment plant was also designed to ensure minimal impact on our neighbours, from noise, odours or waste.
The brewery’s wastewater contains organic components which are by their very nature biodegradable. These include sugars, soluble starch, ethanol and volatile fatty acids. The strength of these is measured in COD. Anaerobic technology involves the degradation of organic substances by micro organisms in the absence of oxygen, producing methane, carbon dioxide and water. This is a fully enclosed process.
The KPI for this project was an improvement in wastewater quality of 80%. In just a matter of months we have already seen improvements in excess of 90%. The performance over the three months is shown on the graph above.
Improvement in wastewater quality was the key motivating factor but it was not the only benefit. The advantages of anaerobic treatment extend further as the plant also generates biogas for a steam boiler. This feeds the brewery network and the boiler can generate up to one tonne of steam per hour. This covers 5% of the brewery’s total needs and means that C&C have reduced the requirement for fossil fuels for heating purposes.
In all, the new treatment plant has contributed to three of our six sustainability pillars: Conservation of Energy & water usage; Carbon Emissions in Manufacturing; and Waste Reduction. The system has an expected life of 20 years and we hope to see it continue to make a positive impact to our sustainability agenda.
Customer and Product
Sustainable Partnerships
The Group recognises that sustainability needs to be embraced by partners at every stage of the supply chain to promote the success of its sustainability strategy. Audits and reviews are carried out both during initial procurement and over the lifetime of the contract to assess suppliers track record in environmental management, health and safety, sustainability, diversity and overall corporate social responsibility.
Additionally, Bibendum has launched the ‘Bibendum Vivid Charter’ which promotes sustainable supply chain practices of the supply chain.
We aim to share best practice across the industry. In February 2020, in collaboration with the sustainable research company, Footprint Intelligence (‘Footprint’), we launched the first ever Drinks Industry Sustainability Index – Trends Report 2020. The report analysed the extent to which the drinks industry is adopting sustainable strategies and practices for packaging, waste, water, emissions, energy, social impact and raw materials. In September 2019, Matthew Clark was the headline sponsor of the Inaugural Food & Beverage Sustainability Awards. This event was aimed at sharing best practice and recognising outstanding industry achievement in support of sustainability.
We are committed to sourcing our raw materials from local sustainable sources. All apples crushed at the Clonmel site for the production of Bulmers and Magners cider are sourced from the island of Ireland. As well as having 165 acres of our own orchards in Co. Tipperary, there are over 50 partner growers on the island, whom we work closely with. The health and sustainability of the Irish apple growing sector are therefore central to the overall Group strategy. A key aspect of apple orcharding is the health of the population of bees and other pollinating insects. As part of our commitment to protect the biodiversity of bees, C&C are patrons of the South Tipperary Bee-Keepers Association who carry out much activity on the protection and promotion of the species in our Redmonstown Orchard.
Similarly in Scotland, Tennent’s lager is produced using 100% Scottish malt. We seek to support the growers of our key raw materials such as barley and wheat through entering into long-term supply arrangements. As part of this, we take account of broader outputs such as the impact on sustainability, environmental and social impacts. Malting barley is only purchased from farms with current and up-to-date, independently audited farm assurance schemes. Those schemes are the Scottish Quality Crops (‘SQC’) or the Red Tractor assurance schemes, which ensure the best environmental practices are adhered to.
In both Scotland and Northern Ireland we lend on a secured basis to independent free trade to help our customers grow their business. In some instances this is to help refurbish existing facilities, or in other cases, to assist in the acquisition of new premises. In return, customers commit to buying our product for their outlets. Our long-term support for trade customers is normally recognised through increased customer loyalty and the lifetime value is higher than for those customers that trade without a tie.
Sustainable Packaging
The Group has set an ambitious target to be out of single-use plastics by 2022, reducing the environmental impact and ecological footprint of our products. We are the only brewer who is a member of the UK plastics pact, which has additional targets on plastic packaging, waste and recyclates. The Group is committed to utilising sustainable packaging and in FY2020, more than 30% of the total volume produced by C&C was in 100% returnable and reusable packaging formats.
The change to be out of plastics requires significant capital investment, a combined €11.5 million in the Wellpark and Clonmel production sites. The new primary packaging material will be cardboard which is fully and easily recyclable. The investment is focused on the canning operations at both of these sites, with significant equipment and infrastructure changes already planned for FY2021. The investment also recognises the future market changes e.g. the Deposit Return Scheme introduction.
In FY2020, we entered a can light weight programme, further optimising the material used. We have completed more than 50% of the planned activity to date, and will complete the programme this year, removing 330 tonnes of aluminium from the supply chain.
As an interim measure whilst moving out of plastic, we have introduced a hi-cone plastic ring, which has a 50% recycled content.
In 2019, we completed a change to the design of the preforms used in PET production. This reduced the amount of plastic used by more than 10%. Simultaneously we reviewed the raw materials used, to further improve the recyclability of the bottles. The technology to produce PET bottles directly onto reusable trays is used for 37% of the PET volume produced.
Sustainable Transport
We recognise that our carbon footprint extends beyond manufacturing and the distribution and transport of our products also contributes to the Group’s carbon footprint. In 2020, we will report for the first full year the carbon emissions associated with our transport fleet through CDP. The Group has a unique “End to End” supply chain model in the UK and Ireland, with circa 360 vehicles in operation. This allows efficiencies to be identified across every stage of the product journey.
Our Fleet
- All new vehicles leased or purchased must meet the EURO 6 standard. We also have a rolling programme to replace existing fleet and 40 vehicles were replaced in the Matthew Clark fleet in 2019.
- A solar transport solution is being fitted to 30 new vehicles. The solar panels will harvest energy for ancillary functions reducing fuel consumption by up to 5%. We are also updating existing fleet by retrofitting panels.
- Electric vehicles are being trialled for deliveries in urban areas. An electric-powered van is currently being utilised for small-volume deliveries of Five lamps craft beer in Dublin. Whilst the weight of deliveries presents a challenge for electric vehicles for primary product movements, we are investigating alternative fuels and are looking to trial a liquid natural gas (HGV) for Cambuslang.
Driving efficiencies
- We are eliminating the need for secondary loads, by introducing direct delivery of orders from manufacturing sites to customer premises. In FY2020, we further increased the level of direct deliveries from the Clonmel site to UK customers to 68%.
- By working in collaboration with raw material and third-party drinks suppliers we are reducing empty running of trucks. Vehicles delivering to C&C operational sites are backloaded with outbound customer deliveries.
- Software including transport network and route planning and on-road training for driver habits have maximised fuel consumption.
Responsibility to our People
Developing, engaging and rewarding colleagues fairly is fundamental to the success of our business and also to the relationships that we have with the local communities in which we work.
Health and Wellbeing
The business continues to develop its risk management approach delivering improved health and safety management standards and training whilst enhancing the development of its management teams and employees. Year one of a three year corporate strategy providing direction and positive key results is in place. The progress and effects are reviewed routinely by the Board to ensure that key performance indicators and delivery of the improved standards remain on target.
The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees is of paramount significance to us; recognising the key importance of delivering better safety standards and improved wellbeing for our colleagues. The Group continues to drive accidents down and has this year been successful in delivering a 21% reduction in lost time events against 2019 results. This places our collective RIDDOR rate some 70% below the national average for the manufacturing and logistics sectors combined.
A series of coordinated events has taken place across all operations including the delivery of accredited training focusing on health and safety leadership to the senior leadership teams in each business unit.
Individually each business unit has also played its part in delivering a safer and healthier workplace for our employees.
At Clonmel, a Health and Safety Day took place in March 2020 with over 100 staff across the site taking part in workshops on food safety, environmental awareness, raising near misses and reporting incidents, working at height awareness and positive health culminating in a presentation on safety awareness.
Wellpark Brewery Health and Safety Day in January 2020 had a significant impact regarding the engagement of employees. There was a series of presentations delivered by internal and external speakers on topics including mental health and workplace transport. Of significant impact was a presentation delivered by a survivor of the Piper Alpha disaster who spoke openly about the impact the event had on him and his mental health.
Across the Matthew Clark depots the key focus has been on addressing the largest risk facing our staff of manual handling. A major project was conducted by colleagues from across the depots to create a new suite of work systems which have since been rolled out to the business. We have also developed a tool for assessing the risks associated with driving and delivering to our customer’s premises. This is showing some very encouraging results at an early stage, achieving a reduction in the overall risk rating by 43%, resulting in a 10% decline in the number of vehicle collisions. The tool is now in the process of being rolled out across the remaining logistics operations.
The Group encourages colleagues to manage their wellbeing and makes available advice on how to improve their health and wellbeing generally. Where possible we avail of facilities local to our sites to enhance opportunities for the improvement of health and fitness. There has continued to be a focus on mental health with initiatives run in various parts of the business. In Tennent’s, interactive workshops were facilitated where teams explored the impact mental health has on our daily working lives and how to identify and support a colleague or friend suffering with mental health challenges. Here too events took place around “Time to Talk Day” and “Health and Well Being Day”. In Bibendum, a series of mental health themed workshops were run while in Matthew Clark a new Wellbeing Policy was launched. Also in Matthew Clark a Christmas Awareness Campaign was run, which highlighted that Christmas is not always a great time for everyone and how to access supports that are available. Following on from this campaign a number of Mental Health First Aiders have now come forward and are currently undergoing training. Once trained they will enhance the network that is already in place in some other parts of the business to positively promote mental health, as well as supporting individuals where needed. An Employee Assistance Programme (‘EAP’) and Health checks also are available in many areas of the business.
In addition to safety of our employees, partners and suppliers, we continue to seek ways to improve the health impacts of our offering. Having been a leader in transparent packaging, we were delighted to confirm that Tennent’s Light has been recognised as the beer with the lowest calories on the market. Tennent’s Light, at only 66 calories a 33cl bottle, is further evidence of not just our efforts to evolve our offerings with changing demand but our commitment to providing healthier substitutes to existing beer offerings.
Employee Benefits
We continually review the benefits and services we provide to our colleagues to ensure the best level of service while managing the cost both to the business and to colleagues (tax implications). This year we’ve made changes in some business areas including Healthcare, Fleet and the Employee Assistance Program (‘EAP’). This year we re-launched the all employee share scheme (‘SIP’) in the UK and Ireland to enhance the opportunity to participate in the Group’s performance. We have now doubled the amount that colleagues can invest and for each share that is purchased the company matches it with a free share.
Development
We continually strive to support our colleagues in achieving their full potential and have created a variety of development opportunities this year.
This year there was an emphasis on apprenticeships with programmes running across a range of disciplines in various parts of the business. This included apprenticeship training in Sales, Team Leadership, Management, Health and Safety, Engineering, Packaging, Brewing, Logistics, Digital Marketing, People Services, Warehousing and Quality.
Our “Raising the Bar”, initiative continued in Tennent’s this year. The aim of this programme is to ensure colleagues have the skills, confidence and knowledge to deliver, developing them personally and professionally. This year the focus was on leadership training within our management and team leader populations. Similarly, in Matthew Clark, a suite of internal management training interventions was delivered across a range of Behavioural and Employee Relations topics.
We continue to support professional development across the business and this year have supported colleagues through further education and professional exams including SVQ’s in Management, MBAs, CIMA, CIPD and IBD qualifications.
Further emphasis was placed this year on delivering a comprehensive range of skills training across the Group including Lean Operational Excellence, Wine Appreciate and Finance for Non-Financial Managers.
In line with our commitment to ensuring our activities do not cause or contribute to contemporary forms of slavery in the workplace, and taking steps to stop it from happening in our supply chains and elsewhere, a programme entitled “Tackling Modern Slavery in Business” was delivered to appropriate people across the group including members of our Executive Committee, Procurement, Operations Management and HR teams.
We continue to invest many training hours in specialised and compliance training, where appropriate, such as food safety, HACCP, manual handling, forklift driving, chemical handling, first aid and fire safety.
Inclusion and Diversity
We are an equal opportunities employer. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals are able to make the best use of their skills, free from discrimination or harassment, and in which all decisions are based on merit. We have a formal equal opportunities policy that commits us to promoting equality of opportunity for all our staff and job applicants. For our operations in Northern Ireland this includes adherence to the MacBride Principles. Our policy states that we do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, marital status, ethnicity, creed, sex or sexual orientation. The policy also requires our staff to treat customers, suppliers and the wider community in accordance with these principles as well.
We are committed to increasing diversity in our business through access, opportunities and training. We have piloted an inclusion and diversity survey in some business areas as are keen to understand more about the demographic make-up of our colleagues and their views on how inclusion and diversity is supported. We intend to build upon and expand this approach in FY2021 and use the survey output to help identify where further improvements can be made.
An analysis of Directors, senior managers and other colleagues by gender as at 29 February 2020 is as follows:-
Male Number | Female Number | % Female of Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
Directors | 6 | 3 | 33% |
Senior Managers | 60 | 28 | 32% |
Other employees | 2,220 | 753 | 25% |
Engagement
Engagement with the workforce is considered of paramount importance by the Board and management team. During the course of FY2020, as detailed in the Corporate Governance Report, the Board established new structures to provide for effective engagement by the Board with the wider workforce. These include confidential colleague feedback surveys to all businesses with results presented annually to the Board, and the appointment of a Non-Executive Director to each business unit to understand employee’s views. The business areas assigned to each of the Non-Executive Directors is set out on page 61.
Beyond these structures, each of the business areas already share company and operational updates with colleagues in a range of different ways, including newsletters, business area intranet, email communications as well as formal briefings and informal gatherings with senior leaders which also provide the opportunity for colleagues to ask questions and share their thoughts and any feedback. Business engagement forums are also present in many areas of the business, and are particularly active across operations functions.
Employee contribution and service continuity are celebrated though various business area recognition schemes, including award ceremonies and prize givings and many areas have active social committees who arrange local employee social and community events, for example family days and BBQs.
We have broadened the scope of engagement surveying to take place in all areas of the business across the UK and Ireland. Colleague participation has increased from last year and over 76% of colleagues in these areas participated during FY2020. In most business areas, team managers have direct and instant access to feedback. Feedback provided has enabled departments and teams to identify opportunities for improvements and action plans have been put in place to address these. Where we have surveyed colleagues more than once during FY2020, overall engagement scores have improved.
Ethics
Human Rights
We do not condone and will not knowingly participate in any form of human exploitation, including slavery and people trafficking. We refuse to work with any suppliers or service providers who knowingly participate in such practices or who cannot demonstrate to us sufficient controls to ensure that such practices are not taking place in their supply chains. Our approach is reflected in our Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy, which we circulate to suppliers. We also carry out diligence audits and checks on our suppliers to ensure that they have in place and adhere to appropriate ethical policies including our Sustainable Ethical Procurement Policy, with KPIs for those areas where we believe the potential impact on the Group is material. A process is in place internally to address and remediate any instances of non-conformance with our Sustainable and Ethical Procurement Policy.
A copy of our Anti-Modern Slavery Statement is available on our website.
Anti-Bribery and Corruption
Our Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy and accompanying training materials are designed to be straightforward and direct so that it is clear to all employees what they may or may not do as part of normal business transactions. The Policy applies to everyone in the Group equally. It is written to ensure that legitimate and honest business transactions can be distinguished from improper and dishonest transactions. This Policy and the accompanying training will be tracked as part of the internal audit monitoring process to monitor understanding and adherence to the Policy. KPIs have been established for those areas where we believe the potential impact on the Group is material. During FY2020, no incidences of bribery or corruption were uncovered across the Group.
Tax
The Group takes its responsibilities as a corporate citizen seriously. This includes respecting and complying with local tax laws and paying the required and appropriate levels of tax in the different countries where we operate. We claim the allowances and deductions that we are properly entitled to, for instance, on the investment and employment that we bring to our communities. We benefit from having always been an Irish company, established in the Republic of Ireland’s corporate tax environment, with our major cider production unit located in Clonmel and the Group is headquartered in Dublin. The majority of the Group’s profits are earned in the Republic of Ireland and the UK, which both have competitive corporation tax rates compared with the European average. In the Republic of Ireland and the UK, we remit substantial amounts of duty on alcohol production.