Materiality
e& regularly assesses its material topics to identify and remain up to date with all the sustainability related matters, risks and opportunities that might have a direct or indirect impact on the Company, the communities in which we operate and sustainable development as a whole.
We utilise a four-pronged approach to identify key material issues:
- Understanding the context in which we operate from a sustainability perspective
- Identifying a list of potential material matters through desktop research, current sustainability activities, review of peer companies, industry trends and standards, rating agencies and employee interviews
- Assessing the impact of material issues by considering e&’s strategy, our broader mission, stakeholders’ interests or concerns, social expectations, supply chain and climate change risks and opportunities
- Reviewing and validating the results of our materiality assessment with e& management and the Sustainability team
Our material topics were examined and revised in late 2022 in light of peer and sector assessments. These were further revisited in light of the latest GRI Standards and an overview of industry material topics and expectations from investors. The revision of material topics was also a result of the maturing of our sustainability programme in 2023. Our list of material topics is detailed below:
- Managing Our Environmental Footprint
- Climate change
- Waste management and circularity
- Water usage
- Empowering People and Giving Back to Society
- Diversity, equity and inclusion
- Talent attraction, retention and development
- Local talent
- Digital access and inclusion
- Health and safety
- Community involvement
These topics are addressed under the three pillars of this report:
- Managing our environmental footprint
- Empowering people and giving back to society
- Operating responsibly
The topic of “Economic Performance” is addressed in our Annual Report. Our materiality study includes sustainability risks and opportunities, which are typically incorporated into our enterprise risk management initiatives. We address these in our Annual Report.