Identifying and managing our material topics

Advancing our materiality approach

In 2023/2024, given the evolving regulatory landscape and increasing expectations, we conducted a more in-depth, impact-based materiality assessment to ensure that our sustainability strategy remains relevant, forward-looking and aligned with best practices.

Double materiality: a holistic perspective

Unlike traditional materiality assessments, a double materiality approach examines both:

• Our impact on the environment and society – assessing how our operations influence external sustainability factors.
• The impact of environmental and social issues on our financial and operational performance – ensuring we proactively manage ESG risks and opportunities that could affect our long-term business resilience.

This approach allows us to provide a more balanced and transparent account of our sustainability performance, demonstrating both our accountability and our strategic foresight.

Stakeholder engagement 

Before we engaged stakeholders, we identified a range of potential material topics for inclusion in our stakeholder consultation, which included those from our previous materiality assessment and those relating to industry standards. We provided representatives from all our stakeholder groups – customers, employees, communities, partners and suppliers, governments and regulators, shareholders, media and NGOs with whom we work – with the opportunity to share their views. The outcome of the double materiality assessment has helped us to identify our highest priority material topics which align with our business strategy and inform the implementation of our sustainability programmes based on impact in the near term.

• See our Annual Report and Accounts 2025 for more on engagement with stakeholders