Protecting our planet and supporting communities

In 2023, our overall energy intensity reduced by 6% (2022: 4.7%) through implementation of our global energy efficiency programme. We are prioritising the reduction of our absolute energy consumption as a key means for reducing emissions. We continue to identify and implement projects to improve our energy efficiency by leveraging sources such as mandatory Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) audits, voluntary internal energy audits and best practice sharing.

During 2023, we validated our near-term science-based targets to reduce our combined Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 70% by 2030, from our 2021 baseline. We also achieved a 35% reduction of our combined Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions against 2022 levels, achieved through improved energy efficiency and sourcing of renewable electricity. Our validated targets also include a commitment to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 52% per product sold from our 2021 baseline.

Our focus on sustainable product design – and use of the Green Design Guidelines – helps us consider our impact along the full lifecycle of a product and meet our Scope 3 emissions reduction target. In 2023, we launched our Scope 3/product sustainability working group to intensify our focus on initiatives which will drive a reduction in emissions related to our product, packaging, logistics and supplier activities.

We aim to make a socio-economic contribution to society through direct economic value generated, operating costs, employee wages and benefits, payments to providers of capital, dividends, taxes, and community investment. We fully support and embrace greater transparency with tax authorities and the initiatives being introduced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

We recognise our responsibility to the communities in which we operate and strive to increase our positive contribution to society in everything we do. Employees use our volunteering policy, which guarantees a minimum of two days annually to engage with their local communities. At a group level, we partner with charities for large scale responses around disaster relief, improving health equity, and education. In 2023, we began a three-year colloboration with Partners In Health to explore innovative methods for recruiting, training and deploying over 1,000 Community Health Workers (CHWs) and enhance treatment of chronic conditions.

We believe education – particularly for people with chronic conditions and the healthcare professionals who care for them – is an important component of improving lives. We have a cross-functional committee that manages our support of educational grants and medical research. Our community investment programme has ‘education’ as one of its three areas of focus.