Good governance is essential to mange CR related risks 

Our board of directors continues to take responsibility for ensuring that our CR strategy is embedded throughout the business. Our Group Finance Director, Gordon Hurst, has overall responsibility for CR activity. Each member of the Board also has specific responsibility for one of our six CR priorities. Their shared leadership of our CR approach demonstrates to stakeholders our commitment to integrating CR activity throughout the business.

Our CR working group, which includes senior representatives from across the business, meets four times a year. They are responsible for developing our CR strategy to ensure it is aligned with our business strategy and that our Statement of Business Principles remains fit for purpose. We are currently looking at setting up a more formal CR committee including external representatives, which will discuss and challenge our work, providing further input into and development of our CR activities.

Specific CR policies and procedures including policies on health and safety, procurement, information security, environment and charitable activity are developed by the Group functional heads. They are accountable for activity within their specific areas across all our individual businesses, reporting progress to the board against our key CR targets. This allows us to identify and manage any CR-related risks.