As part of our purpose, we regularly review our business activities and relationships across the value chain to understand our material impacts. This materiality assessment guides our robust and ambitious ESG strategy, which sets out our targets and actions focused on our climate and environment, our people and communities and our performance and value creation.
Our Sustainability Report 2023
Read our Sustainability Report 2023 where we share our ESG performance and progress and outline our strategy and targets.
Our 2022 material impact assessment
In 2022, we updated our impact materiality assessment in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards (2021). In order to determine our material topics, we followed a process based on the standard ‘GRI 3: Material Topics 2021’. This assessment identified our key stakeholders as well as actual and potential impacts on the environment, people and the economy.
Throughout each step of the process, we engaged our identified stakeholder groups, including employees, customers, local communities, shareholders, business partners and NGOs. Each group was reached through surveys, interviews, workshops and research.
We engaged external advisors, PwC, to assist us in carrying out our 2022 material impacts assessment by providing advice on how to best align with the GRI standard requirements and best practices.
The table below shows the material topics, the impacts included in the definition of each topic, where in the value chain they occur and their alignment with the relevant United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SDG key
| Topic | Summary Impact | Value chain mapping | SDG reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Food safety & quality | Impact of our food safety and quality systems, ensuring quality nutritious product is produced | Operations and Downstream |
23 12 |
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| 2. Employee health, safety & wellbeing | Impact of our H&S and wellbeing programmes protecting our people in line with industry best practice. | Operations |
3 8 12 |
Read more |
| 3. Climate Change | Impact of global warming as a result of carbon emissions, and the corresponding emission reduction initiative within our operations and value chain. | Upstream and Operations |
3 12 13 |
Read more |
| 4. Water | Impact of water use within our value chain and manufacturing sites and related efficiency initiatives. | Upstream and Operations |
12 13 |
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| 5. Responsible sourcing | Impact of Glanbia procurement controls and oversight within our value chain. | Upstream |
8 12 |
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| 6. Diversity, equity & inclusion | Impact of DE&I initiatives for Glanbia’s employees. | Operations |
5 8 |
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| 7. Waste | Impact of waste generation within our manufacturing sites and related resource efficiency initiatives. | Operations |
3 8 12 13 |
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| 8. Animal welfare | Impact of animal care and protection measures in supporting animal welfare within our value chain. | Upstream |
12 |
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| 9. Sustainable Products & Packaging | Impact of innovative product and packaging design on resource consumption and environmental impact. | Upstream, Operations and Downstream |
812 13 |
Read more |
| 10. Biodiversity | Impact of direct manufacturing activities and indirect impact through our supply chain on biodiversity and ecosystems. | Upstream and Operations |
12 13 |
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| 11. Trusted business partner | Impact within the value chain as a trusted joint venture partner, food company and seller of quality nutrition products. | Upstream and Operations |
8 12 |
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| 12. Economic contributions | Impact of Glanbia’s operations on the economy and government through its economic activities and monetary contribution. | Operations and Downstream |
8 |
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| 13. Employee engagement & development | Impact of employee programmes to support job satisfaction, a healthy working culture and employee development. | Operations |
8 |
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| 14. Responsible Nutrition | Impact of the development of nutritional products in a responsible and ethical way. | Downstream |
312 |
Read more |
| 15. Business ethics | Impact of strong governance and oversight, fair completive practices, underpinned by Our Code of Conduct. | Operations |
8 |
Read more |
How we conducted our materiality assessment
Glanbia reviewed its activities and business relationships across the value chain and the sustainability context in which they occur, in order to inform Glanbia’s identification of key stakeholders as well as actual and potential impacts on the environment, people and the economy. This included creating a high-level overview of:
- Activities, including strategy, geographic locations, products, employees and other workers across the value chain.
- Business relationships and value chain, including joint ventures, suppliers, etc.
- Sustainability context, considering impacts that are related to Glanbia’s sector and the geographic locations, authoritative intergovernmental instruments and laws and regulations. This included consideration of the GRI G4 sector disclosures: food processing.
- Stakeholders, i.e., individuals and groups whose interests are affected or could be affected by Glanbia’s activities, including those with a direct relationship and those who are unable to articulate their views.
We reviewed and identified a wide range of stakeholders across our entire value chain and considered Glanbia’s entities, activities and products when identifying stakeholders. We developed an exhaustive list of internal and external stakeholders from across the value chain. These stakeholders were assessed in terms of Influence/impact, Dependence and Urgency - stakeholders who were assessed as having high Influence/Impact and Dependence score were identified as the stakeholder groups that Glanbia would directly engage with through surveys and interviews.
We then identified the actual and potential impacts on the economy, environment, and people resulting from Glanbia’s operations and business relationships across our value chain (including human rights considerations), generating an initial long list of topics which was used when engaging directly with relevant stakeholders.
As part of the stakeholder engagement process, surveys were distributed to the stakeholder groups that were prioritised. The surveys requested stakeholders to rank the initial long list of topics identified by Glanbia based on how they felt that Glanbia impacted their own stakeholder group. Subsequently, stakeholder interviews per group were carried out in order to obtain more insight into why certain topics would have been prioritised by each. The results of the stakeholder assessment were consolidated to create a listing of prioritised topics from a stakeholder perspective.
Glanbia then prioritised the list further through consultation with internal subject matter experts in order to obtain the opinions of those with expertise on the topics and their respective impacts on the various stakeholder groups.
Glanbia’s internal subject matter experts assessed the identified positive and negative based on significance (scale, scope, irremediable character), likelihood and human rights implications (for negative impacts only). Negative and positive impacts were assessed separately, as these cannot always be compared, and negative impacts cannot be offset by positive impacts.
The results of the expert assessment were consolidated into a ranking for positive impacts and a ranking for negative impacts
These rankings were then challenged based on the results of the stakeholder engagement process to ensure that the concerns and the interests of all stakeholders were adequately reflected. Discussions were also held with Senior Leadership - these activities resulted in minor adjustments to the rankings.
Once the listing of positive and negative impacts was finalised, two separate materiality thresholds for positive and negative impacts were determined and applied to the rankings. This resulted in a list of impacts that will be prioritised for strategic and reporting purposes.
Finally, Glanbia reviewed the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and aligned our material impacts to the relevant SDGs. While all 17 SDGs are critical, as part of our material impacts assessment, we have identified six SDGs on which we have the strongest impact through our business actions. These six SDGs and their impact are outlined in the table above.
Our stakeholders and how we engage them
One of Glanbia’s core values is ‘Showing Respect’. Valuing all our people, our producers and our communities is at our core and builds a better business. To support this core value Glanbia aims to create trusted relationships through effective engagement and to understand the needs of all our stakeholders.
Regular and ongoing engagement with our employees is key to attracting, developing and retaining a talented, dedicated and motivated workforce which ensures the successful delivery of our strategy and achievement of our purpose.
Key topics
- Group strategic agenda/priorities
- Safety and support at work
- Smart (flexible) working
- Diverse and inclusive workplaces
- Career development
- Reward framework
How we engage
Implemented multiyear ‘Grow@Glanbia’ programme, using technology to enable personalised employee development and engagement
- Ongoing engagement through one-to-one meetings, team meetings and town halls
- Engagement and regular pulse surveys
- Connection to the Board through a dedicated Workforce Engagement Director (Group Chairman)
- Employee Resource Groups
- Speak Up’ and Whistleblowing procedures
- Monitoring of actions to address topics raised by employees
- ESG Impact Materiality Assessment
Outcomes
Employee attraction, retention and engagement.
Our approach keeps us connected with our people. It helps attract, develop, retain and motivate our workforce, sustaining our competitive advantage and long-term success. It provides key insights into the also helps us strengthen our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion across our businesses.
- Inclusion Index: 69.5 points (up 2.5 points since 2021).
- Employee engagement score of 71 points (up 1 point since 2021).
- Employee survey scores increased across all business units on our key focus areas of wellbeing and communication.
- Gold Award for Graduate Employer of the Year by gradireland for 2022.
Strong engagement with our customers and consumers enables us to operate a customer-centric business model and act as our customers’ most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition.
Key topics
- Insights on consumer trends
- Stable supply of high-quality products and ingredients
- Food safety & quality
- Sustainable food with a lower environmental footprint, produced in a responsible way
How we engage
- Customer relationship development – key account managers, R&D insights and brand teams
- Company websites & social media
- Formal market research
- Exhibitions
- Product information on packaging
- Customer surveys
- GPN sports nutrition school
- ESG Impact materiality assessment
Outcomes
Engaging with our consumers means we enable them to achieve their lifestyle and nutrition goals. We bring strong market insights and secure supply quality to our customers
- The ON brand is one of the world’s most awarded, most reviewed and most nominated sport nutrition brands by consumers.
- ON is now a $1bn brand consistently recording strong Net Promotor Scores.
- Gold Standard whey tub certified "Widely Recycled" by How2Recycle
- GN – ingredients partner of choice to some of the world’s leading brands.
- Supporting customer ESG ambition through the provision of transparent, product specific data sharing.
By fostering strong relationships with the communities in which we operate, we can help support livelihoods and create a better society while protecting the environment.
Key topics
- Economic development of the communities in which we operate
- ESG impact on local communities
How we engage
- My Community initiative
- GPN sports nutrition school
- Employee volunteering programme
- Ongoing dialogue and funding of community and charitable organisations
- ESG Impact materiality assessment
Outcomes
Strong and positive community relationships.
Engaging with our local communities during 2022 ensured that we increased our understanding of their needs and priorities, addressed any concerns and identified areas for value creation.
By partnering and engaging with our suppliers, and establishing trusted business partnerships within our value chain, we enable them to meet our high standards in food safety & quality, business ethics, labour, human rights and the environment.
Key topics
- Responsible sourcing and use of raw materials
- Long-term, sustainable partnerships
- Positive environmental and social impact
- Ethical business conduct our value chain partners
How we engage
- Supplier surveys and audits
- Contractual meetings
- Tenders
- Information requests
- E-tendering platforms
- Assessment and due diligence
- Membership of industry associations
- Membership in industry expert panels
- ESG Impact materiality assessment
Outcomes
Partnering with our suppliers to make sustained positive impact in the value chain.
We engage with suppliers to develop a responsible and sustainable supply chain needed to deliver innovative and sustainable products. During 2022, we specifically engaged with our suppliers to drive improvements across our sustainability priority areas.
Through active engagement with governments and NGOs we can share valuable insights gained as a global nutrition company on the strategic issues facing our industry, while increasing our understanding of wider issues, enabling us to add value to relevant policy and regulatory debates and support industry initiatives.
Key topics
- Regulation across all business activities
- Reliable and complete corporate reporting
- Contribution to local economy and communities
- Climate change and environmental preservation
- Responsible sourcing
- Human rights, diversity and inclusion
How we engage
- Industry associations
- Briefings & direct meetings
- Multi-stakeholder forums
- Participating in relevant calls for information
- One-to-one meetings
- Participation in events
- ESG Impact materiality assessment
Outcomes
Engagement with Government and NGOs.
Our engagement with local and national regulators, governments and industry associations, ensures that we contribute to issues relevant to our activities, improve our sustainability performance and compliance and progress projects for the enhancement of society. Through our memberships and partnerships with NGOs we continue to be involved in developing industry best practices across a range of established sustainability topics and collaborating on integrated solutions across the value chain.
