Governance Policy 

The Board recognises the importance of good corporate governance in creating a successful, sustainable and profitable business.

The Company is required to report under the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code (the ‘2018 Code’). The 2018 Code places emphasis on relationships between companies, shareholders and stakeholders. It also promotes the importance of establishing a corporate culture that is aligned with the Company’s purpose and business strategy, promotes integrity and values diversity and sets the expectations for reporting the Board’s involvement in these areas. Some of these aspects of the 2018 Code are reflected in the Strategic Report from the Annual Report 2023, which sets out the Group’s strategy, progress and performance for the year.

Meanwhile, the Board-focused corporate governance aspects of the 2018 Code are reflected in the Corporate Governance Statement from the Annual Report 2023, which sets out the Company’s compliance against published governance requirements where there is a narrative explanation as to how the Board has approached compliance with, or in a few limited areas divergence from, the Code’s best practice guidance.

Phil Urban heads our climate change policy initiatives, and while this area remains a responsibility of the entire Board, the Corporate Responsibility Committee manages and monitors the detail of the Group’s approach to this important topic.