Foster’s Group Executive is actively involved in the governance of sustainability at Foster’s, including regular inclusion of sustainability issues on meeting agendas. Foster’s sustainability priorities and action plan are subject to Group Executive consideration and approval.

The Foster’s Board also receives updates throughout the year. Foster’s annual Sustainability Report is approved by the Foster’s Group Executive and Board.

At the operational level, the sustainability program is managed by functional and subject matter experts, accountable for developing policy and the management and delivery of programs and priorities.

Sustainability Leadership

Foster’s has taken a proactive approach to the management of sustainability priorities within the business. The Foster’s Group Executive, headed by the Chief Executive Officer, takes direct accountability for sustainability issues and plays an active role in their management.

Overseen by the Board, an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Council continues to coordinate and oversee OHS activities across the Group. In addition,  a number of issue-based Leadership Teams are also in place, made up of global managers who meet regularly to oversee management and drive continuous improvement, including;

• Environment Leadership Team
• Global Procurement Leadership Team
• Quality Leadership Team
• Global Community Leadership Team

Engaging Stakeholders

Foster’s key stakeholders include our investors, employees, customers and consumers, non-government organisations, suppliers and commercial partners, the communities we operate in, regulators and governments. We maintain an open dialogue with these stakeholders.


External Benchmarking

Foster’s views external benchmarking as a way to ensure that our sustainability program continues to evolve and so we can be compared to our peers on areas of relevance. We have participated in the annual Corporate Responsibility Index, Carbon Disclosure Project, London Benchmarking Group (AUS/NZ) and FTSE4Good Index. See Leadership and Advocacy for more information. Our approach to sustainability reporting is informed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the views of our internal and external stakeholders.


Material Issues

Foster’s uses AccountAbility’s five-part materiality test to assist us to identify issues that are relevant to:

• direct short-term financial performance,
• the company’s ability to deliver on its strategy,
• best practice norms exhibited by peers,
• stakeholder behaviour and concerns,
• societal norms, particularly where linked to possible future regulation.

 

Information that is fed into this process is informed by previous reporting, current and emerging issues, peer review, internal subject matter experts, our Enterprise Risk Management System and internal and external stakeholders.

Approved by the Foster’s Group Executive and Board, our material issues are managed and consolidated within the eight sections as follows:

• Sustainability governance
• People and safety
• Responsible consumption
• Energy, water and climate change
• Operational waste
• Product stewardship
• Community contribution
• Leadership and advocacy

 

Links:

Foster’s Corporate Governance