Integrated Annual Report FY23

Q: Let’s start at the beginning, Vanessa. Why does S&R matter to Pernod Ricard?

A: As a business we are all about people and unlocking the magic of human connection - it is therefore crucial for us to create an environment in which everyone can thrive. Our business is also inextricably linked to nature. We source over 120 ingredients to produce our brands and these are increasingly affected by climate change. Our commitment to S&R is about ensuring the long-term sustainability of our communities and the natural ecosystems we rely on.

Q: And what progress have you made over the last 12 months?

A: Since we launched our S&R strategy in 2019, we’ve made great progress across our four pillars, and this year has shown even greater momentum.

We announced significant investments to help decarbonise our business, including heat recovery technology in our Scottish and Irish distilleries and are building new carbonneutral distilleries in Ireland and the US. We are also making good progress to reduce our downstream impact through innovation with suppliers - such as the experimental Absolut Paper bottle.

We built new partnerships and strengthened existing ones. In Mexico, Kahlúa reached an important milestone in its “Coffee for Good” programme, enabling Mexican coffee farmers to develop climate resistant varieties which help improve yields while also enhancing biodiversity and livelihoods. In Ireland, Jameson launched a partnership with Heineken to help malting barley farmers adopt new regenerative agricultural practices - minimising soil disturbance, increasing crop diversity and soil cover.

In a drive to promote a responsible drinking culture, we continued to roll out our digital labels on bottles to better inform consumers about our products and responsible drinking, and our leading brands such as Jameson, Martell and Ballantine’s have been leveraging their influence to drive responsible drinking behaviours.

We have also laid the foundations of a more holistic approach to employees’ wellbeing, ensuring our Diversity & Inclusion and Health & Safety agendas are joined up. We’ve introduced a wellbeing pulse survey to better understand what our employees are feeling and we made wellbeing the focus of this year’s Responsib’All Day.

Q: You’ve mentioned farmers and suppliers, what other stakeholders have been key on this S&R journey?

A: We built our S&R strategy with different groups of stakeholders from across our value chain and we continue to engage with them to strengthen what we do collectively. Consumers are increasingly aware - and concerned - about many issues including climate change, pollution, health... There is a real opportunity to leverage the power of our iconic brands to share strong messages and drive action. We have a role to play in ensuring we communicate clearly to make sure that people understand what we’re doing and how they can play a part. We are also seeing the increasing influence of bartenders. That’s why in 2020 we set out to train bartenders on sustainable and responsible bartending practices with our programme The Bar World of Tomorrow. This year, we surpassed our 2030 objective empowering over 12,000 bartenders with new knowledge and skills to help drive change. And of course, our investors - their support is critical and we keep them informed of everything we do to mitigate risks and ensure a resilient business.

Q: What do you see as a key priority for the years to come?

A: Our employees are passionate about driving change and it is important that they have the right skills and opportunities to make a difference. It’s about encouraging employees to pause and reflect on whether they could do things differently. Is there a better, more sustainable way? It all comes down to challenging ourselves and our ways of thinking. Small acts, big impact.