Transcript

Michael Chaney

I guess the fact that Wesfarmers has been operating for over 100 years makes it a sustainable company. But in today's corporate world sustainability is about a lot more than longevity. It's a recognition that if a company like Wesfarmers is going to achieve its long term goal of providing great returns to its shareholders, it has to be vitally interested in the welfare of all of its stakeholders. Its team members, its customers, its suppliers, the general community where it operates, the environment, and it has to act in an honest and ethical way at all times. If we don't do those things, people won't want to come and work for us, customers won't buy our products, suppliers will withdraw their goods and other businesses won't invite us into joint ventures and other investment opportunities. We've recognised this ever since we went public in 1984. And we've been really focused on the interests of all our stakeholders. And it's not a coincidence that the company has done very well for its shareholders and being a good corporate citizen, at the same time, the two go hand-in-hand.

Rob Scott

This year, we continue to make good progress on our sustainability agenda. Nothing's more important than the health and safety of our people. And I'm really pleased with our continued improvements in this area. Even if there's more to do. We know that safety also extends to mental health, and this year, we've added new measures to support the wellbeing of our teams.

[OVERLAY GRAPHIC: 4.2% reduction on last year in Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR), excluding Health division]

COVID-19 has remained a persistent feature of our operating environment and we've continued to support our teams and the local communities, including with vaccination pop-ups at Bunnings sites around the country. And by investing in paid pandemic and vaccination leave, providing much needed certainty to our teams and their families when they needed it most.

[OVERLAY GRAPHIC: 140,000+ vaccinations at Bunnings]

During the year, we were pleased to regain proportional representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team members. As a large national employer, this achievement supports our vision of reconciliation. As does the new Cert IV in Indigenous leadership to accelerate the careers of some of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders. Across Wesfarmers, we know there is still more opportunities for us to continue to improve. And we're working hard to ensure Indigenous Australians feel welcome in our stores and workplaces as team members, visitors, customers and suppliers.

[OVERLAY GRAPHIC: 3.3% Indigenous employment, excluding Health division]

Group-wide we've long managed our businesses with carbon awareness. And this year we made good progress, strengthening the resilience of our businesses knowing that this delivers long term value. All of our divisions have emission reduction targets. And last year, we reduced Scope 1 and 2 emissions progressing towards our net zero targets. I'm particularly pleased that WesCEF announced its roadmap to achieve net zero by 2050. Drawing upon years of work in what is a hard-to-abate sector. Last year we also launched our second sustainability linked bond, which delivered a meaningful savings in net interest tied with two climate-related targets.

[OVERLAY GRAPHIC: 7.4% reduction in Scope 1 & Scope 2 market-based emissions, excluding Health division]

These are just some of the actions we're taking across the Group. Delivering positive outcomes for people and the planet. Importantly, they're aligned with the Wesfarmers corporate objective, because we know that these actions come with real benefits, including stronger financial performance and new opportunities, particularly over the long term. I'm especially grateful to the talented teams working in these areas across all parts of the Group. For their passion and ingenuity always finding new and meaningful ways to advance difficult shared challenges. And while there's certainly more to do, at Wesfarmers we're all proud of the positive difference we're making. Thank you.