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Environmental Social Governance ESG Report 2022ZERTUS Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Our ESG strategy is the centrepiece of our corporate philosophy. We firmly believe that social responsibility, environmental awareness and good corporate governance are not only the foundations for long-term success, but also reflect our commitment to our stakeholders. We are proud that our ESG commitments are not just words on paper, but become visible in tangible results. From reduced energy consumption to promoting diversity and inclusion in our workforce, our ESG initiatives are evidence of our commitment to a better future.Table of Content 1. Company Message from the Board History Family Values Business Headquarter 2. ESG Strategy People Responsible Sourcing Communities Planet ESG Targets 3. Governance 04 04 06 08 10 12 14 18 52 20 28 34 40 50 www.zertus.de4 ESG Report 2022 Welcome to our first ESG report for the Zertus Group. As a board, led by Group CEO Alessandra Cama, we wanted to first start with putting the past year into perspective. We are certain we are not alone in saying that the past twelve months have been tough, possibly one of the biggest challenges we have faced in business in recent years. Transitioning to ‘the new normal’, the war in Ukraine, a significant rise in fuel prices, commodity price increases and the ever-growing impact of climate change have presented several challenges that have tested our resilience and tenacity as a business. We are impressed and encouraged by our response! Despite the challenges faced from a commercial perspective, we have made time to progress our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topics; ensuring we are creating a diverse and representative workforce, developing supply chain transparency, and taking our first key step on our Net Zero journey. The fantastic thing about sustainability is that it extends far further than our business and into peoples’ personal passions. That has really become clear over the past year. To align with and commit to our Zertus value of ‘Responsibility’ and ‘Leaving the Planet in a better place than we found it’, an international team guided by Paul Tripp has worked together on the ESG Group initiative. It really is more important now than ever for us as people and as businesses to do our part in protecting the planet and the people on it. We are proud to say that this has got off to a flying start, including: •We have begun the roll out of ESG across the Zertus Group, meaning that now every corner of our business has a ESG representation on the working Group, ensuring strong governance and ownership at local business levels. •We introduced the engagement survey all across our subsidiaries, allowing us to get a first true insight into how our employees feel about working at Zertus. •We have conducted the first carbon accounting for the complete Group, establishing our baseline for achieving Net Zero. Alessandra Cama Zertus Group CEO The fantastic thing about sustainability is that it extends far further than our business and into peoples’ personal passions. That has really become clear over the past year. To align with and commit to our Zertus value of ‘Responsibility’ and ‘Leaving the Planet in a better place than we found it’. Paul Tripp Message from the BoardPaul Tripp Zertus UK & Ireland CEO There are a number of priorities on our agenda for 2023 and beyond. Most notably developing a plan with the necessary steps to achieve Net Zero by 2040. To be transparent, there is a lot of work still to do. This is our first year measuring our carbon impact as a whole Group. We have already seen a positive impact in the UK&I from doing this, notably an enhanced focus and investment on efficiency and energy reduction projects on site. But we must continue to widen our focus into the complex and opaque supply chains that make up many of our products, driving transparency and looking at human rights. We will also be focusing on promoting diversity, equality and inclusion across our sites, to ensure everyone feels supported and respected at work. Finally, Stephan Tendam and his team will ensure compliance. New legislation in the form of the new EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), Taxonomy and the Supply Chain Due Diligence act will help guide our priorities for the coming years as we prepare for these. We are looking forward to watching this area of the business develop and to see projects flourish that we should all be proud of. Stephan Tendam Zertus Group CFO6 ESG Report 2022 Zertus History Tradition & Development Company Zertus has been a food entrepreneur since 1826, making it one of the oldest family-owned companies in Germany.7 ESG Report 2022 The business started as a humble sugar processing site, founded by Friedrich Theodor Meyer in the town of Tangermünde. Once taken over by his sons, the business went from strength to strength, exporting sugar over-seas. Going from strength to strength, the company began producing high-quality chocolates under the brand Feodora, until the factory suffered a fire in 1903, where it destroyed most of the factory. This was rebuilt as a modern sugar cube factory which was a sizable operation until it was largely expropriated by the soviet forces in 1945. Since then, the business was rebuilt. The business was named “Zuckerraffinerie Tangermünde Fr. Meyers Sohn GmbH”, but despite its name harking back to the sugar factory roots, they began producing chocolate at their new location in Hamburg. Zertus eventually transformed from a producer to a holding company, that has acquired a number of businesses over the past 40 years to create a portfolio of high-quality food companies, and Importhaus Wilms, one of the leading importers and distributors of fine foods. Today, four members of the supervisory board are part of the family that founded Zertus as they remain to have an active involvement in the business. The other three members of the board are independent and provide a level of industry expertise. 1984 2002 2003 2005 2007 2012 2015 2017 2021 20228 ESG Report 2022 Zertus Family Mindset & Vision Interview with two supervisory board members from the Zertus founding family. Company9 ESG Report 2022 Anna Sophie Meyer Member of the Supervisory Board Dr. Marc-Angelo Bisotti Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board In August 2022, we interviewed two members of the family and supervisory board on leadership and company values: Dr. Marc-Angelo Bisotti has been Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board since 2019, and is also Managing Partner RPP Group, and Anna Sophie Meyer, member of the Supervisory Board since 2022, who also takes the role of Planning & Execution Lead Strategic Products, Johnson & Johnson Europe. We wanted to understand from the people who have been building Zertus for so many years, what part of their family values had influenced the development of the business and what are the values that underpin Zertus. The business has overcome so many challenges, economic crisis, wars, relocations and so much more and is now in the 7th generation of family ownership. There are over 160 shareholders at Zertus, all with the same interest, to ensure the sustainability of Zertus. “It’s less about checking the balance sheet and the nitty gritty details, it’s about the trust they put in the company,” Marc-Angelo told us. Since the business is no longer directly run by the family, and rather overseen from board level, trust in the new leaders is paramount. These new leaders must have alignment with the traditio- nal family values to ensure this trust is upheld. “I truly believe it is very important to have very empathetic leaders,” Anna Sophie told us. Having leaders that are comfortable with change and are able to engage and empower teams is crucial. Marc-Angelo and Anna Sophie both agreed on putting people and culture first, “culture eats strategy for breakfast” replied Anna Sophie quoting Peter Drucker. Cultivating an environment that promotes innovation and entrepreneurial mindset, being able to learn fast and adapt to new challenges were mentioned by both as key values needed in business. To do this there must be investment in learning and development, an ability to drive sustainable growth organically and via acquisitions and to be responsible for the communities and environments in which we work. Looking to the future, we wanted to understand what their vision for Zertus’ future development is. Marc-Angelo drew on the questions, “What is the shareholder role? And what is the expectation that shareholders should meet?” Creating a space where strategies can be challenged, discussed and assessed is critical for the future success of the business, which is the environment we have created today with the current leadership. Anna Sophie talked of ‘clear vision, clear mission and clear strategy’ whilst having ‘the right people, in the right mindset’. Together, the family, shareholders and leadership of Zertus are aligned on creating a business that we will be proud of.Next >