ESG
Doing what’s best for our people, our communities, our industries and the wider environment ensures we are always creating a more accessible, equitable and sustainable future.
We recognise that being a sustainable
business in the long term is about ensuring
we have the foundations needed for success
as well as having the ability to evolve
and meet future challenges.
Understanding what matters most
An issue is material to us if it
significantly impacts our business
and our strategic priorities but also
if it is viewed as being important to
our stakeholders.
In order to remain successful in the long term, an
understanding of what ESG topics matter most to our key
stakeholders is essential. Our materiality assessment helps
to inform our ESG strategy, together with the aim of
understanding which topics matter most to our internal
and external stakeholders, to capture our impacts
in a non-financial manner and help us prioritise matters
on which to focus and inform our ESG strategic thinking.
Our ESG strategy focuses on the material issues that have
the greatest impact on our business whilst considering the
expectations of our stakeholders. In 2021 we introduced our
cultural KPIs to help us measure progress against our strategy.
In 2022, we undertook our first materiality assessment to
consider what ESG issues matter most to our stakeholders
and the impact of these on our business. The findings continue
to inform our ESG strategy and focus areas.
The size of the bubbles on our materiality assessment
highlight where our activities are currently focused and
where they will be, moving forward.
Our material issues
Our environment
Our people & communities
Our governance & compliance
Want to know how we define each material issue?
Being a responsible business
We are committed to being a responsible
business and our purpose is driven by our
resolve to do the right thing, measure and
report transparently, and always act
ethically and with integrity.
Through the following focus areas, we believe we can play a positive role in making a difference to our people, our communities, our industries and the wider environment to create a more accessible, equitable and sustainable future.
Our environment
Minimise our impact on the environment, thereby protecting
our business from the impact of climate change.
Drive change across our own operations and supply chain,
but also use our capabilities and voice to influence the automotive
industry to support urgent action to tackle climate change.
ALIGNMENT WITH THE UN SDGS
Our people & communities
Build diverse teams and an inclusive culture.
Maintain high levels of employee engagement, supporting
positive health and wellbeing.
Partner with charities, community groups and industry bodies
to make a difference to the communities where
we work and live.
ALIGNMENT WITH THE UN SDGS
Our governance & compliance
Uphold the values of good corporate governance and risk management
and consider the needs of all our stakeholders in our strategic
decision-making.
Comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and behave ethically
and with integrity at all times.
Maintain a trusted marketplace for our customers and consumers to find,
buy and sell vehicles.
ALIGNMENT WITH THE UN SDGS
There are 17 UN SDGs that form a shared global agenda to
achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. Whilst
all of the goals are important, we believe our ambitions and
priorities best align with the above SDGs, which are most
relevant to our strategy and where we believe we can have
the greatest impact.
Aligning with
leading industry
frameworks
We continue to evolve our ESG reporting to meet the requirements of leading
industry frameworks and our stakeholder expectations. Our reporting
focuses on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (‘TCFD’)
and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (‘SASB’) standards
referencing SASB’s reporting framework for the Internet and Media Services
and Media & Entertainment industries. We also fully disclose our environmental
impact through CDP and are proud to be a FTSE4Good constituent.
As above, we have also identified the UN SDGs which we believe Auto Trader
can make a meaningful contribution to.
How we govern ESG
We recognise that our activities, and the way in which we carry them out, impact well beyond our financial performance. There is increasing evidence that sustainable businesses drive greater long-term profit and value for stakeholders. With this in mind, in 2021 we established our Corporate Responsibility Committee to sit alongside our Audit, Remuneration and Nomination Committees.
Whilst ESG related topics are covered in all Committees, this is a formal Committee of the Board with the overarching goal of monitoring our corporate responsibility initiatives and sustainability targets. The Committee, chaired by Jeni Mundy, plays a crucial role in overseeing the progress towards fulfilling our ESG strategy and ensuring that our targets and goals are ambitious and realistic.
Responsibility for putting our ESG strategy into action spans across the business through specific functions as well as through our individual guilds and networks, which are empowered to drive change within the organisation.
Find out more on our corporate governance page:
Policies and reports
Download all of our current and historical documents,
including pay gap reporting, modern slavery statements
and group tax strategies.
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