About the report

The past five years have brought significant challenges to the UK's retail, leisure, and hospitality sectors. However, amidst these difficulties, there have been positive developments for businesses that adapted and seized opportunities.

Currently, there are signs of progress. Inflation is levelling out and is at its lowest point in two years, providing some stability for businesses. Additionally, with an upcoming election, further changes may be on the horizon, potentially creating new opportunities for growth.

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is opening doors for retail, leisure, and hospitality. It is optimising supply chain operations, for example, allowing businesses to offer personalised customer experiences and transforming customer service via AI-powered chatbots.

Furthermore, the focus on ESG presents an opportunity for businesses to grow their reputation and increase market share.

We believe these opportunities are not being fully taken advantage of and this is one of the reasons why we launched our ESG advisory service last year.

This report aims to uncover levels of engagement within the consumer sector and ascertain what the direction of travel is amongst some of the largest organisations in the UK.

Distinctive approach

This report examines the evolution of ESG by examining the frequency of words and phrases related to ESG in the annual reports of the 50 retail, consumer goods, and hospitality & leisure businesses listed on the FTSE 350. The words and phrases are: ESG, diversity, inclusion, cyber security, net zero, decarbonisation, scope 3 emissions and climate change.

By quantifying the frequency of these specific words, the report aims to offer:

  • Valuable insights into how seriously some of the largest businesses operating in the retail, hospitality & leisure sectors in the UK are addressing issues relating to ESG.
  • An examination of whether any differences exist between the FTSE 100 and the rest of the FTSE 350 with regards to their appetite and understanding towards ESG.
  • Benchmarking to showcase exemplary companies that demonstrate a strong commitment to ESG, diversity and inclusion, cyber security, engagement with supply chains and achieving net zero.
  • Content that encourages businesses of all sizes to reflect on where they currently are on the ESG journey.
  • Inspiration to other businesses to follow suit and promote positive change across their industry.
  • Insight into red flags and lessons from any lack of activity.

About the research

The analysis for this report was conducted in-house between 28 and 31 January 2024. The research examined the two most recent annual reports from each of the 50 businesses included in the analysis. Several search words and phrases were used, including 'ESG,' 'cyber,' 'climate change,' 'decarbonisation,' ‘scope 3 emissions’ and 'net zero.' For Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (ED&I) analysis, words such as 'diversity,' 'inclusion,' 'equality,' 'ED&I,' 'D&I,' and 'DE&I' were searched. In cases where 'diversity' and 'inclusion' were mentioned together, it was counted as one mention in the overall count. Each search was manually double-checked for accuracy.

ESG

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