Foreword
Welcome to the latest business report from Irwin Mitchell.
It’s a year since we launched our new advisory service to support companies on their ESG journey. Through our many conversations with businesses about this, we have gained a real understanding of how different organisations engage with it in different ways, and how businesses are keen to take advantage of the opportunities that exist.
This study aims to uncover ESG trends and points to the future direction of travel by looking at the content of the last two years of Annual Reports. In this study, we will be looking specifically at the consumer sector (retail, hospitality & leisure, and consumer goods businesses) in the FTSE 350*.
Annual Reports are not merely documents of financial performance; they serve as a window into the soul of an organisation. They are carefully curated documents and the messages contained within them are a deliberate and vital tool for companies to communicate their commitment to their numerous stakeholders on a range of issues.
We believe that reviewing the mentions of ESG and other related phrases is a way to get a sense for the organisation’s commitment and engagement with issues relating to the environment, their employees, and the communities they serve.
We hope this study acts as a valuable resource for industry leaders, investors, and all stakeholders interested in understanding the evolving landscape of ESG, both within and outside the FTSE 350.
We encourage you to explore the findings and insights presented here, and we welcome any comments or feedback you may have.
Thank you for your interest in this report, and we hope you find it useful in terms of reflecting about your organisation’s own ESG journey.
Charlotte Rees-John
Partner and Head of Irwin Mitchell’s Retail, Hospitality & Leisure sector
*The FTSE 350 is the 350 largest companies by market capitalisation on the London Stock Exchange. It consists of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250.