SOCIAL, ETHICS AND TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE REPORT

2023

SOCIAL, ETHICS AND

TRANSFORMATION

COMMITTEE REPORT

Lewis Group's social, ethics and transformation committee (the committee) is a committee of the board operating in compliance with the Companies Act, No 71 of 2008 (Companies Act). The committee is governed by a formal charter and assists the board in monitoring the Group's activities in relation to the following:

  • Corporate citizenship;
  • Ethics;
  • Transformation and empowerment;
  • Environmental sustainability; and
  • Stakeholder engagement, including relationships with employees, customers, the communities in which the Group trades, suppliers and shareholders.

The chairperson of the committee presents the following report to shareholders for the 2023 financial year,

in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act. This report should be read in conjunction with the Sustainability report on pages 22 to 35 of the Integrated report, as well as the full Corporate Governance Report available on www.lewisgroup.co.za

COMMITTEE COMPOSITION

The members of the committee are nominated and appointed by the board. In terms of the Companies Act and the recommendations of King lV, the committee consists of a majority of independent non-executive directors, including the chairperson of the committee. The committee comprised the following members for the reporting period:

Name

Status

Prof. Fatima Abrahams (chairperson)

Independent non-executive director

Daphne Motsepe

Independent non-executive director

Hilton Saven

Independent non-executive director

Johan Enslin

Executive director

Senior management in the human resources, socio-economic development, and finance departments attend meetings by invitation. The company secretary is also the secretary to the committee.

Biographical details of the committee members appear on pages 44 and 45 of the Integrated Report and the fees paid to the members of the committee are disclosed on page 111 of the Integrated Report.

The effectiveness of the committee is assessed as part of the annual board and committee evaluation process.

COMMITTEE AREAS OF

RESPONSIBILITY

Social and ethics

  • Social and economic development, including the principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regarding corruption, the Employment Equity Act, No 55 of 1998 and the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act, No 53 of 2003
  • Good corporate citizenship, including the promotion of equality, prevention of unfair discrimination, elimination of corruption, contribution to the development of communities, and recording of sponsorships, donations and charitable giving
  • The environment, climate change, health and public safety, including the impact of the Group's activities and of its products and services, particularly in relation to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
  • Consumer relationships, including the Group's advertising, public relations and compliance with consumer protection laws
  • Labour and employment, including the relevant recommendations of the International Labour Organisation Protocol, the Group's employment relationships and its contribution towards the educational development of its employees

Transformation

  • Transformation strategy and programme
  • Approval of targets in terms of the Codes of Good Practice of the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition
  • B-BBEEverification and monitoring of the Group's performance against the set targets
  • Legislative compliance

ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE

Key focus areas in 2023

  • Continued monitoring of Code of Ethics, including values and ethics awareness
  • Monitoring customer relationships and compliance with consumer laws
  • Increasing focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, including supporting the board and management in the implementation of the recommendations of the TCFD
  • Monitoring employee training and leadership programmes
  • Continue to support initiatives aimed at improving retention rates of branch managers and regional controllers
  • Promoting enterprise and supplier development, including assisting suppliers to ensure the sustainability of their businesses and securing current and
    new suppliers
  • Increasing focus on transformation and diversity
  • Continuing support for socio-economic development programmes

These key focus areas will remain priorities for the committee in the 2024 financial year.

COMMITTEE FUNCTIONING

The committee met twice during the financial year. The members of the committee are satisfied that the committee has functioned in accordance with its terms of reference and believe that the Group is substantively addressing the issues required to be monitored by the committee in terms of the Companies Act.

Prof. Fatima Abrahams

Chairperson

Social, ethics and transformation committee

2

LEWIS GROUP LIMITED SOCIAL, ETHICS AND TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE REPORT 2023

LEWIS GROUP LIMITED SOCIAL, ETHICS AND TRANSFORMATION COMMITTEE REPORT 2023

3

www.lewisgroup.co.za

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Lewis Group Limited published this content on 30 June 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 June 2023 09:02:03 UTC.