Effective and ethical leadership

At Blue Label, we believe that effective and ethical leadership is centred around integrity and is critical to our long-term success. It is about doing the right thing – being accountable, responsible, fair and transparent. Responsible business practices support our purpose and enable value creation.

OUR NEW MANTRA: #ASBLUWEBELONG

Our strategy this year was to drive an inclusive culture by creating unique experiences for all employees, putting our employees at the centre of what we do through leader-led engagement initiatives. The People Experience Team provides the framework and our leaders set the tone for the inclusive and employee-centric culture. We continue to leverage the Success Management Framework to create an inclusive and diverse work environment. We remain committed to merging employee expectations with the business needs to drive tangible results. The people planning phase remains our core focus, ensuring we have the right people, with the right skills in the right roles.

Focus areas for 2024

Focus areas		Feedback
Implementation of the inclusive leadership programme and cascading it to all management levels. Building talent pipeline for senior and top management levels. Ensuring that succession planning addresses the employment equity (EE) plan and development from within.		We have performed well and launched our newly refreshed values and our #AsBluWeBelong leadership mantra. We have completed our people planning for all designations in the Group. We are constantly pursuing suitable talent for the appropriate roles.

Focus areas for 2025

• Co-create an inclusive working environment by empowering leaders with the right tools.
• Improve the employee retention rate with a key focus in junior and middle management occupational levels.
• Outline and create awareness of employee well-being initiatives and available support.
• Streamline transformation initiatives across the Group.

MAINTAINING HIGH ETHICAL STANDARDS

Blue Label’s Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee is established in compliance with the Companies Act, No 71 of 2008. It in turn elevates social and ethics matters to Board level. This ensures that ethics are treated as a matter of strategic importance.

The Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee maintains oversight of the ethics policies and applications within the Group, and the Chairman of the Blue Label Board sets the ethical tone for the Board as a whole. The primary ethics-related items that are monitored and reported on at the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee level include:

• the 10 United Nations Global Compact Principles that influence our alignment;
• anti-fraud and corruption policies and procedures;
• business integrity, with a focus on the Group’s ethical culture and complying with regulations regarding combatting bribery and corruption and addressing money laundering risks;
• customer experience, particularly regarding consumer relations and compliance with consumer protection laws; and
• environmental, health and public safety.

No Blue Label operations were subject to human rights reviews during 2024.

No human rights grievances were reported in 2024.

Employees are expected to demonstrate ethical business practices at all times. All new staff members undergo an induction programme that includes training on the code of business conduct and the function of the ethics hotline, with emphasis on what should be reported and how to report unethical behaviour via this channel.

The ethics hotline is outsourced to Tip-Offs Anonymous, a division of Deloitte, and can be accessed by calling 0800 555 221. This ethics hotline is available to all stakeholders. Three incidents were reported during the year ended 31 May 2024, all of which were human capital-related and were investigated and resolved by management.

BLT has mechanisms for seeking advice about ethical and lawful behaviour and organisational integrity, including attending monthly ethics seminars administered by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA).

In 2024, a key focus area was to revise and continue aligning our policies, supported by re-educating our employees. The following material policies have been reviewed, amended where necessary, implemented and supported by relevant training in 2024:

• Code of Conduct;
• Ethics Policy;
• Suspicious and Unusual Activities and Transactions Policy;
• Information Security Policy;
• Business Continuity Policy;
• Whistleblower Policy;
• Data Breach and Response Policy;
• Gift Policy;
• Travel Policy;
• Code of Ethical Purchasing;
• Acceptable Usage Policy;
• Information Classification Policy;
• Intellectual Property Guidelines;
• Data Retention Policy; and
• Group Privacy Policy.

Key provisions of our policies

• Every Blue Label employee has an obligation to act in the best interests of the Company, and must not let outside activities or outside financial interests interfere with those obligations.
• Employees must be open and transparent about all gifts and hospitality given or received and are required to disclose these. When a gift is considered lavish or extravagant, it could be construed as gratification, which immediately places the Company and those individuals concerned at risk of being prosecuted for acts of corruption. A formal approval process exists with respect to the receiving and giving of all gifts.
• Fraudulent, corrupt or illegal practices will not be tolerated. Bribes or any other illicit payments will neither be paid nor accepted. A zero-tolerance policy has been adopted regarding such improper payments.
• The Group does not participate in any illegal anti-competitive activity.
• Employees should not authorise nor participate in any illegal conduct or action (such as price manipulation or tender fixing) that restricts competition.
• Committing to contracts and expenditure, and operating a responsible supply chain.
• Efficient resource use and minimising negative environmental impacts.

Maintaining high ethical standards

• The Group is non-political. It does not make contributions to political parties or allow its assets and services to be used in any way that favours any particular political grouping, other than in the provision of its normal products and services, under its standard terms and conditions and at arm’s length prices.
• The Company facilities, equipment and personnel are used for the business’s activities and purposes, except when other uses are specifically authorised by Blue Label.
• Employees are required to always be mindful of what a payment is for and whether the amount requested is proportionate to the goods or services provided. Any suspicions, concerns, or queries regarding a payment should be clarified.
• Employees must avoid any activity that might lead to, or suggest that, a facilitation payment or kickback will be made or accepted by us.
• The Group does not place any limitations on an employee’s right to freedom of association, specifically the right to collective bargaining.
• The Group is against child labour and forced or compulsory labour.
• The Ethics Officer takes responsibility for managing the organisation’s ethics programme. The Ethics Officer reports to the Social and Ethics Committee on progress with the ethics management plan and the state of ethics within the organisation.

ETHICAL BREACHES

No material ethical or corruption-related breaches require reporting in 2024.

All ethical matters that come to the attention of management are addressed in an appropriate manner.

Blue Label is satisfied that its corporate governance framework (including compliance and risk) is at a minimum in keeping with best industry practice and industry norms. Blue Label continues to maintain a zero-tolerance policy regarding any lapses in good corporate governance.

LOOKING FORWARD

Toward the end of 2024, a mandatory ethics survey was conducted anonymously, allowing employees to voice their opinions on the state of the ethical culture within Blue Label. The feedback is being reviewed and mitigation processes are being implemented. These include additional focused ethics training, the enhancement of our ethics-based policies, the introduction of a Group ethics advice communication channel and the reinforcement of our whistleblowing mechanism.