Woolworths Group

Stakeholder engagement
The company discloses how it engages with stakeholders, the issues raised during such activities, and some outcomes of its stakeholder engagement. It could provide more specific examples of responses as outcomes. Moreover, its stakeholder engagement activities cover areas such as nature, nutrition, and social concerns.

Sustainable development strategy
The company discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, in relation to its sustainability strategy.

Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
The company has set a target to reduce its absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 63% from the 2015 baseline by 2030. The company shows leadership by aligning these targets with a 1.5-degree trajectory, showing its commitment to addressing climate change. Additionally, the company aims to reduce its absolute scope 3 GHG emissions by 19% from the 2015 baseline by 2030.

Animal welfare
The company discloses evidence of animal welfare third-party certifications. It also discloses a target that addresses animal welfare issues in its supply chain and reports progress against it. Furthermore, the company’s policies address all of the key animal welfare issues for each species.

Food loss and waste (FLW)
The company collaborates with value chain partners to prevent FLW from being generated. For example, as part of its Using Food for Good project, a company’s subsidiary is working with suppliers to manage stock when nearing best-before dates, improve the management of food waste data, and repurpose rescued food to create new products.

Plastic use and packaging waste
The company demonstrates its commitment by implementing policies and engaging in activities to reduce plastic use and transition towards sustainable packaging. Additionally, they are transparent about their efforts by disclosing quantitative data on plastic reduction and sustainable packaging usage.

Protein diversification
The company discloses it has increased sales from plant protein-based food options.

Availability of nutritious foods
The company discloses that 76% of its eligible own-brand products meet the Australian Government’s Healthy Food Partnership targets for salt, sugar, and saturated fat, with the goal of achieving 100% compliance by 2025. The company also reports its progress towards this target. Additionally, the company aims to increase the proportion of sales from healthier products (those with a Health Star Rating of ≥3.5) in its supermarkets by 50 basis points annually, with the 2022 baseline as a reference point. Currently, 61.7% of its sales have a Health Star Rating of 3.5 or higher.

Clear and transparent labelling
The company discloses that it has adopted the Health Star Rating labelling system and displays it on all relevant own brand products.

Responsible marketing
The company discloses that its Making Healthier Easier online hub offers customers the ability to explore healthier products at reduced prices, as per the Health Star Rating (HSR) system, and when customers browse certain products on its website, a Healthier Options window displays similar HSR-rated healthier product. Moreover, it has a responsible marketing policy tailored to children.

Workforce nutrition
The company has implemented a policy for workplace breastfeeding support (i.e. parental leave of at least 6 months for its eligible Australian employees) and healthy food at work through fresh fruit offerings in its canteens and the provision of team discounts and booster points to encourage healthy eating. Moreover, it has conducted a nutrition training program for its suppliers’ workers in India.

Child labour
The company discloses an age verification system for the workers recruited for its operation and supply chain. Furthermore, it requires suppliers to prohibit child labour. In addition, the company discloses that it works with its supply chain to eliminate child labour when a risk to child rights is identified or suspected.

Forced labour
For its operations and supply chain, the company discloses its commitment to the Priority Industry Principles that include that every worker should have freedom of movement, no worker should pay for a job and no worker should be indebted or coerced to work. Furthermore, it discloses that it works with its supply chain to eliminate forced labour supporting suppliers’ shift to responsible recruitment practices.

Act ethically
The company has a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption and includes anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. Additionally, it has a grievance mechanism for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints regarding bribery and corruption.

Provide and promote decent work
The company has a publicly available policy statement in which it commits to respecting the health and safety of workers and expects its business relationships to do so. Additionally, it discloses quantitative information on the health and safety of its workers and how it monitors the health and safety performance of its business relationships. Furthermore, the company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. It also describes how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers.
Moreover, the company discloses the proportion of women in its total direct operations workforce for each employee category. It has 57.14% women on the board, publicly commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment and discloses one time-bound target on the latter.

Respect human rights
The company has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights and the ILO core labour rights and expects its suppliers to do so too. Moreover, it describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. It also describes its process for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues.
Furthermore, it has a human rights grievance mechanism accessible to all workers and all external stakeholders who may be adversely impacted by the company. The company also engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities and provides an example of case study related to remediation of health and safety issues, working hours and wages in China.

Governance and accountability for sustainable development
The company has an opportunity to link performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover environmental and social issues. Furthermore, it could disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise with respect to the company’s most material sustainability topics.

Lobbying and advocacy
The company discloses some trade associations it is a member of. However, it has an opportunity disclose a list of trade associations of which it is a member for all jurisdictions where it operates. Furthermore, while the company states that it reviews its key industry association memberships to ensure alignment with its key areas of policy interest, it could disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with its sustainability targets and report (potential) misalignments between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and its sustainability targets.

Sustainable development strategy
The company discloses certain sustainability objectives/targets, including those related to nutrition. However, there is an opportunity to establish group-wide targets for the most material parts of its value chain. While the company reports on some of their targets, there is an opportunity to report consistently across all its targets.

Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
The company has the opportunity to report progress against its emissions targets and reduce its Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

Animal welfare
While the company has a target that addresses animal welfare issues in its supply chain, it has an opportunity to make it applicable to all species, geographies and products.

Ecosystem conversion
The company has an opportunity to disclose its efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation. The company could develop a strategy and publicly report on time-bound targets covering all of its high-risk commodities.

Food loss and waste
While the company discloses its FLW reduction targets, it does not measure progress against them. The company has an opportunity to align its FLW reduction goal with SDG12.3 (50% reduction by 2030).

Food safety
The company has an opportunity to disclose its commitment to food safety and demonstrate that all its operations and supply chain adhere to food safety standards.

Workforce nutrition
While the company offers a nutrition education program for external stakeholders, there is an opportunity to engage its employees as participants. Furthermore, it could disclose quantitative evidence on its healthy food at work programme.

Child labour
The company has an opportunity to disclose examples of remediation programmes when a case of child labour is found in its operations. Moreover, it could provide an analysis of trends demonstrating progress in relation to eliminating child labour from its supply chain.

Forced labour
While the company discloses the incidents and trends of forced labour in its value chain, it has an opportunity to demonstrate progressive trends in Malaysia.

Living wage
The company discloses that it strives to work closely with its suppliers and global organisations to promote the payment of living wages but has an opportunity to set a target for paying a living wage across its direct suppliers. Also, it could describe how it determines a living wage for the regions where it sources and disclose the percentage of workers across its own operations or direct suppliers that are paid a living wage.

Act ethically
The company could describe its process for identifying bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities related to its own operations. Furthermore, the company could consider establishing a policy that clearly outlines its approach to lobbying and political engagement. This policy should be publicly available, and it should explicitly state that the company does not make any political contributions. Additionally, the company could disclose its expenditures on lobbying activities. Lastly, it could also require third-party lobbyists to adhere to its lobbying and political engagement policy.

Provide and promote decent work
The company has an opportunity to disclose either a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage or demonstrate it has achieved paying all workers a living wage. Additionally, the company has an opportunity to disclose its methodology for determining a living wage in the regions where it operates. Moreover, the company can disclose the ratio of basic salary and remuneration between women and men in its direct operations workforce, categorized by employee category and significant locations of operation.