Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental impact
• Employee well-being
• Responsible gaming
• Community investment
• Human rights
• Diversity

Environmental Achievements

• Continuously monitored energy consumption to improve energy efficiency
• Used ecological detergents and water-saving devices in offices
• Encouraged cycling to work and provided commuter buses
• Invested in technology for remote meetings

Social Achievements

• Ran the "Excellence Club" employee development program
• Organized team-building activities
• Implemented an annual employee evaluation process
• Expanded recruitment channels
• Granted performance bonuses to employees
• Supported the International Medical Corps

Governance Achievements

• Appointed Ron McMillan to the Board as Chair of the Audit Committee
• Implemented a revised Remuneration Policy (to be approved at the 2015 AGM)
• Replaced BDO LLP with EY as the statutory auditor

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Challenging Poker market dynamics and a competitive UK Bingo market
• Slower than anticipated market momentum in the US due to technical issues, unregulated sites, and lack of public awareness
• Point of Consumption Tax in the UK impacting profit margins
• Regulatory headwinds in some markets
• Underage and problem gaming
• IT system risks
• Taxation risks
• Lack of women on the Board

Mitigation Strategies

• Disciplined investment in the US market
• Adapting strategy to accommodate the Point of Consumption Tax in the UK
• Refining marketing approach in the US
• Close monitoring of regulatory changes and opportunities
• Comprehensive steps to minimize fraud, problem gaming, and underage access
• Cutting-edge technologies and procedures to protect IT systems
• Regular consultation with legal advisors and obtaining legal opinions
• Active monitoring of taxation risk
• Including female candidates in the search for new Non-executive Directors

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Responsible Gambling
• Community Engagement
• Sports Integrity
• Customer Data Protection

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced CO2e emissions by 9% to 54,100 tCO2e (2014: 59,606.5 tCO2e)

Social Achievements

• Implemented the ‘£50 journey’ in betting shops to improve customer interaction and encourage conscious decision-making.
• Rolled out responsible gambling training for Retail employees, investing £2m.
• Increased Retail Net Promoter Score to 68% (2014: 53%).
• Charitable donations amounted to £1.2m, including £940,330 to the RGT and £40,295 in matched funding.
• Improved employee engagement participation rate to 75% (2014: 66%).
• Reduced incidents of violence in the workplace by 19%.

Governance Achievements

• Successfully transitioned to working with a new CEO and CFO.
• Established a Group Compliance Committee and a Group Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee.
• Implemented a bespoke incident management system to improve data management and analysis.
• Developed a new approach to community engagement, ‘Close to HOME’.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Substantial additional gambling taxes in the UK (£87m)
• Weaker sporting results in Retail and Australia
• Restructuring of William Hill Australia to focus on recreational customers
• Regulatory changes and government actions in non-core markets
• Increased race field fees in Australia
• Cyber crime threats

Mitigation Strategies

• Continued investment in delivering strategic objectives
• Cost efficiencies, particularly in marketing
• Reshaping William Hill Australia's business model
• Focusing investment on core markets (UK, Italy, Spain)
• Implementing revised trading policies in Australia
• Investing in technology security arrangements and specialist IT partners
• Regular external security scans and controls to mitigate denial of service attacks

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Responsible Gambling
• Sustainability
• Community Engagement
• Employee Wellbeing
• Diversity & Inclusion

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced CO2 equivalent emissions by 15% to 41,275 tonnes

Social Achievements

• Increased Retail Net Promoter Score to 76%
• Increased employee engagement participation to 89%
• £1.9m charitable donations (including £1m to GambleAware)
• 6,918 hours of colleague volunteer time for good causes
• Launched pilot program with Betknowmore, helping almost 100 customers with problem gambling

Governance Achievements

• Strengthened Board composition with new Non-executive Directors
• Improved Board gender diversity to 30%
• Established Transformation Oversight Committee

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Regulatory changes in Australia impacting performance
• UK Triennial Review of gaming machine stakes and prizes
• Concerns about problem gambling in the industry
• Cyber crime and IT security threats
• International footprint risks (Brexit)
• Competitive landscape pressures

Mitigation Strategies

• Strategic review of Australian business
• Engaging with UK Government on Triennial Review
• Investing in responsible gambling initiatives
• Investing in cyber security and IT infrastructure
• Assessing Brexit risks and developing contingency plans
• Investing in product development and personalization, strengthening US presence

Supply Chain Management

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Awards & Recognition

• Three-time winner of national security industry awards

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Customer protection and safer gambling
• Employee engagement and well-being
• Operating with integrity
• Community contribution

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced carbon footprint by 48% from 2019
• Switched to 100% Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) electricity in the UK

Social Achievements

• Increased employee engagement score by 25 points
• Improved Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score to 85%
• Increased safer gambling interactions threefold
• Paid 100% of wages for furloughed employees
• Repaid furlough scheme monies
• Ranked 150 out of 850 in the Financial Times Diversity Leaders Index

Governance Achievements

• Implemented credit card ban and other safer gambling measures in the UK
• Complied with new regulations in Germany
• Strengthened AML procedures
• Updated retail anti-social behaviour workshops
• Implemented 24/7 customer screening tool

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Covid-19 pandemic impacting retail operations and sporting events
• Regulatory changes in the UK and Europe
• Increased competition in the US sports betting market
• Uncertainty surrounding the Caesars acquisition

Mitigation Strategies

• Took decisive action to preserve liquidity and strengthen the balance sheet
• Cancelled final dividend and raised £218.6m through equity placing
• Protected jobs and topped up wages for furloughed employees
• Developed alternative sourcing strategies
• Accelerated technology development
• Implemented comprehensive communications programme for employees

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Annual audits for critical suppliers

Responsible Procurement

• Ethical treatment of suppliers
• Compliance with anti-bribery and corruption regulations

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Awards & Recognition

• Corporate Wellbeing & Health award at the Industry Community Awards

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Safer gambling
• Employee diversity
• Community support
• Environmental impact

Environmental Achievements

• Set a path to net zero direct carbon emissions by 2030 and net zero across the entire value chain by 2035.

Social Achievements

• Launched the inaugural SheLeads development programme for women.
• 12% improvement in customer satisfaction.

Governance Achievements

• Established an ESG Committee.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Historic failings of certain former safer gambling and anti-money laundering policies, procedures and controls resulting in a £9.4 million penalty from the UKGC.
• 37% employee turnover in 2021 (compared to 18% in 2020), reflecting changes in the broader employment market and accelerated growth plans.

Mitigation Strategies

• Took corrective steps to address the failings identified by the UKGC and implemented further safer gambling initiatives.
• Invested significantly in ensuring local leadership teams had the tools to attract skilled employees.
• Developed clear plans to ensure core strengths are reinforced, including continued investments in product and content, increased focus on core and growth markets, and empowering teams.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Working with suppliers on carbon reduction plans.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes, taxes and levies, changes in energy availability and mix, disruptions to business models.

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: UN Global Compact

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Player Safety
• People and Culture
• Environmental Sustainability (Planet)

Environmental Achievements

• William Hill became carbon neutral (Scope 1 and 2 emissions)
• 888 achieved a B- CDP rating and retained FTSE4Good Index membership
• 888 (excluding William Hill) achieved a 44% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions from a 2019 baseline and a 10% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from the prior year.

Social Achievements

• Increased usage of deposit limits by customers (36.6% in 2021 to 45.1% in 2022)
• Over 2.7 million customer interactions (18.6% increase year on year)
• 88,308 safer gambling interactions in retail (up from 37,704 in 2021)
• 72% of 888 brand players worldwide had access to the Control Centre safer gambling product (up from 39% in 2021)
• Over 500,000 financial vulnerability checks in the UK
• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) of +8 across the combined Group

Governance Achievements

• Appointment of Chief Risk Officer
• Establishment of an Executive Risk & Sustainability Committee
• Improved ESG ratings (CSA and CDP)
• Implementation of a new whistleblowing policy

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• High debt levels and increased cost of debt due to interest rate changes
• Fragmented business operations with multiple technology platforms
• Lower profit margins than industry peers
• Moderation of market growth rates
• Impact of high inflation on cost base
• Regulatory changes in key markets
• Compliance failures in applying safer gambling policies to VIP customers in the Middle East

Mitigation Strategies

• Disciplined capital allocation plan to reduce net debt/EBITDA to below 3.5x by end of 2025
• Integration program to create a streamlined operating model and unified technology stack
• Focus on select markets with superior return on investment
• Cost synergy target of approximately £150m
• Debt refinancing and hedging activities
• Enhanced compliance culture and processes
• Strengthened AML framework
• Improved safer gambling tools and processes

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• ‘80 by 60’ strategy: by 2025, 60% of third-party supplier spend should have carbon reduction plans targeting an 80% emissions reduction by 2035

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Coastal flooding
• Increased frequency and intensity of extreme acute weather events

Transition Risks

• Legislation banning fossil fuels
• Economic constraints reducing customer disposable income

Opportunities

• Reduced emissions from commuting
• Energy efficiency and renewable energy generation

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD

Certifications: Carbon Neutral (William Hill, Scope 1 & 2)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Safer gambling
• Sustainability
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Climate Change
• Community Investment

Environmental Achievements

• Achieved a 6% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 (market-based) emissions from the new 2022 re-baselined data.
• Reduced energy consumption through the use of EMMA AI by 2,595,852 kWh — a reduction of 5.1% vs our original consumption forecast for the estate.

Social Achievements

• Launched new company values created through employee engagement.
• Increased eNPS from +8 to +11.
• Delivered safer gambling messaging to all customers globally.
• Sent over 1.3 million messages to players based on individual customer behaviours.
• Donated over £10m to charities in the UK.
• Expanded safer gambling interactions with customers online across all brands.
• Hosted Safer Gambling Week events across all UK retail shops.
• Trialled a partnership with Anonymind to provide a referral pathway to treatment for retail customers.
• Supported Safer Gambling Week with a global campaign.
• Donated over £200,000 to Support Ukraine.
• Donated over £250,000 to several UK charities through partnership with the Betting and Gaming Council (UK).
• Launched a gambling harms education programme in the horse racing industry, reaching over 800 people.

Governance Achievements

• Self-identified and self-reported issues related to shortcomings in compliance processes related to VIP accounts in the Middle East and reached a regulatory settlement.
• Reached a regulatory settlement with the Great Britain Gambling Commission (GBGC) relating to social responsibility and anti-money laundering failings.
• Conducted a full independent audit of policies, procedures, and controls, with no high-priority recommendations raised.
• Implemented a global cost saving programme of £30m.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Significant regulatory and compliance headwinds.
• Challenging trading conditions resulting from changing regulatory and competitive dynamics.
• Macroeconomic uncertainty.
• Proactive shift away from dotcom markets.
• Implementation of enhanced safer gambling policies and processes.
• Increased Scope 3 emissions following methodological changes to reporting methods.
• Competition for highly qualified personnel.

Mitigation Strategies

• Appointment of new CEO and CFO.
• Strengthened Group Executive team.
• Accelerated synergy delivery.
• Improved compliance function.
• Refined marketing and customer approach.
• Implemented EMMA AI energy consumption management solution.
• Developed a global player protection strategy.
• Implemented a global cost saving programme.
• Developed a centralised procedure for providing robust oversight of risk incidents.
• Implemented an enhanced accountability structure across business units.
• Developed an Enterprise Risk Management Framework.
• Implemented measures to mitigate risks associated with variable interest rates.
• Enhanced operational cash flow forecasting and cash management practices.
• Reduced foreign exchange risk by hedging certain costs in GBP.
• Implemented policies to hedge certain costs in GBP.
• Secured forward contracts to hedge the Israeli Shekel (ILS) against revenues in Canadian Dollars and GBP.
• Continually benchmarks remuneration and benefits packages against similar businesses.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier risk framework including risk identification and mitigation strategies

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Coastal flooding due to sea level rise

Transition Risks

• Increased cost of living during transition to low-carbon technologies
• Legislation banning fossil fuels and favoring renewable energy

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD

Certifications: Null

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Not disclosed

Not disclosed

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Best Employee Share Plan Outcome Following A Major Corporate Change (ProShare Awards)