Setco's welcome

As a leading food producer in South Africa eyeing growth across Africa, we face complex dynamics in our operating landscape, shaped by volatile social conditions, variable and extreme weather, increased competition, cost pressures and declining consumer confidence. Recent disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, and South African civil unrest have transformed work habits and employee expectations, strained our supply chain, and highlighted societal and climate risks. Global trends, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC's) urgent climate warnings and the new IFRS sustainability standards, are intensifying investor scrutiny on our ESG performance. These challenges are pressing us to innovate, digitalise, and become more transparent in disclosing our sustainability and climate-related strategies.

As we adapt our strategy to evolve in-step with internal and external developments, we emphasise the pivotal roles of people, culture, and partnerships in achieving our sustainability and growth objectives. Our commitment to inclusion and diversity, employee engagement, talent development, and leadership aims to foster a values-driven, collaborative culture that nurtures entrepreneurial spirit. Collaboration is central to our approach, evidenced by successful partnerships with industry bodies and NGOs focused on sustainability, and robust relationships with government agencies, regulatory bodies, unions and host communities.

While proud of our social strengths and our growing focus on the social dimensions of sustainability, we acknowledge the imperative for significant change to fully realise our potential as a positive force in the food system and a creator of long-term societal value. Board leadership and the motivation of executives are crucial enablers of this transformation. While some of our board members possess sustainability expertise, we recognise that we need further skills and engagement at this level. We took our first step this year, holding a strategic sustainability briefing with the board, laying the groundwork for future progress. Similarly, performance on emissions reduction has been included in the short-term incentive scheme for executives for the first time.

Nurturing our people

Over the last three years, we have enhanced our ability to grow our own talent and improved our succession bench strength. In 2023, we placed 409 new hires in critical and leadership roles, and filling 32% of leadership vacancies from within. Investment in employee development totalled R93 million, averaging R861,68 per full-time employee.

We are progressing towards our 2030 diversity targets: our workforce is 96% ACI, with 57,6% ACI representation at the senior management level and 63,6% at the top management level. Females constitute 31% of our workforce, 46% in senior management and 30% in top management. We achieved an 85% participation rate in our 2023 employee engagement survey, with an improved score of 70, comparing favorably with the global benchmark of 75. Finally, 51% of our workforce is unionised, and we have achieved greater stability in our employee relations environment by ensuring consistent communication, and shifting to multi-year wage agreements.

Nourishing communities

We continue make a significant direct impact on health and nutrition outcomes nationally through investments in socio-economic development (SED), spending R70,8 million in 2023. We delivered 228 648 food hampers monthly across all food and nutrition initiatives, reaching 78 275 direct and indirect beneficiaries. Key initiatives included a R42 million investment in the Isondlo partnership with the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, supporting 10 000 food-insecure families and their children – totalling approximately 41 690 people – with monthly food hampers from October 2022 to June 2023. Our flagship Plates4Days initiative provided 5 209 monthly food hampers to 9 237 students at seven universities and 14 campuses. And The Tiger Brands Foundation provided 14 million breakfasts to 74 109 learners in 2023.

Appreciation

In conclusion, I'd like to recognise the resilience of our people amid another challenging year. Despite financial constraints, your dedication to sustainability has not gone unnoticed. A sincere thank you to all employees for embodying Tiger's values and contributing to the necessary evolution of our organisational culture. I appreciate the board's engagement in sustainability matters and their openness to learning in our dynamic operating context. Lastly, a special thank you to our outgoing CEO, Noel Doyle, for his unwavering support in navigating the business through various challenges at the company's interface with society. Noel's contributions to our sustainability agenda have been invaluable, and we wish him continued success in his future endeavours.

Emma Mashilwane
SETCO chairman

30 November 2023