Flutter Launches Sustainability Strategy

28 February 2022

Flutter Launches Sustainability Strategy

Positive Impact Plan sets agenda to lead betting and gaming into the future

Flutter Entertainment plc (the "Group") today announces the launch of its inaugural sustainability strategy, the Positive Impact Plan.

The plan identifies three key areas of focus and brings together significant progress from across the Group to create global goals that support our overall corporate strategy:

·    By 2030 we aim to have 75% of our active online customers globally using one or more of our Play Well tools, with over 50% using one or more tools by 2026

·    By 2030, we want to create and build teams that are representative of the locations in which we live and work, through a comprehensive DE&I strategy, supported by clear stepping stone goals  

·    By 2030 we aim to improve the lives of 10 million people using the power of sport and play, the skills of our colleagues, and the reach of our brand

Commenting on today's launch, Peter Jackson, Chief Executive, said:

"Our Positive Impact Plan is a comprehensive and challenging strategy which demonstrates that Flutter is setting the agenda for positive change. 

We are committed to contributing positively to our customers, colleagues and the communities in which we operate. This plan builds on the strong foundations laid by each of our divisions, leveraging our global scale and positioning us at the forefront of meaningful change.

During 2021 we further enhanced our safer gambling measures across the Group, investing over £45 million to support and promote safe play across our global operations. Continuing to show leadership in safer gambling is critical for the sustainability of our business and I believe that the goals we are setting out today as part of our new Play Well strategy will materially enhance our global customer protections and serve as a framework for the wider industry.

Flutter's leading brands are deeply embedded in communities and homes all over the world. Our approach reflects this and will continue to evolve over the coming years in line with shifts in our markets, technological developments, and continued collaboration with our stakeholders.

The initial response from colleagues has been fantastic and I couldn't be prouder of their passion and commitment to ensure that we continue to lead betting and gaming into the future."

Leading betting and gaming into the future, in a responsible and sustainable way

Our Positive Impact Plan is focused on leveraging our global scale to provide Flutter's diverse portfolio of brands with better access to the insight, skills and capabilities of the wider Group to support local initiatives that create maximum impact and contribute positively to our customers, colleagues and the communities in which we operate.

Aligned with leading global standards, we are setting out goals that will challenge and stretch the business. During 2022 we will build on our existing achievements and focus on enhancing our insights and reporting, so that we can continue to develop our goals and ambitions to ensure they are targeted to areas where we can achieve the biggest positive impact.

The Positive Impact Plan identifies three key areas of focus:

1. Helping customers to PLAY WELL

Extending our leadership in safer gambling, our Play Well strategy aims to provide customers with a positive, entertaining and safe experience at all times. Built on a foundation of sustainable customer relationships, Play Well aims to help us deliver a better experience for every customer, rather than focusing solely on identifying and addressing potential risks.

During 2021 we directly invested over £45 million to support and promote safe play across our global operations.  We increased our dedicated safer gambling resource across the Group, invested in technology, developed marketing campaigns to raise awareness and educate, and made significant contributions to research, education and treatment across our markets.

As the leading online global operator with a presence across a multitude of regulatory environments and cultures, we know there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution to promoting safer gambling. Instead, we believe there are universal principles we can employ across our divisions and ways to leverage our global scale, capability and expertise to provide players with the tools, information and support they need to Play Well. 

The global principles of Play Well are:

·   Leading progress - we are committed to driving progress through research, innovation and collaboration

·   Promoting Positive Play - we want to promote safe and sustainable entertainment

·   Effective interaction - we want to combine technology with personalised conversations to interact more effectively with our customers

·   Support and Protect - we want to support our customers in every possible way we can

In 2022, we are introducing tailored Play Well metrics across our global organisation which will be directly linked to colleague remuneration. These metrics have been developed on a divisional basis to ensure that each business is focused on the initiatives that will support and promote its local safer gambling strategies, taking into account individual markets and contexts, whilst being consistent with our global Play Well Principles.

2. Empowering colleagues to WORK BETTER

Our success and global scale are built on embracing diversity; by 2026 we want to have 40% of women in our top leadership roles. Creating dynamic, inclusive and equitable workplaces is integral to us continuing to extend our gold medal market positions, so it is essential that we continue to hold ourselves accountable. In 2021 we launched our first global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ("DE&I") strategy internally, setting out a clear direction for the Group. By 2030 the Work Better strategy aims to build a more diverse and inclusive business that is more reflective of the communities we work in and the world around us.

3. Working with communities to DO MORE

Our Positive Impact Plan builds on our long history of community support. Our global scale and local footprint allow us to work with some incredible partners to build better futures for the places where we live, work and play. Across the Group we invested £3.7 million in community initiatives in 2021, including ongoing work with existing partners and exciting new projects. We have aligned our charitable and community support with a set of key strategic priorities that allow us to use the expertise and experience within our business to support our communities, with a focus on sport, health and wellbeing, and tech for good. We will continue to draw on the local insight of our colleagues to help us identify opportunities to drive positive change across our markets.

Reducing our ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

In addition to the core pillars outlined above, the Positive Impact Plan also sets out our strategy for reducing our environmental impact. As a global organisation we are aware of our responsibility to reduce or mitigate impacts upon the environment and climate wherever possible, which is why last year we aligned our climate mitigation targets with the ambitious aims of the Paris Agreement and joined the UN's "Race to Zero" campaign. This year we will be setting our sustainability strategy in line with our Science Based Targets initiative ("SBTi") commitment to ensure that our strategic objectives are aligned with the transition to a low carbon economy. We have also begun reporting on how the impacts of climate change could affect our business in line with the Task-Force on Climate Related Disclosure ("TCFD") recommendations.

Positive Impact Plan goals

We have identified clear goals for each of our Positive Impact Plan pillars, in line with our materiality assessment.

These goals will continue to evolve over the course of this year to ensure we are measuring the things that will enable us to have the greatest positive impact, and we will report regularly on our progress:

PLAY WELL

·    By 2030 we aim to have 75% of our active online customers globally using one or more of our Play Well tools, with over 50% using one or more tools by 2026[1]

·    In 2022 we are introducing tailored Play Well metrics for each of our divisions, directly linked to colleague remuneration globally

WORK BETTER

·    By 2030, we aim to create and build teams that are representative of the locations in which we live and work

·    By the end of 2022, we intend to measure the difference in sentiment across different demographics (to gain robust inclusion insights)

·    By the end of 2023 we will measure and report on pay performance, progression and retention across different demographics

·    By 2026 we want to have 40% of women in our top leadership roles

DO MORE

·    By 2030, we aim to improve the lives of 10 million people using the power of sport and play, the skills of our colleagues and the reach of our brands

·    From 2022, we will support all our colleagues globally to engage in two paid days of volunteering per year

ENVIRONMENT

·    During 2022, we will set science-based carbon targets that will establish our roadmap to net zero emissions

·    By the end of 2023, we will develop and rollout a global e-waste policy across our divisions and suppliers that follows the waste hierarchy

·    By 2030, we will transfer all our energy tariffs to renewable energy

Governing our approach to sustainability

We have revised our governance structures around sustainability to ensure accountability and to facilitate Group-wide coordination. These changes will allow us to better support our brands as they launch their own local strategies as well as remain agile and responsive to changes in our market.

In 2021 we announced the repurposing of our Board Risk Committee to become the Risk and Sustainability Committee, which has since been focused on the management of material risks and oversight of Flutter's Positive Impact Plan.

More information on our Positive Impact Plan can be found here: https://www.flutter.com/sustainability/our-positive-impact-plan/