Creed Foodservice ESG Report

WeBelieveinmoretodayfor abetter tomorrow

A Changing Landscape

With the landscape of sustainability constantly evolving, we recognise a recent shift in language and growth of the term ESG. While our report focuses on our three core areas of People, Product and Planet, there is natural alignment with the ESG pillars of Environment, Social and Governance, and we will be further developing this throughout 2024.

This report aims to share our annual progress against our targets, highlight key projects that our teams have delivered and provide our customers, competitors and colleagues with full transparency as we continue our journey to become a more sustainable business. Click through to the relevant sections below.

At Creed we believe in more today for a better tomorrow. With a focus on people, product and planet we work with our customers and suppliers to act responsibly whilst supporting the communities in which we operate.

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment by empowering employees across all levels to include sustainability at the heart of everything we do.

Sustainability Director, Philip Creed

How We’ll Meet Ou ESG Targets

Scope 1

Ex loring H O and other alternative fuel o tions

Trialling and ex loring new vehicle technologies

All new com any cars to be hybrid or electric.

Scope 2

Continuing to utilise a green energy supplier

Installing solar panels across all our owned sites

Educating our teams on energy usage.

By working with ClimatePartner, a leading international provider of corporate climate solutions, we have accurate and detailed data of our existing carbon emissions, allowing us to now focus on strategic projects that will support our overarching targets.

Scope 3

Supporting our colleagues with a flexible work environment

Promoting car sharing and using public transport when possible

Installing more cycle sheds at all depots to promote cycling to work

Investing in training for Wellbeing Champions

Encouraging colleagues to participate in charitable events.

workingwith toachieve

CarbonNeutral

Reducingourcarbonemissionsandbalancingany unavoidableemissionsbysupportingprojectsthat ,creatingapositive environmentalimpact. remove carbonfromtheatmosphere

NetZero

Balancingtheamountofcarbonemissionsweproducewith anequivalentamountremovedfromtheatmosphere, effectivelyresultingin toglobalcarbon levels. nonetcontribution

our2023results

Comparedto2022

Ourgreenhousegasemissions increasedby5tonnes

Thisisduetovastbusinessgrowthin2023,resultinginbiggerteams, abiggervehiclefleetandroutenetwork,andanevergrowingrange ofproducts!

Howeverthegreatnewsisthatour carbonintensity decreasedby19%

Carbonintensity isameasureofCO2 andotherGHGemissionsper unitofactivity.Thisisthereforeabetter reflectionofouremissions progress,toscalewithbusinessgrowth.

Oursolarpanels throughout2023! produced815,610kWhof electricity

Electricityconsumptionhas . decreasedby over250,000kWh

Asaresultofnewvehicleswithinour fleet,theMPGhas improvedby3%.

Employeecommuting,measured inmileage, decreasedby22%.

Key projects delivered in 2023

That Supported Our ESG Targets

We maintained our 2-star best company to work for Accreditation

Zero emissions vehicle trials

3 depots

Across our to monitor delivery capabilities and operational likelihood of introducing across our fleet.

Paper use reduced across the business

New technology within our operations has meant that daily checks and route schedules are now completed paperless on tablets. New technology within our night shift and finance teams has also contributed to this shift.

Saving of paper per week. Almost ! 4,600 pages 240,000 per year

All Black Plastic Removed

From Country Range Products

You'll see that Country Range herbs now have green lids and spices have red lids!

Improved how we record our commuting emissions

Employees can now record their mode of travel for each working day, providing us with accurate and actionable data.

Improved Refrigeration

Efficiency

A new freezer plant has been installed at our Cheltenham depot, reducing the GWP of this plant by with potential electricity . 89% savings of 15%

29.3T of Food Donated

Through our continued partnership with Fare Share

UK

This is the equivalent of meals and has saved . 70,000 58.6T of CO2

SupportingOur Customers’ Objectives

WerecognisethatCreedFoodservice playsavitalroleinourcustomers' supplychain.

consolidatingtheir supplychain

Alongsidealltheworkwearedoingto reduceourowncarbonfootprint,we canalsosupportourcustomerswith specificobjectivesorprojectsthatthey believewillhaveasignificantimpact on their owncarbonfootprint. Oneofthesimplestwaysour customerscanreducedtheircarbon footprint isby –weofferavastproduct rangeacrossambient, chilledand frozencategories,allofwhichcan be deliveredononevehicle,resulting in fewervehiclesontheroads.

Someexamplesofhowwe'veworkedwithour customersinclude:

ReducedDeliveryTrial

Utilising deliveryandvehicledata, we wereable tocompareemissions data from beforeandduring thetrial, allowingournational customer to clearly see the impactfewerdeliverieshad ontheircarbon emissions.

Investigating thecarbon footprint of variouspackagedwater products

Our Tradingteamworkedclosely withselected suppliers to provide an accurate analysisofwaterproducts invarious packaging (cans, glass etc), taking intoaccountenergyandmaterialsrequired for each stage of the product lifecycle.

A clear andconcisesummarywas thenprovidedto our customer so they could makean informed decision.

ShoppingSeasonally

The importance ofusing seasonal produceshould never be overlooked. As a food-led business,we providea rangeofrecipesand menu ideas and always recommendthatourcustomers changetheiringredients depending on the time of year.

Accreditations

WeBoastaOfAccreditations DiverseRange

Creedboastsadiverse range ofaccreditations,encompassingethicalsourcing,traceability,foodsafety,fair employmentpractices,anda commitment toasafeandeco-friendly workplace.

Our Nominated charities for 2024

People

We are committed to improving the lives and livelihoods of our colleagues, customers and communities. Our business is centred around people, wellbeing, fairness and inclusion.

Customers & Community Wellbeing Equity

Customers & Community

Creed Foodservice is committed to giving something back to our customers and our local communities.

We will continue to prioritise providing financial support and donations in line with our charity charter, remain committed to creating opportunities including jobs and training placements to improve prospects for individuals and their families and to supporting and delivering community projects and events.

251 participants each month within our charity lottery.

over £80,000 donated through financial and stock donations, paid volunteering days for employees and our charity lottery.

2 work experience placements Throughout 2023

133 Employment opportunities

505 Hours volunteered in 2023, dedicated to charitable projects and events.

Financial Support & Donations

C ntinue t d nate ney, st ck and ti e

Enc urage e pl yee participati n in the l ttery

Enc urage suppliers t supp rt st ck d nati ns.

Creating Opportunities

Be the e pl yer f ch ice within ur l cal c unities

C ntinue t pr vide w rk experience and apprenticeship pp rtunities.

Projects & Events

Participate in and rganise pr jects and events which give back t ur c unities

C ntinue t ffer ne paid v lunteering day per year f r all f ur pe ple.

Customers & Community Our Targets

Taking care of our employees

Wellbeing

Creed is committed to developing and improving our position as a modern caring and progressive organisation by continually reviewing all areas of the employee lifecycle and ensuring that we have a suite of policies and procedures that will support the wellbeing of our people.

We will continue to prioritise the wellbeing of our people with a focus on financial wellbeing, personal growth and health; both physical and mental.

Our people are our greatest asset

Prioritising Financial Wellbeing

Rewarding our people fairly for the work they do.

T roug out 2023 we

Maintained our Living Wage Foundation accreditation

Reduced the cost of staff purchases by 10%

Reviewed our benefits offering

Improved access to financial wellbeing guidance, advice and support.

Tax free child care.

Family leave.

Ensure salaries meet our living wage accreditation standards.

We support our colleagues through various policies and procedures designed to safeguard their financial wellbeing.

A range of discounts available through our employee benefits platform, Credo.

Access to hardship grants.

Pensions.

Life insurance.

Savings schemes.

Wellbeing personal Growth

Investing in our people's future through training and progression, supporting qualifications, apprenticeships and skills development. We will also recognise and reward the success of those that develop their skills and their progression.

2023

We supported our people through

5,746 Hours dedicated to training and development.

11 New apprenticeships were started.

5 apprenticeships successfully completed.

203 Promotions and role changes.

Prioritising

physical and mental wellbeing

Physical Health

Improve understanding, awareness and communication.

Encourage cycling with bike shelters, cycle schemes, and events.

Support flexible working where possible.

Gym discounts and health services through CREDO.

Provided mental health awareness training for all managers.

Free fruit, health assessments and active initiatives.

Improved access to physical and mental health support through our EAP.

Wellbeing champions organise activities to bring relevant events to life across our depots.

Improved access to mental wellbeing services including education resources, counselling support and mindfulness.

Improved 121 process to ensure our people are treated as individuals.

Mental Health First Aid network across the business.

Mental Health

Financial Wellbeing

ontinue to review benefits which support improved financial wellbeing. ontinue to offer discounts, and special offers on staff accounts.

ontinue to invest in our REDO discount portal and promote savings to our people.

Promote advice and guidance for financial wellbeing available through our EAP.

Personal Growth

Continue to invest in training and development.

Build and deliver "Believe in You" training programme.

Provide progression opportunities.

Celebrate success through recognition, awards, training graduations and by saying thank-you.

Launch Sustainability Champions.

Mental & Physical Health

Wellbeing Our Targets

Promote cycle to work scheme

Encourage employee participation in active events and challenges.

Offer free fruit at our depots.

Maintain commitment to Mental Health training for HR, Managers & Wellbeing hampions. ontinue to encourage and support flexible working.

Embracing Equity at Creed

Creed is committed to building an open and inclusive
 culture by sharing information, encouraging two-way communication at all levels, investing in training and development and creating opportunities for
 our people, communities and customers.

Reviewing our people processes through an inclusion lens to provide a platform for equal outcomes.

Listening to our people to learn from their diverse views, perspectives and ideas.

inclusivity in our culture

We were delighted to win the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD) Diversity in Wholesale award at the 2023 Gold Medal Awards.

Creed Foodservice is setting the bar within the industry by working to achieve equity of outcome for all of our people. We are extremely proud of our commitment to support individuals based on their personal needs.

Investing in training, development and support that will up-skill our people on valuing diversity.

Building an inclusive culture and holding our people accountable for their contribution to this.

Improving collaborative working and dispersed leadership through crossdepartmental working groups and shared workspaces.

Fairness

Re ort on, inve tigate and im rove our gender ay ga

Review our data to en ure that we re ort on and im rove equity in the treatment of all of our eo le

Deliver equity training for our Su tainability Cham ion

Inclusion

Keep up t date with industry and sect r best practice

I pr ve ur relati nship and inv lve ent with Diversity in Wh lesale

Invest in upskilling ur pe ple n valuing diversity.

Deliver anage ent training n c unicati n.

Equity Our Targets

Opportunity

Deliver Line anager Essentials Training

C ntinue t devel p cr ss-depart ental w rking gr ups which ensure diverse th ught gr ups are c nsidered in key business pr jects.

Launch ustainability Cha pi ns.

Review Hu an Trafficking and M dern lavery state ents and deliver training t relevant stakeh lders.

Two BestStar
Company To Work For 2023

2 star accreditation

Our 2-Star accreditation has been held since 2020!

Employee Feedback

Commitment to employee feedback through listening groups and surveys.

Top 5 best companies

Food and Drink's Top 5 Best Companies to work for in the UK!

Annual Celebrations

Annual celebrations with fun, prizes and food.

Departmental Action Plans

Driving accountability for making positive change within each department.

Product

We are committed to an ethical, sustainable supply chain with minimal environmental impact, offering eco-friendly and 'Better for You' choices.

Responsible Sourcing Better Products Ethical Standards

Responsible Sourcing balancing local and international suppliers

At Creed we strive to work with and give preference to suppliers who are sustainable and aware of their environmental impact. When having discussions with suppliers we ascertain their sustainability policy and focuses to ensure their values align with ours. Several of our suppliers are carbon neutral or aim to be in the coming years.

We now work with three suppliers who are dedicated to using 'wonky' produce.

Black plastic has been completely removed from all Country Range products.

Embracing biodegradable labels and non-plastic alternatives.

All supplier meetings include discussions around sustainability.

Our Trading team Source

Sustainably 69% of our products that contain palm oil use sustainable sources

Constantly striving to consolidate our supply chain.

Striving for RSPO-accredited palm oil in the entire supply chain.

In 2023 our business grew by 9.3% in volume, with our suppliers growing by only 3.5%.

Supply Chain

Aim to consolidate supply across the Creed product range by 10% to reduce the number of deliveries to site.

Palm Oil

Where possible, all palm oil in our products to be from sustainable sources.

Suppliers

Strive to wor with ethically li e-minded suppliers and give preference to those who put sustainability first.

Responsible Sourcing

Our Targets

Better Products

Eco-friendly and healthy

We provide eco-friendly and healthy alternatives for informed customer choices, prioritising safety and accessibility in our supply chain.

Following single use plastic legislation introduced in October 2023, all cutlery in our range is now either wooden or paper. For the first time all Christmas crackers in our 2023 range were fully recyclable with no single use plastic!

We have introduced a price fighter range from GoPak to make sustainable packaging more affordable.

Total number of products within our range suitable for:

Vegans 49%

Vegetarians 78%

Coeliacs 57%

Lactose Intolerance 59%

informed customer choices

Allergen tracking for menus through our partner Saffron Nutritional Software.

Red Tractor assurance for British butchery products.

Proudly RSPCA-certified for eggs, mayonnaise and pork.

Compostable and/or recyclable disposables and packaging prioritised.

Customised solutions for schools, CQUIN and soil association.

Free From ontinue to expand our Free From range including vegan and vegetarian, dairy free and gluten free products.

HFSS

ontinue to review and expand our range of HFSS compliant products.

Catering Supplies

Expand range of sustainable non-food lines and reduce the level of products that contain less than 30% recycled plastic.

Better Products

Our Targets

Committed to Ethical Standards

Ethical supply is fundamental to our fair foodservice supply chain. We've implemented policies to align suppliers with our values.

fundamental to our fair foodservice

Extensive supplier application and charter for ethical standards.

Zero Tolerance for inhumane conditions. Accreditation suppliers must have BRC, SALSA, IFS, GRMS or FSSC22000 accreditation.

Strong modern slavery prevention policy in supply chains.

Strict Prohibition of child labour and adherence to anti-modern slavery policy.

Ethical Standards Our Targets

New Suppliers

All n w suppli rs must sign up to and adh r to our strict thical cod of practic .

Working Conditions

Maintain our z ro-tol ranc policy to inhuman working conditions.

Industry Accreditations

Ensur food suppli rs ar BRC or SALSA accr dit d.

Planet

Our target remains to reduce our overall Co2 emissions as a company by 7.5% per year, through further efficiencies in transport, our buildings and refrigeration.

Vehicles Waste Depots

Vehicle environmental sustainability

Updated car policy, shifting to hybrid and electric vehicles.

Euro 6 engines in owned/leased delivery vehicles.

TRS Eco drive refrigeration units reduce fuel demand.

With a customer base spread across the UK, we will continue to prioritise environmental sustainability across our fleet operations.

Our teams are targeted with consistently improving our routing efficiencies in order to increase our MPG and therefore reduce our environmental impact.

Fleet Emissions

We reduced our weight fleet emissions by 14.6% throughout 2023.

Fleet Operations

Compliant with London's direct vision standards for safety.

Monitoring MPG to assess environmental impact.

Exploring the use of alternative fuels such as HVO and biodiesel.

Actively considering and trialling innovations in electric and hydrogen vehicles.

Vehicles Our Targets

Company Car Policy

ll company cars to be hybrid or fully electric by 2026.

Electric Charging POints

Continue to monitor if more are needed.

Fleet Emissions

Reduce fleet emissions by 7.5% as a percentage of annual turnover.

Waste Efficient waste management

74,000kg of CO2

Over saved through the collection of our customers' used cooking oil.

33% more oil was collected than in 2022.

Food waste bins prevent landfill use. Short-dated stock is redistributed to our charity partners.

Zero waste to landfill across all sites.

Key partners

Key partners for sustainable waste management.

Recycling plastic and cardboard at depots.

Arrow Oils: Recycle used cooking oil for renewable energy.

Too Good To Go: Redistribute surplus stock, connecting the general public with Creed products they would not normally have access to.

Exploring compactors to reduce waste collections.

Aiming for paper-free offices in 2024 through process change, Sharepoint, EPDD, and scanner picking.

Striving To
 Reduce and manage company waste

recycling

Introduce food waste bins in key areas across all depots by Q1 202

Educate our people on recycling best practices by sharing helpful guides, celebrating relevant national days and bringing to life through various activities.

Oil

Incre se 2023 tot l litres of customer oil recycled by 10% by t e end of 2024.

Fresh Produce & Butchery

ontinue to review t e use of biodegr d ble nd recycled b gs in our Fres Produce o er tions

ontinue to review recycled c ge nd llet wr .

Depots reducing our energy consumption

In line with our Scope 2 and 3 focusses, our commitment to reducing our energy consumption progresses through various projects.

Through the installation of over 2,500 solar panels we saw a 25% reduction in our electricity

Upgrading refrigeration plant for over 50% lower GWP, minimising harm in leaks.

Actively reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions through energysaving projects.

reduce emissions, enhance cost-efficiency, and promote renewable energy sources

A decade of energy monitoring for optimal solutions.

Entire electricity usage sourced from renewables, saving 700TCo2/year.

Educating employees on best practices both at work and at home.

Depots Our Targets

Energy Consumption

Reduce nnu l energy consumption cross our entire est te in excess of 10% ( s % of turnover).

Energy Saving Technology

Continue to invest in technology th t helps us reduce our emissions.

Energy Supplier

Continue to invest in green renew ble energy.

To discuss any specific points of our ESG report in more detail, or to explore how Creed Foodservice can support your sustainability objectives, please speak to your . Account Manager