In late 2024, we launched our Stakeholder Engagement & Materiality Programme to build further understanding about what matters to our customers, employees, banks, insurers, advisors and suppliers in relation to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).

This programme enables us to further understand the key ESG issues, risks and opportunities we should be addressing in the coming years through our ESG strategy so we are best positioned to support our customers.

The Tadpole team, our independent sustainability advisors, conducted informal interviews with our key business stakeholders and completed an in-depth analysis which resulted in the following insights:

The topics contained within the red circle are those identified as being of the most importance to our customers. In 2024, responsible sourcing was the most important materiality topic.

When we completed our prior materiality survey in 2021, the key drivers all related to the environmental pillar of ESG.

The 2024 shift towards Social and Governance reflects what we have seen in the media and heard in customer conversations in recent months, such as a business’ access to lending being impacted by their level of ESG compliance and the rise of “social washing”.

Our Stakeholder Engagement & Materiality Programme, which is guided by these findings, solidifies Snell as the trusted advisor to some of New Zealand’s largest businesses who are committed to meeting their ESG obligations and commitments.