Sustainability Report

Transcription

Accountability – Sustainability report I for the financial year ended 30 September 2013
1
About this report
2
Our commitment
2
ABIL’s sustainability management approach
2
Governance
2
Awards and recognition
4
Human capital
4
Our approach
4
4
6
7
8
10
13
15
15
17
18
18
20
24
Banking unit
Workforce movement, composition and turnover
Employee relations
Employee satisfaction
Employee wellbeing programme
Skills development and talent management
Transformation and employment equity
Retail unit
Employee relations
Employee benefits
26 Human rights
27 Social capital
35
35
35
37
37
39
45
45
45
45
45
Banking unit
A sustainable approach to community development
Overall approach
Community development activities during the year
Distribution of funds during 2012/13
Flagship projects
Retail unit
Bursary scheme
Siyanakekela Community Investment Programme
Ekukhanyeni Community Development Centre
School donations
46
Product responsibility
46
Our approach
46
46
46
47
48
48
48
49
50
50
50
50
Banking unit
Employee experience
Channel experience
ABIL Consumer Advocate’s Office
Treating customer fairly
Financial Care Centre (FCC) consumer education
Responsible lending
Performance indicators
Retail unit
Marketing communications
Customer privacy
Compliance
27 Our approach
27 Economic value added statement
28
28
28
28
29
29
29
30
30
30
30
30
30
31
31
31
31
31
31
32
32
33
33
34
i
Banking unit
Developmental scorecard
Equity ownership
Management and control
Employment equity
Skills development
Preferential procurement
Retail unit
Skills development
Preferential procurement and enterprise
development
ABIL plans going forward
Supplier development
Banking unit
Overview
Relationships
Retail unit
Overview
Relationships
Assessment of compliance
Environmentally responsible procurement
Customer product information and labelling
Sustainability roadmap
52 Natural capital
52 Our approach
52 Environmental strategy
52 Reporting, monitoring and measuring ABIL’s
carbon footprint
55 Weaknesses and shortfalls
56 Energy
56 Going beyond green
56 Water
56 Information technology
57 Paper
57 Waste and recycling
57 Greening the supply chain
57
Non-merchandise
58
Merchandise
58
Employee education and awareness campaigns
59 Green collaboration
59 Biodiversity
59 Going forward
60 INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY assurance
statement
63 INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION statement
accountability
About this report
ABIL’s 2013 sustainability report covers the performance and activities of the group that relate to sustainable
practices, and presents a comprehensive analysis of all key dimensions of sustainability that are relevant to
the group and its stakeholders.
Most of the information in this report is presented at a business unit level, which comprises the Banking unit
and the Retail unit. The business units have different requirements for dealing with employees and customers.
The report covers all operations of the Banking unit and the South African operations of the Retail unit.
Since 2012, the Banking unit has been reporting on transformation progress using the financial sector code
for Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) framework. The Retail unit continues to use the
Codes of Good Practice (CoGP) framework.
The Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 guidelines were launched in 2013. As this is the first year of the
new guidelines, ABIL has reported against these indicators in conjunction with the financial services sector
supplement, and as such we have reported at a core level in terms of the GRI G4 guidelines. This score will
improve over the next few years, as the new guidelines are cemented into the group’s sustainability strategy.
Assurance over ABIL’s 2013 sustainability report, including the sustainability content within the integrated
annual report, has been provided by Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS), and is aligned to
AccountAbility’s AA1000AS (Type I, moderate) assurance standard. The comprehensive assurance statement
from IRAS can be found within the sustainability report. Additional detail regarding the assurance process can
be requested by emailing Michael H Rea at [email protected]. Group internal audit’s review of the report, in
line with the combined assurance approach under the King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa
(King III), provides support for the assurance statement.
We welcome comments from all stakeholders on this report and the way we approach our sustainability
priorities. Please contact Marilyn Budow, Consumer and Sustainability Advocate, at MBudow@africanbank.
co.za or on +27 11 256 9743 with your feedback.
Terms used in this report to describe our operations are:
ABIL or group
Includes African Bank Limited, Ellerine Holdings Limited (EHL), The Standard General
Insurance Company Limited, Relyant Insurance Limited and Relyant Life
Banking unit
African Bank Limited, including The Standard General Insurance Company Limited
Retail unit
Ellerine Holdings Limited, excluding foreign operations, but including Relyant Insurance
Limited and Relyant Life
African Bank Investments Limited I Sustainability report I 1
Our commitment
It is ABIL’s aim to continuously improve value creation for shareholders and customers, while creating an
atmosphere for employees in which they can thrive and provide outstanding service to customers.
ABIL’s sustainability management approach
The sustainability priorities are agreed by the sustainability committee, which is a subcommittee of the board.
Implementation is coordinated by both business units, and the priorities are agreed by the committee on the
recommendation of the executive director of group sustainability. Each business unit reports its sustainability
performance to ABIL on an annual basis.
Governance
Sustainability reporting is the responsibility of the ethics and sustainability committee, which assists
management in the formulation and implementation of policies, principles and practices to foster the
sustainable growth of the group. Sustainable growth shall encompass a business model that creates value
consistent with the long term preservation and enhancement of financial, environmental and social capital.
ABIL board
Group audit
committee
Group risk and
capital
management
committee
Group
remuneration
and
transformation
committee
Ethics and
sustainability
committee
Directors’
affairs
committee
Awards and recognition
The Ombudsman for Banking Services
For six years in a row, African Bank has won the Ombudsman for Banking Services award for excellence in
complaints handling in Category B. (This category is for all banks, excluding the four major banks which
compete in Category A.)
Certificate of excellence in reporting
Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI) awarded ABIL for providing sufficient quantitative data
to allow for useful comparable analysis in the Banking sector, coming first in this category, and in the
top 10 overall.
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accountability
BANKSETA awards
African Bank won the award for domestic captive, a category honouring a company that offers in-house
training, for its Monyetla Work Readiness Programme.
The Banking unit won the special commendation award from the BANKSETA for best practice in skills
development for the third year in a row.
Innovation award
A second EHL distribution facility in Port Elizabeth, constructed by Growth Point Properties, has won
the South African Property Owners Association’s (Sapoa) innovative excellence award in industrial
property development.
Ernst & Young excellence in financial reporting
ABIL is proud to have again received an excellent rating for disclosure in its 2012 integrated report.
JSE SRI and Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
ABIL was included in the JSE’s Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index for the tenth consecutive year,
and was also included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) in 2013. This attests to our commitment
as a group to responsible business practices.
Human capital
Our approach
One of the group’s core objectives is to promote and maintain a harmonious relationship with its employees,
create a working environment that is conducive for employees to learn, grow and perform, and to foster good
relations with the unions.
ABIL promotes and respects freedom of association and employee rights in terms of the constitution and
current labour legislation of South Africa, and is committed to fair treatment and non-discriminatory work
practices.
As a group, we need to attract, develop and retain the best talent at all levels of the business. Therefore, we
need to recruit, manage performance, train, develop and promote from within each business unit.
Most of the information in this section is presented at a business unit level, which comprises the Banking unit
As a group, we have 13 643 employees (which includes 569 temporary or contract employees). Of the
permanent employees, 62,5% are female and 37,5% are male. A total of 42% of the group’s permanent
employees are unionised.
Banking unit
Within the Banking unit, the increase in number of employees is largely as a result of the expansion in the call
centres, and is detailed below:
Opening balance
Employee gains
Less: attrition
Resignations
Retrenchments
Dismissals (misconduct)
Deaths (not work-related)
Other*
Closing balance
Temporary employees
Total employees
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
5 182
1 026
(978)
4 978
1 317
(1 113)
3 935
1 790
(747)
3 476
1 049
(590)
3 426
586
(536)
(663)
–
(228)
(17)
(70)
(842)
–
(191)
(28)
(52)
(540)
(13)
(110)
(15)
(69)
(372)
(62)
(85)
(27)
(44)
(352)
(8)
(36)
(32)
(108)
5 230
5 182
4 978
3 935
3 476
463
442
439
216
169
5 693
5 624
5 417
4 151
3 645
* Other refers to emigration, abscondment and mutual terminations.
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accountability
The regional workforce composition for the Banking unit is as follows:
Province
Permanent
Nonpermanent*
Total
Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Northern Cape
North West
Western Cape
240
134
3 252
573
168
180
46
205
432
5
1
401
52
–
–
1
–
3
245
135
3 653
625
168
180
47
205
435
Total
5 230
463
5 693
* Non-permanent includes temporary and contract staff.
Of the 5 230 permanent employees in the Banking unit, 65% are female and 35% male. Of employees below
the age of 40 years, 80% are male and are considered to comprise a reasonably young workforce, with the
majority of employees in the sales and call centre environments. This correlates to 70% of employees having
tenure with the Banking unit of between 0 and 5 years.
Age analysis (%)
Tenure with company (%)
3,0%
5,0%
9,4%
15,1%
17,9%
43,2%
69,7%
36,7%
Under 30
0 to 5 years
30 to 39
6 to 10 years
40 to 49
11 to 15 years
over 50
over 15 years plus 50
As at year end, the Banking unit had a total of 5 230 permanent employees, an increase of 1% relative to
2012 (5 182).
Employee turnover (%)
23,90
25
20
18,29
18,08
15
13,22
12,60
18,59
12,20
10
6,50
5,70
5,07
5,82
5,99
5
0
Voluntary
2010
2011
Involuntary
Total turnover
2012
2013
Involuntary turnover refers to employees whose service has been terminated by the Banking unit.
Employee relations
Union membership within the bargaining unit is 56,1% (2012: 52,2%).
African Bank concluded a recognition agreement with SASBO in 2009 and is therefore governed by the principles
contained therein. Since inception of the agreement, the Banking unit has successfully negotiated collective
agreements in terms of reward and continued to do so in the year under review. The standard operating period
for consultation and negotiation with union and/or non-union members is a minimum of one month.
Union membership 2013 (%)
43,9%
43,9%
55,9%
6
52,0%
SASBO
SASBO
SACCAWU (0,1%)
SACCAWU (0,1%)
UASA (0,1%)
UASA (0,1%)
Non-union
Non-union
G4-11
accountability
During the year under review, the Banking unit received 89 referrals to the Commission for Conciliation,
Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), an increase of 15% over last year, of which 7% were in favour of the
employee. The number of employees dismissed and terminated increased to 259, in comparison to 129 last
year, due to the Banking unit’s zero-tolerance stance on fraud or any type of misconduct.
Employee satisfaction
For the past two years, the Banking unit has undertaken an employee engagement survey to determine the
levels of engagement of employees with African Bank.
The results for 2012 and 2013 were as follows:
Employee satisfaction (%)
80
70
60
62
62
50
40
30
20
20
18
20
18
10
0
Disaffected
Agnostic
True believer
2012
2013
Compared to the results for 2013 as detailed below:
Engagement scores (%)
60
59
50
40
32
30
20
10
0
9
Disengaged
Nearly engaged
Engaged (true believer)
Distribution of engagement within African Bank
In the years 2011 and 2012, the Banking unit measured the engagement levels of its people using the
corporate leadership council (CLC) survey. This survey compared the engagement levels of the Banking unit
against the average engagement levels globally. As much as the average comparison is a reasonable measure
of how we compare with others, the lack of a fixed minimum acceptable engagement level percentage means
the engagement levels comparing base could never be static, as that figure is always expressed as an average
of the engagement levels of the other participating companies globally. The Banking unit ended up at 20%
engagement level against the global benchmark of 8% in 2012, and 7% in 2011.
During 2013, the Banking unit used a different survey to ascertain the minimum acceptable engagement levels
that are fixed and not expressed as an average. The engagement levels of the Banking unit are therefore at
59% against the 60% minimum. Therefore, the 2012 and 2013 engagement levels are not comparable, as the
methodologies are quite different.
Employee wellbeing programme (EWP)
During the past year, the Banking unit’s employee wellbeing programme continued to support employees’
wellbeing and drive minimisation of behaviour risk, both to the employee making use of the service and to
the Banking unit.
As the success of any organisation rests heavily on its human capital, employees contacting the EWP early
ensures that they receive the necessary emotional and psychological assistance in dealing with their issues
before these escalate and affect productivity.
Engagement with the EWP services through ICAS case management, and macro-level trends remained stable
for the year. It is positive to note there has been active engagement with the EWP regarding financial
management issues. More debt management/budgeting problems were managed through the programme
and employees were assisted with managing their financial difficulties.
There has also been an increase in the number of money management issues, which included affordability/
budgeting, other financial issues, debt consolidation, blacklisting/credit report, and tax, savings and
investments.
Financial wellbeing
Emoluments attachment order (EAO) audit
With the current challenges regarding the abuse of employee attachment orders (garnishees) by various
debt collectors, the Banking unit has secured the services of Summit Financial Services to audit EAOs for
irregularities, such as legality and overcharging. If irregularities are found, the debt collector is challenged
and the EAO rectified. The Banking unit assisted on employees’ behalf and at no cost to them. Summit was
furnished with a list of 563 emolument attachment orders, spread across 134 collectors/attorneys.
The final outcome of this process was not yet available at the time of this report.
Progress from the Financial Care Centre
Since its launch in 2012, the Financial Care Centre (FCC) has dealt with 1 450 applications from employees.
712 were assisted, of which the majority pertained to consolidation loans. To date, the FCC has consolidated
R36 million of employee debt, of which R20 million related to external debt and R16 million to internal debt.
Employees who were declined based on affordability were referred for debt counselling.
The majority of reasons for distress are bad spending patterns, education, medical, funeral and building
expenses.
8
accountability
Physical wellbeing
Physical wellbeing forms an important part of employees’ daily lives and is a key area of focus within the
wellbeing space. A health risk assessment (HRA) is a proactive tool used to assess the state of one’s current
health in order to track physical wellbeing. Post-test counselling helps to better understand one’s risk status.
For this reason the group developed a workshop, the Balancing Act, to encourage a healthier lifestyle.
Approximately 1 500 employees voluntarily participated in the HRA during the year, and focused interventions
have been developed to educate employees on physical wellbeing, fitness and initiatives with specific focus on
healthier lifestyles and nutrition.
HIV/AIDS workplace programme
The Banking unit acknowledges the seriousness and implications of HIV/AIDS, and therefore remains
committed to providing a supportive working environment for employees living with HIV/AIDS.
In 2012, the Banking unit embarked on a process of transferring the treatment of all HIV-positive employees
to their respective medical aids. The Banking unit provides employees with a subsidised medical aid, which
assists with comprehensive HIV/AIDS cover on all the medical aid options.
The future strategy within the Banking unit is to approach HIV/AIDS as a chronic condition and focus on
positive living. There has been significant progress during past HIV/AIDS awareness programmes and we
continue to educate employees on the importance of early detection, prevention and healthy living through
a holistic wellness methodology.
The statistics below are from testing and training during 2013:
Employees that participated in HIV/AIDS awareness programmes
353
Number of employees tested
184
% of employees who tested HIV-positive
4,8%
Health, safety and wellbeing
The Banking unit strives to ensure legal compliance with all relevant health and safety requirements.
In recognition of our responsibility as an employer in terms of the Act, we have instituted the following:
uu Emergency and fire evacuation policy and procedures;
uu A comprehensive employee wellbeing programme;
uu Fully trained first-aid officers;
uu Regular safety and first-aid training for employees;
uu Annual independent health and safety compliance audits; and
uu Future initiatives – to place all relevant policies and procedures on the intranet.
The incident rate has improved since the last financial year, with an almost 50% reduction in health and
safety-related incidents. The Banking unit strives for continuous improvement and, to ensure this, has set
specific objectives and targets.
The number of workplace injuries in the Banking unit is as follows:
Number of injuries
Lost time (hours)
Lost time (days)
Injury rate
Work-related fatalities
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
17
456
57
1,6%
–
11
336
42
1,1%
–
20
540
67,5
2,0%
–
14
224
28
1,8%
–
32
296
37
4,6%
–
All injuries were minor and mostly back or ankle/foot-related.
The Banking unit’s business performance is dependent on our ability to attract, retain and develop highperforming employees, as well as to ensure business continuity and sustainable growth through building
a talent pipeline to meet current and future business objectives.
Learnership programmes
These remain an important focus area to introduce learners to the workplace. The objectives of these
programmes are:
uu To build the internal pipeline. This has been effectively implemented in the collections call centre, with
73% of people on learnership programmes appointed to permanent positions in 2013; and
uu Create employment opportunities for the unemployed. Opportunities were granted which benefited
373 unemployed people.
African Bank won the award for domestic captive, a category honouring a company with in-house training,
for the Monyetla Work Readiness Programme last year. This award was given to the Banking unit by the
Department of Trade and Industry, and is designed to accelerate training for entry level jobs in the call centre
industry. It is a response to the need to develop local talent and is aimed at matriculants and diploma holders
and unemployed young South Africans between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
ABIL Institute
The ABIL Institute has grown from strength to strength and now provides leadership and management
programmes to permanent employees of the Banking unit, thereby developing the management and
leadership skills important to their respective roles.
A total of 222 employees enrolled and attended the programmes in the last financial year.
BANKSETA partnership
The Banking unit is an accredited SETA service provider. This partnership, with its main focus on skills and
leadership development, thus far has 42 beneficiaries.
The Banking unit won the special commendation award from the BANKSETA for best practice in skills
development for the third year in a row.
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accountability
African Bank leadership development programmes
In addition to the above, the Banking unit, in partnership with accredited service providers, successfully
launched the following programmes. (The number of people who benefited is indicated in brackets):
uu Women In Conversation – aimed at coaching up-and-coming young female leaders (75)
uu Executive coaching (22)
uu Emotional intelligence training (60)
uu Mentorship (40 mentors and 56 mentees)
uu Diversity and inclusion workshops (32)
uu Personal mastery (674)
uu Leadership development programme (173)
uu Coaching for performance (793)
uu African Bank high performance programme (18)
Study assistance programmes
The Banking unit is passionate about people development. This business sponsors deserving employees to
further their academic studies through bursaries and interest-free study loans. Ninety-four employees
benefited during the 2013 financial year.
Summary of skills statistics for 2013
2013
2012
2011
Investment in employee training and development*
R21,7 million
Proportion of the above focused on black employees**
R20,0 million
Training and development interventions
54 186
Employees trained on learnerships
453
Number of employees who received leadership training ***
1 952
Learners attending BANKSETA programmes
42
Talent development programme participants
All
R21,0 million
R19,3 million
26 553
240
936
20
144
R9,7 million
R19,3 million
14 242
224
515
83
13
* Including the compulsory 1% skills levy.
** African, Coloured and Indian people.
***New launch leadership programme: 1 887 and new manager programme: 65.
Total number of people trained on internal and external programmes*
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Total
people
trained
Customer
interface
Compliance
Selling skills
24 083
11 438
4 678
2 281
1 641
915
1 823
815
47 674
2 925
439
1 546
240
444
74
345
51
105
1
133
10
108
13
71
7
5 677
835
Total
27 447
13 224
5 196
2 677
1 747
1 058
1 944
893
54 186
Male
Total
hours
trained
Types of
training
Total number of hours trained on internal and external programmes
African
Coloured
Indian
White
Types of
training
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Customer
Interface
Compliance
Selling skills
78 862
6 832
1 884
39 251
3 627
1040
8 633
817
272
4 696
667
218
4 548
221
8
3 038
272
30
6 679
215
52
2 888 148 595
145 12 796
36
3 540
Total
87 578
43 918
9 722
5 581
4 777
3 340
6 946
3 069 164 931
Number of hours trained by employee category
African
Occupational
levels
Female
Coloured
Indian
White
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Total
hours
trained
12
24
21
15
73
187
216
697
1 686
5 850
22 617
795
1 449
6 867
679
914
3 560
835
1 018
2 821
882
857
1 448
1 899
2 329
2 487
1 423
970
433
9 783
19 356
94 870
27
40 225
Senior
management
149
Professionally
qualified
1 584
Skilled technical
5 969
Semi-skilled
54 637
Temporary
employees
25 239
13 753
587
407
88
80
44
Total
43 918
9 722
5 581
4 777
3 340
6 946
87 578
3 069 164 931
* These numbers represent the total number of courses/training – i.e. each employee could have undertaken more
than one course/training programme.
12
G4-LA10
accountability
African Bank, proudly the only bank invited to the National Skills Development conference
The National Skills Authority (NSA), in
collaboration with the Department of
Higher Education and Training (DHET),
hosted the National Skills Conference.
This was undertaken to tackle the
challenges of unemployment, poverty
and inequality.
African Bank was the only bank/financial
institution invited by the BANKSETA
to the exhibition, and showcased the
different opportunities and careers
within the bank to approximately
4 000 scholars from 12 different
schools in the Johannesburg area.
African Bank exhibition stand
The Banking unit’s transformation approach is to change the business so that employees are equitably
representative of the demographic profile of the South African population. The Banking unit’s employment
equity committee was reconstituted, meets on a quarterly basis and has put every effort into accelerating our
transformation process. The Banking unit committed to a two-year plan that will end in 2014.
The graph below shows the breakdown of employees per employee category according to gender, age group,
minority group membership, and other indicators of diversity.
Performance against targets
58,36%
Employment
equity
51,98%
53,96%
10,63
8,42
B-BBEE scorecard
8,87
0,40%
People with
disabilities
0,13%
0,23%
Current
G4-LA12
August 2012
Target 2013
Permanent employees
Employment equity
People with disabilities
Overall
Initial
profile
Aug
2012
%
Target
2013
%
51,98
0,13
52,11
58,36
0,44
58,77
All employees
Current
Sep
2013
%
Initial
profile
Aug
2012
%
Target
2013
%
Current
Sep
2013
%
53,96
0,23
54,19
56,02
0,13
56,15
61,55
0,40
61,96
57,42
0,23
57,65
Employment equity
Occupational level
Aug
2012
%
Current
%
Target
2013
%
Target
gap
under/
(over)
%
Top management
Senior management
Professionally qualified
Skilled technical
Semi-skilled
Unskilled
3,47
6,23
7,41
12,36
12,27
10,25
4,72
6,17
7,91
12,90
12,02
10,25
4,16
8,54
9,49
13,32
12,60
10,25
(0,56)
2,37
1,58
0,42
0,59
–
Male
Occupational level
Top management
Senior management
Skilled technical
Semi-skilled
Unskilled
Total permanent
Temporary employees
Total
Current
%
Target
2013
%
–
–
0,04
0,06
0,04
–
–
–
0,06
0,04
0,12
0,02
–
–
0,04
0,06
0,29
0,02
–
–
(0,02)
0,02
0,17
–
Female
Foreign nationals
A
C
I
W
A
C
I
W
1
5
47
255
886
3
–
5
13
46
118
–
1
5
34
48
61
–
3
27
118
87
19
–
–
3
48
294
2 163
8
–
2
17
56
266
–
–
2
20
69
126
–
–
11
71
165
118
–
–
1
1
1
1
–
–
–
4
1
–
–
5
61
373
1 022
3 758
11
1 197
182
149
254
2 516
341
217
365
4
5
5 230
160
8
5
7
252
13
5
10
3
–
463
1 357
190
154
261
2 768
354
222
375
7
5
5 693
Key: A = African, C = Coloured, I = Indian, W = White
14
Aug
2012
%
Target
gap
under/
(over)
%
Male Female
Total
accountability
Retail unit
The breakdown of total employees of the Retail unit is as follows:
2013
2012
2011
2010
Opening balance
Employee gains
Less: attrition
9 248
2 413
(3 711)
10 303
2 527
(3 582)
9 439
2 099
(3 788)
13 454
2 283
(3 745)
Resignations
Retrenchments
Dismissals (misconduct)
Deaths (not work-related)
Other*
(2 837)
(242)
(448)
(64)
(119)
(2 393)
(537)
(491)
(73)
(88)
(2 171)
(819)
(583)
(97)
(118)
(2 636)
(327)
(536)
(104)
(142)
7 950
9 248
10 303
11 992
Total employees*
* Total number of employees in RSA and foreign operations.
The workforce regional composition for the Retail unit is as follows:
Permanent
Nonpermanent
Total
Botswana
Eastern Cape
Free State
Gauteng
KwaZulu-Natal
Lesotho
Limpopo
Mpumalanga
Namibia
North West
Northern Cape
Swaziland
Western Cape
Zambia
283
845
432
2 240
1 115
109
531
685
214
463
192
79
524
132
–
7
6
38
13
–
7
9
1
4
7
–
14
–
283
852
438
2 278
1 128
109
538
694
215
467
199
79
538
132
Total
7 844
106
7 950
Province/country
Non-permanent includes temporary and contract staff.
The Retail unit has a gender split of 40% male and 60% female. Employee tenure remains low, with 53,7%
in the 0 to 5 year category. The average age of employees is between 30 and 39 years.
G4-10
Age analysis (%)
Tenure with company (%)
20,2%
17,1%
20,2%
10,1%
53,7%
33,5%
29,2%
23,8%
Under 30
0 to 5 years
30 to 39
6 to 10 years
40 to 49
11 to 15 years
over 50
over 15 years plus 50
The Retail unit showed an increase in turnover, which can be attributed to: performance management on
non-performing sales personnel; the process of outsourcing the warehousing function and related employees
to external service providers; and outsourcing the general assistant function and related employees to an
external service provider. Some of the affected employees who did not want to or could not transfer to the
various new facilities opted for voluntary retrenchment.
Employee turnover (%)
140
127,6
120
100
80
60
43,0
42,8
35,2
40
20,7 20,4
20
8,7
0
Voluntary
2010
2011
16
29,4
24,9
2012
2013
33,9
36,1
13,5
Involuntary
Total turnover
accountability
Employee relations
In the Retail unit, acceptable behaviour by employees is an essential requirement for the successful
maintenance of the employer-employee relationship. In this way, the employer is able to achieve business
objectives, while at the same time creating a pleasant working environment for employees.
All employees have the right to freedom of association with trade unions, irrespective of their position within
the company. Collective bargaining as a process of engaging with organised labour is a fully integrated work
practice within the Retail unit, with 34% of our total South African workforce being SACCAWU members,
relative to 28% in 2012. Union interactions and negotiations occur in all countries the Retail unit trades in,
except for Namibia. In South Africa, the Retail unit has concluded a three-year remuneration agreement
without any labour unrest/disruption.
As a general point of departure, disciplinary steps focus primarily on progressive (remedial/corrective) action,
rather than punitive action. The latter is generally only taken when informal steps have been unsuccessful, or
where the offence is so serious that the continued service relationship has become untenable or intolerable.
During the year under review, EHL received 179 dispute referrals to the CCMA, an increase from 103 in 2012,
of which 8% were in favour of the employee.
28%
34%
66%
72%
G4-11
SACCAWU
SACCAWU
Non-union
Non-union
Employee benefits
Within the Retail unit, full-time employees receive the following benefits:
uu Retirement benefits;
uu Medical aid;
uu Bonus/incentives, either as a 13th cheque or as part of an incentive scheme;
uu Staff discounts on normal-priced furniture;
uu Flexible working hours;
uu Annual leave, which includes maternity, paternity, compassionate, study and birthday;
uu Funeral scheme – half of the contributions subsidised by the Retail unit;
uu Employee wellbeing programme (EWP), which includes a 24-hour call centre, medical advice line, trauma
and crisis line, specialist advice on chronic diseases, referral to a doctor or clinic, financial advice line and
legal support services;
uu Long service awards, a monetary reward based on five-year service intervals; and
uu E-learning, which includes various modules at no cost to the employee, sales development programme,
interacting with customers, promotional activities, service excellence, etc.
Temporary or contract employees do not have access to these benefits.
Parental leave is available for both male and female employees. Currently, all permanently employed female
employees qualify for 26 weeks’ paid maternity leave. All male employees qualify for paid paternity leave of
five working days. This period of paid paternity leave is also available to male employees for a legal adoption.
Over the financial period, 76% of all employees that made use of parental leave returned to work, and 89%
of these employees were retained for at least 12 months after this period of parental leave.
Physical wellbeing
The Retail unit has measures in place to increase understanding and accessibility of support for those
employees in crisis.
In 2013, EWP support for employees infected or affected by HIV/AIDS was extended to include employees’
spouses.
Participation in the programme is voluntary and anonymous. The only information supplied to the employer
is statistical information regarding the number of calls received in the call centre as per the various categories
covered.
EWP – 2013 (calls received) (%)
12%
23%
17%
12%
6%
6%
8%
16%
18
Legal
Trauma
Financial
HIV Migration
Chronic
Medical
Medical
Medical
accountability
Health, safety and wellbeing
The Retail unit also strives to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of all employees, as well as to ensure the
safety and health of all customers, contractors and any other person who may be affected by the activities of
the Retail unit.
All employees are accountable for workplace health and safety. The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
management programme encourages involvement at all employee levels and provides for leadership
and governance at all levels of management. Executive management is accountable for ensuring that
standards, guidelines and policies are in place, while brand managing executives ensure that the standards,
policies and guidelines are effectively implemented and monitored.
The Retail unit’s OHS management programme is designed to facilitate continual improvement. The basic
programme has been successfully introduced into the Retail unit, and is being expanded into the transport
operation. The programme consists of monthly branch health and safety reports, required equipment
inspections, training and appointment of first aiders and health and safety representatives where required,
as well as other site-specific appointments (e.g. fire wardens, stacking supervisors).
The operational compliance team carries out cycle inspections against compliance scorecards in all the brands
and operates independently from the brands.
The compliance scorecard comprises a series of questions that provides a list of key indicators with which to
measure legal compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993.
OHS compliance tracking
The following graph tracks the Retail unit’s percentage compliance with the internal OHS compliance
scorecard.
OHS compliance tracking (%) (Sep 2012 to Aug 2013)
100,0
87,5
75,0
62,5
50,0
Sep 12
Oct 12
Nov 12
Jan 13
Feb 13
Mar 13
Apr 13
May 13
Jun 13
Jul 13
Aug 13
Goal
Monthly compliance score
Group average
Operations undergo external risk audits in accordance with the requirements of the Retail unit’s insurer.
The health and safety committee meets quarterly to discuss policy and procedural related matters. Each
brand also has a national consultative forum (NCF) which meets quarterly. The NCF consists of all levels of
employees, and discusses various matters, including health and safety.
Accidents are reported in accordance with section 24 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA).
All employees are encouraged to report near-miss incidents.
Accident statistics
20131
2012
2011
2010
Lost hours
Lost days2
Number of work-related fatalities
Number of work-related diseases
Number of work-related injuries
1 371
171,4
–
–
19
1 541
192,6
–
–
32
658
82,3
2
–
34
770
96,3
–
–
40
1
Figures are reported from October 2012 to August 2013, while 2011 and 2012 results are reported for a full financial
year.
2
Calculated on an eight-hour working day.
The increase in the total lost hours between 2010/2011 and 2012/2013 can be attributed to the nature
of the incidents where employees have been booked off for longer periods of time. The majority of these
incidents are due to injuries as a result of motor vehicle accidents (MVA) and handling accidents, while the
majority of lost time is attributed to MVAs, followed by slip/trip and handling.
Injury cause (%)
Lost time cause (%)
5%
7%
16%
27%
37%
37%
29%
5%
37%
Handling
Handling
Personal
Personal
MVA
MVA
Slip/trip
Slip/trip
Unknown/other
Unknown/other
In the Retail unit, 53 employees were identified as top talent from the middle and senior management levels.
These employees were paired with senior executives as their mentors. The equity breakdown of these
53 employees is 75% from the designated group, 49% black and 47% female. The programme is formally
known as Leaders for Tomorrow.
Regular get-togethers were held with prominent business leaders, from CEOs to motivational speakers, sharing
their success stories and leadership advice.
20
accountability
Out of this programme developed another forum called the Women’s Dialogue Forum. The aim of this forum
is to encourage women to become part of the solution, share their ideas and discuss their difficulties, help one
another bring about change, make a difference and reach their full potential.
Three employees were nominated to participate in the Rising Star Awards, hosted by the Human Capital
Institute Africa, and one of them was announced as the winner in the FMCG/retail category.
Given the recent announcement to ABIL shareholders of the pending sale of the EHL group and its effect on
employees, it was decided not to conduct an employee satisfaction survey this financial year, as the survey
results may be unduly impacted by the announcement.
Training and development is a critical component for advancement. Various programmes are available,
and specific functional training programmes have been identified for employees at middle and junior
management levels. These training programmes are available as e-learning programmes and employees
are being assessed through skills tests.
Specifically within the Retail unit, this year has been marked by a substantial change in the management of
top talent, potential top talent and succession planning in general.
During the year, 158 people participated in three learnerships pitched at NQF levels 4 to 5, which were
sponsored by the Wholesale and Retail SETA. In addition, the W&R SETA also sponsored an international
leadership development programme (ILDP) for one learner and a regional management development
programme for 15 learners.
Summary of skills statistics
Investment in employee training and development*
Proportion of the above focused on black employees**
Number of training and development interventions
Employees currently on learnerships
Employees receiving leadership training
Learners currently on a Wholesale & Retail SETA programme
Employees currently on a talent development programme
2013
2012
2011
R6,3 million
R5,4 million
15 725
71
72
103
57
R12,0 million
R9,2 million
14 404
222
175
312
41
R9,3 million
n/a
9 478
161
51
282
56
* Excluding the compulsory 1% skills levy.
**African, Coloured and Indian people.
Internal programmes (number of people trained)
Male
Types of training
Female
A
C
I
W
A
C
I
W
Total
Sales course
267
Management development
course
258
Regional managers’ course
9
Beyonders
86
Biometric time and attendance
51
Coaching and mentoring
–
CPA
944
In-store product knowledge
1 794
Other training (CPS, tax back,
loan improve, client affordability,
Gridding, etc.)
592
Synergy
231
Telephone etiquette
6
47
15
20
448
34
11
29
871
37
2
13
6
–
106
226
17
4
9
3
–
93
155
41
219
6
8
10
108
5
65
1
–
174 1 976
237 2 555
53
5
17
8
1
235
530
19
1
6
3
–
144
314
73
717
9
44
28
277
8
149
–
2
388 4 060
628 6 439
71
26
1
60
16
–
171
22
1
136
138
4
64
64
–
264 2 177
79
961
12
28
535
372
Total
4 238
819
385
4
688 6 587 1 161
626 1 518 15 725
Internal programmes (training hours)
Male
Types of training
Female
A
C
I
W
A
C
I
W
Sales course
32 040
Management
development
course
30 960
Regional
managers’ course
1 080
Beyonders
10 320
Biometric time
and attendance
6 120
Coaching and
mentoring
–
CPA
113 280
In-store product
knowledge
215 280
Other training
(CPS, tax back, loan
improve, client
affordability, etc.) 71 040
Synergy
27 720
Telephone
etiquette
720
5 640
1 800
2 400
53 760
4 080
1 320
3 480
104 520
4 440
2 040
4 920
26 280
6 360
2 280
8 760
86 040
240
1 560
480
1 080
720
1 200
960
12 960
600
2 040
120
720
1 080
3 360
5 280
33 240
720
360
600
7 800
960
360
960
17 880
–
12 720
–
11 160
120
20 880
–
237 120
120
28 200
–
17 280
–
46 560
240
487 200
27 120
18 600
28 440
306 600
63 600
37 680
75 360
772 680
8 520
3 120
7 200
1 920
20 520
2 640
98 280
46 200
16 320
16 560
7 680
7 680
31 680
9 480
261 240
115 320
120
–
120
480
480
–
1 440
3 360
64 200
44 640
Total
22
508 560
82 560 790 440 139 320
Total
75 120 182 160 1 887 000
accountability
External programmes (number of people trained)
Male
Types of training
Female
A
C
I
W
A
C
I
W
Total
New managers’ programme
Finance for nonfinancial managers
Managing managers for results
Matric equivalent
Higher certificate in business
management – retail
Essential in retail maths (RSA)
Essential in retail maths (ROA)
10
1
1
2
9
3
–
1
27
2
2
9
–
–
2
–
2
–
2
2
–
1
–
12
2
–
4
–
–
–
3
1
2
10
7
29
13
2
61
2
–
3
1
–
–
2
2
5
15
8
18
5
–
2
1
1
–
6
2
4
45
15
93
Total
99
8
4
15
63
16
2
19
226
External programmes (training hours)
Male
Types of training
New managers’
programme
Finance for nonfinancial managers
Managing managers for
results
Matric equivalent
Higher certificate in
business management
– retail
Essential in retail maths
(RSA)
Essential in retail maths
(ROA)
Total
Female
A
C
I
W
A
C
I
W
1 600
160
160
320
1 440
480
–
160
4 320
48
–
–
48
24
48
72
240
64
1 440
–
320
64
–
64
–
–
1 920
–
640
–
320
32
224
4 640
2 184
336
168
336
2 520
840
168
1 008
7 560
16
–
–
16
64
–
8
16
120
32
744
488
24
–
40
144
16
–
5 840
840
392
824
6 112
2 024
496
Total
1 320 17 848
Total hours trained by employee category – internal and external
African
Occupational
levels
Female
Professionally
qualified
4 563
Skilled technical 406 488
Semi-skilled
337 464
Defined
decision-making 10 927
Total
759 442
Coloured
Indian
White
Male
Female
Male
Female
Male
Female
7 895
302 954
179 989
504
107 821
48 005
1 255
47 452
23 521
248
20 611
7 729
911
9 373
5 590
4 922
193 343
28 890
37 016
–
2 037
496
160
–
527 853
156 026
74 265
29 083
16 033
227 155
Male
Total
hours
trained
13 904
34 200
84 579 1 172 621
15 857 647 046
345
50 982
114 685 1 904 849
Figures have been rounded, therefore totals may differ.
The average training hours per employee amounted to 223 hours, while the average training hours per female
employee amounted to 231 hours. The average training per male employee was lower, at 205 hours.
Permanent employees
Employment equity
All employees
Average
July
2012
%
Current
July
2013
%
Target
July
2014
%
Average
July
2012
%
Current
July
2013
%
Target
July
2014
%
94,6
5,0
95,0
2,0
96,0
2,0
94,6
4,9
95,0
2,0
96,0
2,0
Employment equity
Occupational level
Top management
Senior management
and middle management
Skilled technical and
junior management
Semi-skilled
Unskilled
24
Target
gap
(under)/
over
%
Target
gap
(under)/
over
%
July
2012
%
Current
July
2013
%
0,0
(2,0)
0,0
0,0
0,0
0,0
0,0
0,0
60,0
(2,0)
47,0
33,0
0,0
91,0
99,0
100,0
(2,0)
0,0
0,0
84,0
99,0
100,0
70,0
99,0
100,0
(1,0)
0,0
0,0
July
2012
%
Current
July
2013
%
0,0
43,0
40,0
50,0
55,0
90,0
99,0
100,0
G4-LA9, LA12
accountability
Male
Foreign
nationals
Female
Occupational levels
A
C
I
W
A
C
I
W
Male Female
Total
Top management
Senior management
Professionally
qualified
Skilled technical
Semi-skilled
Unskilled
Permanent
employees
Temporary workers
1
3
–
1
1
2
3
10
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
–
–
–
–
32
458
1 188
264
9
74
135
23
29
83
44
–
122
20
196
703
36 2 406
–
1
7
193
294
–
12
101
100
–
70
328
167
–
–
2
1
–
1
302
1 2 139
2 4 373
–
288
1 946
72
242
11
159
1
367 3 130
8
126
494
21
213
6
569
14
3
–
4 7 127
1
260
Total
2 018
253
160
375 3 256
515
219
583
3
5 7 387
5
20
Please note that the difference in the workforce composition numbers and the group employment equity numbers
is due to the fact that the equity numbers are aligned with the reporting period to the Department of Labour, i.e.
July 2013, while the workforce composition numbers are as at 30 September 2013.
Various strategies and programmes have been implemented to achieve the targets:
uu An employment equity executive has been appointed to manage the EE portfolio;
uu Sufficient time off is allowed for all representatives of the consultative forum to prepare for and participate
in meetings;
uu Mentoring programmes are an effective channel for transferring knowledge across the organisation.
These were introduced during 2011, and the main objective is to identify potential employees for
the programme; and
uu Various human capital governance structures are in place to ensure we deliver on the employment equity
agenda. These structures involve monthly exco meetings, quarterly capital forums, quarterly board
meetings, etc.
Diversity and sensitisation training
Members of the various EE consultative forums will continue to receive training on diversity and sensitisation.
A sensitisation programme was conducted during 2013 which addressed unfair discrimination, diversity and
tolerance. The principles of employment equity and diversity are incorporated into the distance-learning
programme for branch and regional managers.
Succession planning
Various succession planning programmes were implemented, from brand level to corporate level, to
train, develop, coach and mentor employees to be appointed to executive levels. The following senior
appointments into executive positions were made for the year under review: four African males, one
Indian male, two White females, and one Coloured female.
Communication strategy
The EE consultative forums within each brand serve as the leading communication vehicle. Communication
has been identified as a barrier, hence a concerted effort is being made to rectify this perception. Vehicles like
the marketing divisions and the brand magazines have been used extensively to overcome this barrier.
Human rights
The group is committed to a policy of fair dealing and integrity in conducting our business. This commitment
is actively endorsed by the board, and is based on a fundamental belief that business should be conducted
honestly, fairly and legally. We expect all employees to share the commitment to these high moral, ethical
and legal standards.
This declaration is contained in the Business and Retail units’ code of ethics. The code further states that the
board has agreed to give its full support to the code of corporate practice and conduct, as contained in the
recommendations of the King Committee.
One of the key points discussed in this code of ethics deals specifically with discrimination. It states the
following: “All employees have the right to work in an environment which is free from any form of harassment
or unlawful discrimination with respect to race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, place of origin, citizenship,
creed, political persuasion, age, marital or family status, disability or religion.”
All employees had to consent to and sign an agreement to this code of ethics when it was initially launched.
Since then, it forms part of the employment pack and induction process. In addition, a training programme
on diversity has been developed and is available to all employees via the intranet.
It is our policy that no individual younger than 18 years of age will be employed, nor people without a matric
or equivalent qualification. We do, however, have a programme offering to assist employees without
a matric or equivalent to obtain this, at no cost to the employee.
26
accountability
Social capital
Our approach
Our vision will only become a reality through the continued commitment, energy and passion of our people.
Their engagement and development is therefore central to the execution of our vision. ABIL continues its
commitment to deliver economic, social and employee development through enforcing policies that drive
transformation beyond mere compliance to focus on sustainable development.
ABIL believes that small businesses play a vital role in creating jobs and wealth in the economy. It is for this
reason that the group supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through the Banking unit’s supply chain,
by channelling business towards these companies to help them be financially independent, and through
granting customers personal credit to use towards starting or supporting their small businesses.
From 2014 onwards, the procurement action plan to launch reporting and measurement of the achievements
of the Banking and Retail units’ suppliers will be incorporated into ABIL’s sustainability reporting.
The scorecards detailed in this capital are measured on the previous year’s audited numbers.
Economic value added statement
2013
R million
2012*
Value added
Income from operations
Insurance claims
Credit impairment charge
21 933
(1 664)
(9 155)
19 172
(972)
(4 842)
Risk-adjusted income from operations
Other interest and investment income
Interest expense
Capital items and loss on sale of assets
11 114
393
(4 564)
(4 656)
13 403
219
(3 680)
(17)
2 287
9 925
Value allocated
Employees and directors
Suppliers of various services
Provide shareholders with cash dividends
Government (direct taxes, STC, VAT and RSC)
Retention for growth
2 859
2 875
887
866
(5 200)
2 614
2 544
1 549
1 582
1 636
Depreciation and amortisation
Deferred taxation
(Loss)/profit for the year (net of dividends paid)
375
(489)
(5 086)
298
(203)
1 541
2 287
9 925
Total value added
Total value allocated
* Restated figures for 2012.
Banking unit
The Banking unit improved its B-BBEE status dramatically, achieving level 3 status under the Financial Services
Charter (FSC) compared with a level 4 (2011) and a level 6 (2010) under the CoGP codes. While there has
been significant and consistent improvement on the empowerment scores, we continually strive to further
improve.
To achieve this target, we continue to conduct reviews of opportunities to enhance the Banking unit’s
empowerment and transformation status, and identify areas for improvement using the FSC scorecard as
a guide (as illustrated in the table below). In the short term, we are prioritising ownership, management and
employment equity; we continue to uplift the skills base of employees and suppliers through preferential
procurement and enterprise development.
Below is the Banking unit’s empowerment information for the past three years.
B-BBEE scorecard information – Banking unit
FSC targets
Banking unit
FSC score
2012
Equity ownership
Employment equity
Skills development
Enterprise development
Socio-economic development
14,00
8,00
15,00
10,00
16,00
15,00
3,00
Total score
81,00
Element
CoGP target
Banking unit
CoGP score
2011
Banking unit
CoGP score
2010
6,68
5,52
9,71
9,00
12,74
15,00
3,00
20,00
10,00
15,00
15,00
20,00
15,00
5,00
7,35
5,40
8,80
12,60
16,79
15,00
4,03
6,45
4,28
8,59
6,73
15,22
0,72
4,11
61,65
100,00
69,97
46,10
Equity ownership
This pillar measures access to finance and also looks at the ownership element of the scorecard.
The Banking unit continues to deliver on its primary commitment to improve the lives of South Africans
through broadening and deepening access to credit. While our target market has broadened to include all
South Africans who would like to access credit, the majority of customers remain those who historically had
no access to credit. The focus remains to provide credit to individuals to improve their homes and quality of
life, educate their children, to assist new and striving entrepreneurs to start and support their businesses
through personal loans, as well as to address individuals’ general personal and household needs.
During 2008 and 2011, ABIL enabled shareholders to create wealth through its two empowerment vehicles,
Eyomhlaba and Hlumisa, where the shares were sold at a substantial discount to a broad base of black
shareholders (which included employees, customers and other qualifying black people in South Africa). As at
31 August 2013, the two companies owned 74 million ABIL ordinary shares, which equated to an effective
B-BBEE shareholding of 9,1%, of which 2% is owned by black women, and 1,6% is owned by black directors
of ABIL.
For the 2012 financial year, 11 (2011: 12) directors served on the board; four executive and seven
non-executive; five members were black, of which two were women. At Exco level, there were 14 (2011: 12)
members, of whom three (2011: three) were black and two (2011: one) were women – an improvement
from 2011.
28
accountability
Employment equity
Employment equity is at the heart of the group’s strategy for 2013. ABIL is committed to creating equal
opportunities for all races to be represented at all managerial levels, especially putting more focus on middle
management, senior management and employees with disabilities. In the past few years, the Banking unit
has focused on achieving the internal and employment equity targets set by the Department of Labour (DoL)
at executive levels. In 2012, we continued to improve black representation at exco level, by appointing two
black women. We continue to do well on our targets with junior management under both the CoGP and the
FSC. The Banking unit achieved 9,71 on employment equity, a slight improvement of 1%, while the Retail unit
score also improved to 4,66, an increase of almost 1%. More work is being done to ensure improvement in
these scores.
Skills development
In 2011, skills development was one of the Banking unit’s main focal points, resulting in an excellent
improvement in 2012, achieving 9 points out of an FSC target of 10 points. The Banking unit aims to obtain
full points on this element going forward. This has been the result of introducing various learnerships, namely
BANKSETA-supported programmes with an 85% retention rate, internal learnerships for aspiring and junior
managers, and learnerships for the unemployed relatives of the Banking unit’s employees. The focus on
leadership programmes has had a positive reception. This includes executive coaching, leadership-based
coaching for women and personal mastery classes. Other internal skills development programmes included
internal mentorship for all employees, roadshows and career assessments.
Preferential procurement within the Banking unit is promoted through enabling B-BBEE empowered
companies that are exempted micro enterprises (EMEs) and qualifying small enterprises (QSEs) to be part of
the Banking unit’s supply chain. Currently the Banking unit has just over 1 000 service providers, with a total
measured spend of R886 million (2013) and R996 million (2012).
In the previous two B-BBEE verifications, the Banking unit did well in the overall preferential procurement
scores. Although it has not achieved its internal targets of 90% on B-BBEE empowered companies
and 50% on EMEs and QSEs, it is planning to achieve the targets in two to three years. In 2012,
approximately 50% (2011: 52,2%) of the Banking unit’s total spend was channelled through B-BBEE
empowered companies, and of this 26% (2011: 32,2%) went to EMEs and QSEs.
Under the FSC, the Banking unit received an overall B-BBEE status of a level 3 (2011: level 4 – CoGP). Our
preferential procurement score under FSC dropped to 12,74 compared to 16,79 in 2011 due to changes in
the scoring of both empowerment codes. As a group, we aim to improve this score for 2013 and beyond, by
channelling even more business to empowered service providers, advising non-empowered service providers
on ways to improve their B-BBEE status and introducing a service provider rotation system where we shall
select three service providers as preferred providers for most commodities, with at least one provider being
black owned and the business being awarded on a rotational basis.
The Banking unit believes in stimulating job creation through buying from local suppliers, knowing that,
through increased local procurement, more people will be employed, which will boost the South African
economy. The Banking unit engages with its service providers and business units on the procurement
policy and strategies through annual summits and regular interactions on service delivery.
Environmental sustainability is the focus this year and going forward. The Banking unit’s procurement policy
incorporates green sustainability, which is in its early development stage.
Retail unit
The Retail unit achieved a level 5 accreditation for both 2012 and 2011. While there was no improvement in
the B-BBEE accreditation level, the Retail unit is pursuing a level 4 accreditation in 2013.
B-BBEE scorecard information – Retail unit
Element
Retail unit
CoGP score
2012 CoGP target
Retail unit
CoGP score
2011
Retail unit
CoGP score
2010
Equity ownership
Employment equity
Skills development
9,82
4,19
4,66
5,07
16,93
15,00
5,00
20,00
10,00
15,00
15,00
20,00
15,00
5,00
7,35
–
3,97
5,62
18,34
15,00
5,00
6,45
1,49
3,99
2,44
16,78
12,65
5,00
Total score
60,67
100,00
55,28
48,80
The Retail unit did not have black representation at board and senior management levels in 2012, but with
the recent appointments of two black executives at board and exco levels, these numbers will improve.
Skills development
The Retail unit decreased marginally on its skills development score, from 5,62 to 5,07. This number is targeted
to improve through an enhanced focus on training, as well as participation in learnership programmes.
Preferential procurement and enterprise development
The Retail unit achieved 16,93 out of 20 for preferential procurement, and 15 out of 15 for enterprise
development. For the B-BBEE accreditation in 2013, the Retail unit prioritised employment equity,
skills development and preferential procurement as the aspects of the CoGP scorecard that must be
improved to achieve the targeted level 4 rating.
ABIL plans going forward
Going forward, ABIL will broaden its transformation initiatives to include economic development, employee
development and socio and business development, which cover elements that are in the FSC, and are
illustrated below:
30
Economic development
Employee development
Socio & business development
Ownership
Access to finance
Empowerment financing
Management control
Employment equity
Skills development
accountability
Supplier development
Banking unit
Overview
The Banking unit has focused on value creation in its supply chain through empowering small and medium
service providers by paying some of them early to improve their cashflow. The unit also assists and guides
them to achieve their B-BBEE credentials, and supplies them with used office furniture and computers to
improve their working conditions and environment.
For the first time since the FSC sector charter was gazetted, the Banking unit surpassed its targets, achieving
full points on enterprise development. This was as a result of the Banking unit offering loans to individuals
for starting up their businesses or buying stock for their informal micro businesses, like spaza shops. This
information is gathered by an independent research company employed by the Banking unit. These results
show that 1% of the loans made by customers are used towards starting or supporting small businesses.
Also, it has emerged in our CEO and customer roadshows that a growing number of customers use the loans
to start small businesses through third parties. We plan to maintain this score going forward.
Relationships
The Banking unit relies heavily on developing long term relationships with core suppliers and has worked hard
over the years to foster strong ties with suppliers. It is as a result of this dedication that the Banking unit is
able to work with these suppliers in reaching its goal of sustainable business practices. Sustainability within
procurement is governed through the continued use of supplier contracts, which provide guidelines regarding
the terms and conditions of purchase and trade. No suppliers are able to do business with the Banking unit
without first undertaking to sign and to uphold our terms and conditions.
At present, the terms and conditions for suppliers include a declaration of compliance in terms of the
Consumer Protection Act 2010 and the B-BBEE Act, 53 of 2003. Going forward, the inclusion of a global best
practice declaration by suppliers is being investigated. It is envisaged to include declarations regarding the
proper treatment of workers and work conditions, as well as proper management of environmental resources.
This will include regulations from the Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 and the following
International Organisation for Standardisation standards:
uu ISO 14000 – Environmental Management; and
uu ISO 9001 – Supply Chain Management.
The continued belief that long term relationships with suppliers will lead to mutually beneficial partnerships
is the cornerstone of meeting sustainability targets in the future. Suppliers have been requested to complete
a questionnaire that informs the Banking unit of their environmental responsibilities and compliance.
This information is used to rate suppliers in terms of the Banking unit’s overall governance requirements.
Retail unit
Overview
The Retail unit achieved the maximum score in this category, and has done so for the previous two
accreditations. The past year has been one of the toughest trading periods in decades, with severely
depressed sales resulting in the need for significantly reduced purchases from suppliers. This has been an
industry feature and is not limited to the Retail unit, although it has been exacerbated by credit cutbacks.
This economic downturn has coincided with a need to look at opportunities to reduce costs, one of which
has been a focus on reducing inventory holdings throughout the Retail unit.
We recognise the impact that slower sales in the Retail unit have on suppliers and we have been cautious in
maintaining regular communication with suppliers to:
uu Keep them apprised of the sales volumes situation;
uu Identify opportunities for new products, or enhancements to existing products, of lower cost, but equal or
better quality to stimulate sales; and
uu Ensure that while total purchases are reduced, there is still a fair distribution of purchases across the
majority of the key suppliers to aid them in dealing with current economic pressures.
We continue to work with the small and medium suppliers on an ad hoc basis to assist them in alleviating
cash flow pressures, by arranging early payment agreements. We have also assisted some suppliers with the
purchases of raw materials for merchandise and, in some instances, we have also assisted with the purchase
of equipment for suppliers.
Relationships
Formal interaction with suppliers has taken place, which included a supplier breakfast led by the CEO, during
which an update was provided on the business at both a macro and a micro level. This proved most beneficial
in that it laid the foundation for the ongoing trading environment with suppliers and has helped to manage
expectations accordingly.
In recognition of the dependency on the peak trading period for the success of both the Retail unit’s business
and, as such, the suppliers’ business, it was decided to leverage the supply chain network to:
uu Hold a series of meetings with the key suppliers to explain the requirements and expectations;
uu Hold individual meetings with each supplier at which they receive a purchase order and an associated
confirmed booking for each of these orders for the entire period from October through January;
uu Continuously review forecasts; and
uu Regularly review supplier relationships from a supply chain perspective.
Not only is packaging always a focus to ensure that the product is adequately protected, but increased focus
has been placed on looking at opportunities for reuse or recycling. Further to this, please refer to the natural
capital section: waste and recycling in this report.
Assessment of compliance
Currently supplier assessments are conducted with a focus on governance issues before suppliers are approved
as preferred suppliers of the Retail unit, and assessments are further conducted on current preferred suppliers.
We assess areas of risk, B-BBEE compliance and environmental sustainability compliance. The risk assessment
includes submission of a valid tax clearance from SARS and a letter of good standing from the supplier’s bank.
However, the health and safety assessment impact of products and services does not exist in a pre-emptive
format.
Supplier compliance is measured in the service level agreement (SLA) reviews which take place at agreed
intervals. These sessions not only review contract compliance but also examine other performance aspects
such as service delivery, quality and cost. The scope of the SLA review mechanism is being expanded to
include OHASA compliance, risk management and mitigation strategies to effectively manage any
attendant risks.
The Retail unit is largely reactive to products which show some health or safety concerns and relies on its
suppliers to address issues of non-compliance.
The suppliers are bound to comply with the requirements of the Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008 and
declare their awareness of that obligation before signing the supplier terms and conditions when doing
business with the group.
32
GRI PR 1 and 2
accountability
Environmentally responsible procurement
The Retail unit is committed to ensuring that the products used are environmentally responsible and
sustainable. The establishment of minimum requirements for all procurement is in its early developmental
stage. It is the Retail unit’s aim to collaborate with all suppliers to ensure compliance with local environmental
regulations, and strive to reach environmental targets that exceed those specified in regulation. The reduction
in water and electricity usage by factories and adoption of environmentally sustainable practices by
manufacturers among those factors considered being explored.
Already, the impact of timber furniture manufacturing on the environment is taken into consideration with
imported furniture items and items produced for Wetherlys, and responsible environmental management
solutions are being considered as part of long term business strategies throughout the Retail unit. Formalised
policies and procedures regarding the responsibilities of suppliers to the environment are being formalised.
In addition, the topic of sustainability and positive environmental contribution and reduction of harmful
carbon emissions is a fundamental component of the fabric of supplier engagements both current and future,
and is tabled in each strategic sourcing process that is undertaken by the Retail unit.
Customer product information and labelling
In the Retail unit, informing customers of the proper use, care and composition of the products that they
purchase is an important component of our customer interaction. We want customers to purchase products
knowing that they are of good quality, safe and produced responsibly. Care is taken to ensure that suppliers
provide the legally prescribed labelling on products so that customers are informed of the composition and
origination of materials, where applicable.
We are in the process of creating a list of requirements that align with the compliance expectations of the
Occupational Health and Safety Act, 85 of 1993 that will form part of the terms and conditions of doing
business with the Retail unit.
Due to the above strict processes in dealing with marketing compliance issues, we have not had any incidents
of non-compliance with regulations concerning marketing communications which have resulted in fines,
penalties or warnings.
GRI PR 3 and 4
Sustainability roadmap
EHL Sustainability
Tek/Defy
Plug
Advise
issues to be
considered
by product
category and
assist with
development
of applicable
scorecards
Auvere
Florentine
Lounge
Case
Restonic
Bedding
Legal compliance
Legal:
scorecard
Good corporate governance
GCG:
scorecard
Questionnaire
Packaging
Commence
with an
end-to-end
evaluation of
opportunities
around
packaging
and waste
management
as lowhanging fruit
that can be
actioned
quickly
Interaction
with specific
suppliers
to obtain
industry
input
Delta
Waste management
DCs and Xdocks
Recover waste
from customer
Recover old
appliances
Evaluate current
process etc
regarding waste,
power and
water; action for
improvement
Evaluate if there
is a business case
to retrieve all
packaging material
from customers’
homes on delivery.
If so, develop
proposal and
implement
Evaluate if there
is a business case
to recover old
appliances for
recycling, friendly
disposal, etc.
Develop proposal
Waste management at supplier
Roll out recycling,
environmental
friendliness, etc. to
suppliers, initially
focusing on waste
management
Action plan
by supplier
Develop
link to the
scorecard
whereby the
action plan
may suggest
the use of
“RE” as third
party to
assist
The above is a roadmap for engagement with suppliers in respect of understanding the current levels of
compliance, gaps, interventions required, and associated timelines for sustainability issues related to
merchandise suppliers.
Essentially the key components of the roadmap are:
uu Supplier compliance levels;
uu Waste management at distribution centres; and
uu Supplier relationship management.
Surveys have been completed by key suppliers and the data is currently being assimilated in order to provide
a supplier scorecard as per the following example. One aspect links directly to legal compliance issues and the
other to good corporate governance issues.
Once the scorecards, by supplier, have been completed, suppliers will be engaged in respect of the actions
required to increase the levels of compliance accordingly.
In order to provide case study reference for these engagements, the Retail unit has engaged with a
waste-management company to do an analysis of one supplier in each of the categories so that we can
34
accountability
understand constraints to achieving compliance (cost, resource, time, payback, etc.) as well as the specific
interventions required. The initial case study has commenced with one factory and will be completed across
all identified suppliers (for case study purposes) by December 2013.
Sustainability scorecard
Legal compliance
Environmental management systems
Waste management
Energy management
Packaging management
Transport management
Procurement
Sustainable sourcing (raw materials, components, parts)
Air emissions
End of life
10%
15%
10%
10%
10%
10%
15%
10%
10%
Sustainability scorecard
Corporate governance
Nuisance management
Community relations
Education and training
Employment
Charity work
Competitiveness
20%
15%
15%
15%
15%
20%
Banking unit
A sustainable approach to community development
Corporate social investment (CSI) plays a vital role in South Africa, bringing about transformation for the
benefit of all the people living in our country. The social needs facing our country are substantial and it is the
moral duty of government and big business to make a difference in the lives of our communities. Uplifting
communities has always been central to the group, and we continue to seek out CSI opportunities to further
enhance the lives of South African citizens and communities. For the 2013 verification year, ABIL spent
R9,6 million delivering 49 CSI projects within communities in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, the Eastern
Cape and Western Cape. The number of beneficiaries of the CSI projects was approximately 90 807, all of
whom have derived direct benefit from these initiatives. They are based in highly impoverished environments.
Both the Banking and Retail units achieved full points for socio-economic development on the FSC and CoGP
scorecards, respectively.
Overall approach
The Banking unit’s sales distribution network is divided into five geographic areas within South Africa.
To ensure that social investment takes place in each of these five regions, the CSI community development
initiatives are active within each of these regions.
The implementation strategy is based on a principle of identifying specific focus areas of extreme poverty
and unemployment, one within each of the five designated sales areas, and then, in conjunction with project
partners, delivering social development projects within these focus areas that meet the needs of the community.
These community development projects are focused on:
10%
Health and welfare
10%
Environment
10%
Sports development
20%
Job creation
50%
Education*
*With particular focus on the sciences, mathematics,
English and computer literacy.
Once a community need has been identified, project proposals are submitted for evaluation to regional CSI
committees. These comprise both employees of the Banking unit, as well as external members with specific
skills or interest, who participate on these regional committees on a voluntary basis, giving their expertise
and time in order to enhance the quality of decisions taken. Each project is scrutinised carefully against
the strategic framework set by the trustees, as well as project-specific criteria, including inter alia: the
implementation timeline; proposed outcomes or results which must be clearly and quantitatively defined
in order to measure success in every project; overall budget requirements; the cost per beneficiary; the
administration or project management cost as a percentage of the overall project, the latter measure being
aimed at ensuring that a high percentage of the funds allocated are used to the benefit of the front-line
beneficiaries.
Once approved by the respective regional committees, an agreement is entered into, formalising the
relationships with the project implementers. Next, a process of monitoring and evaluation is implemented,
during which key performance indicators are measured, with staged draws being approved against successful
achievement of these milestones.
36
accountability
On implementation, each project is allocated
a project monitor, generally one of the regional
committee members, whose task is to monitor
project progress and to ensure that no barriers or
blockages to success are encountered, but without
reducing the project implementers’ accountability
nor intervening in the project.
Repeat project proposals are only considered once
all deliverables for an approved project have either
been met in full and in accordance with the signed
project charter, or where sufficient progress towards
meeting these projects has been made with a clear
indication that the project will succeed.
Community development activities during the year
In this financial year, the ABIL CSI funding
impacted the lives of 90 807 primary beneficiaries
through the delivery of 49 projects in five regions.
Distribution of funds during 2012/3
Funds allocation (%)
2%
7%
9%
12%
70%
Education
Sport
Health and welfare
Environment
Other
Active projects in 2013 (%)
2%
Due to the overwhelming challenges being faced in
education, the largest portion of the CSI spend was
disbursed to this need.
14%
These projects played a significant role in helping
disadvantaged children in key subjects such as
Information Technology (KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng
and Eastern Cape); Physical Science (with projects
in all five regions); Mathematics (in two regions);
English literacy (in three regions) and Early
Childhood Development (in three regions).
8%
33%
12%
31%
Eastern Cape
KwaZulu-Natal
Western Cape
Gauteng
Limpopo
Other
Gauteng implemented 16 projects in Tembisa
and Ivory Park, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with
15 projects in the Ilembe District. The Eastern Cape
delivered seven projects in iBhayi, Limpopo six
projects in Blouberg, and the Western Cape four
projects in the Blackheath/Electric City/Eersterivier/
Mfuleni area.
While there is an overwhelming need for job
creation in South Africa, the challenges remain
extremely high. Many training institutions offer skills
training, often at high cost and subsidised through
various SETAs. However, very few of these projects
guarantee employment on successful completion
of the training, nor do they offer vital support or
mentorship on the job during the first few months.
Both of these criteria are prerequisites for approval
for funding in the Banking unit’s programmes.
Entrepreneurial programmes have seen a small
measure of success but, to make a significant
difference to the unemployment challenge in
South Africa, innovative measures need to be
found to escalate efforts.
A highlight for the CSI initiative has been spontaneous partnering with other organisations where the social
impact of our projects has been recognised. This gearing effect served to add further momentum to the
projects or to complement the CSI activities where funders have chosen to fund other activities aligned to
our work, but which the CSI division has been unable to fund. An example is the donation of libraries and
resources to various schools in Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, secured through the efforts of the English literacy
partners in each of these areas, thereby increasing the social impact of these schools. Individuals and
organisations who have partnered on these initiatives to date include Billy Selekane, the Ilembe Chamber of
Commerce, Industry and Tourism (ICCIT), Enterprise Ilembe, Afrisun, Rotary and the Gavin Hood Foundation.
A primary school library in Blouberg, Limpopo – half of these books were donated by partners of the African
Bank English literacy project.
Highlights for the year under review are as follows:
uu The number of beneficiaries reached through the programmes (90 807 in 2012/13 vs 43 065 for 2011/12)
and the increase in number of projects undertaken (49 during 2013 vs 38 during 2012);
uu Administration/overheads maintained at 11% of total cost of CSI, with the result that, for every R1 spent
on administration, approximately R9,50 is invested in project spend (i.e. beneficiaries);
uu Measured benefit to participants is evident on all programmes, with those which have been running for
two or more years showing very positive trends;
uu Governance of the CSI programme is improving steadily with monitoring, evaluation and reporting of
projects now well entrenched; and
uu The financial year has shown a more even geographic distribution of project investment as CSI matures in
those regions where activities began more recently.
38
accountability
Flagship projects
English literacy and teacher mentorship – KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape
The English language, as the basis for the majority of subjects taught throughout a learners’ school career,
is critical to the success of any further learning. Research into NSC English, the entrance language test for the
University of Pretoria and the National Benchmarking Test’s literacy marks concluded that, institutionally, NSC
Grade 12 English results are the best predictor of first-semester academic achievement. In another analysis,
a researcher showed that for every percent an English mark increased, the student’s chances of academic
success increased.
The philosophy of empowering teachers through training, on-site support, teaching aids and tools, with the
specific outcome of improving English literacy in Grades 3 to 6, has borne positive results in all primary schools
where these projects have been implemented. There are 47 schools participating in the project, with
approximately 250 educators and 13 500 learners across the board.
In particular, the Banking unit’s essay, poetry and spelling bee competitions have proved to be very successful.
Progress is tracked through stringent pre- and post-assessments relating to literacy levels per grade to ensure
the effectiveness of the project. The same assessments are conducted in non-participating schools and
compared to the results of participating schools.
Educators are assessed throughout the year by the project facilitator and those who achieve the best results
and demonstrate a willingness to go the extra mile are recognised and rewarded accordingly.
The following graph depicts the pre- and post-assessment results of participating schools in all three provinces
compared to the pre- and post-assessment of non-participating schools. As can be seen, all grades that
participated in the programme fared markedly better than those at schools which did not participate.
National English literacy results (% of children at appropriate reading age)
26
20
0
Pre
2012
2013
Post
Grade 3
48
40
30
31
36
36
40
41
46
51
53
60
53
66
76
80
85
87
100
Pre
Post
Grade 4
Pre
Post
Grade 5
Pre
Post
Grade 6
(11 years old)
TRAC – reaching tomorrow’s engineers
The ABIL development trust is supporting five
mobile science laboratories in an effort to address
the major shortage of learners choosing a career in
science, engineering and electronics. Nationally, this
programme has engaged 33 schools, 62 Physical
Science educators and 4 893 learners.
Spelling contest winners, English literacy project
Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are, for
the first time, being exposed to computers and
laboratory equipment. Each school has set a target
to increase the number of learners obtaining 60%
or more in Physical Science and to support that
target, a 10% improvement on pre- and posttesting cycles has been set.
Interactive Intelligence, a supplier to the Banking
unit, partnered with us, providing nine deserving
learners with financial assistance through
full payment of their university entrance
registration fees.
Young Mphaho – flanked by her principal, the African
Bank project coordinator and her educator –
obtained 93% in the 2013 ANA English assessments.
She is a learner from the Maleboho East district in
Blouberg, Limpopo – a highly impoverished
community
Billy Selekane, motivational speaker and a
well-known figure in African Bank, gave one full
day to encourage matriculants in KZN
40
accountability
TRAC – National Grade 12 (% pass rate)
60
55,81
50
52,56
47,25
45,53
40
30
20
10
0
2011
2012
Non-participating schools
Participating schools
The graph above depicts Grade 12 pass rates in schools participating in the TRAC mobile science programme,
compared with pass rates of a population of schools in the vicinity.
Two noticeable trends are evident from the above:
uu The pass rates in TRAC schools have generally been better than non-TRAC schools in both years.
uu There is a marked improvement in 2012, a trend which we expected to see as matriculants with longer
exposure to TRAC come through the system. (TRAC intervention targets Grades 10, 11 and 12.)
Computer literacy and internet connectivity
In today’s world of work, computer literacy is regarded as an entry-level requirement to meaningful work.
Anyone without a working knowledge of computers is seriously disadvantaged and their choice of career
is limited.
While the cost of any IT project is generally more expensive than most other projects, the Banking unit has
aggressively pursued projects that effectively close the gap in disadvantaged communities. The following
projects were sponsored in 2013:
uu Schools connectivity projects – in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, 224 computers were donated to 30 schools
and all of them have been connected to the internet through a wireless network.
This programme has three implementation stages:
uu Stage 1: provides teachers with access to resources and administration tools to improve their teaching
methods and content;
uu Stage 2: implementing a computer lab for the use of students in schools where adequate space is
available; and
uu Stage 3: gives local entrepreneurs access to the wireless network to establish internet kiosks.
uu Through this programme, educators are becoming computer literate. Some 40 655 learners are benefiting
from additional learning resources, access to education portals, the national education database, the new
skills set of their educators and improved administrative processes. Access to social networking sites and
harmful content has been blocked.
uu The Dominion Internet Café and Resource
Centre, sponsored by the Banking unit as an
entrepreneurial initiative and partially for
educational purposes, has proven to be a
valuable community service. The internet café is
located on the premises of Groutville Secondary
School and, besides offering an internet service
to 1 300 learners, it also sells refurbished
computers at very competitive prices, offers
photocopying services and provides muchneeded job opportunities.
uu TRAC – mobile science laboratories. All learners
in Grades 10 to 12 are exposed to and use
computers in their learning.
Practical experiments, mobile science laboratory
project
The Western Cape CSI committee led by Hannah
Jackson, head of operations, northern region, visited
and encouraged Grade 12 Physical Science students
in Blackheath, Western Cape
42
accountability
Teachers training, IT education project
Sport development for age groups 9, 11 and 13
The football and netball projects are implemented in conjunction with leading sporting personalities, such as
AmaZulu’s Clive Barker. Active in 45 primary schools in three regions and a further three community fields in
the KwaDukuza area, seven full-time coaches assist 244 school coaches, who have been trained to actively
engage the 7 017 children participating in
the project.
The school-based outreach focuses
primarily on the coaches, with daily on-site
technical and management support,
ensuring effective training sessions for the
children and organising inter-school
matches and tournaments. As part of the
project, each age category participates in
five tournaments with 12 players chosen to
represent the Banking unit in prestigious
soccer club tournaments for developing
sides. Soccer clubs partnering with the
Banking unit are AmaZulu and Ajax.
Community coaching project
Western Cape soccer buddies
Linda Odolo – Eastern Cape netball coach cheers on
her teams
Job creation projects
Unemployment in South Africa remains the single greatest challenge to a better quality of life for all. Over the
past three years, the Banking unit has sponsored nine entrepreneurial projects, all of which achieved improved
business results, but with limited success in terms of addressing the job creation problem.
The job creation projects sponsored to date are:
uu Training and placing 40 unemployed youth in the hospitality industry;
uu Training and assisting 20 unemployed women to become entry-level nail technicians and start their own
small businesses;
uu Establishing and assisting a women’s beading cooperative in the development and production of a beaded
tableware range;
uu Sponsoring the Eagles’ Nest/The Entrepreneur competition in partnership with ICCIT and Enterprise
Ilembe;
uu Dominion Internet Café and Resource Centre;
uu Tembisa entrepreneurial development programme for Grade 12 learners;
uu Ivory Park SML poultry enterprise development project;
uu Tswelelane Bakery;
uu Training nine unemployed youth in design, development and production of needlework/craft items through
the Raymond Mhlaba Skills Centre; and
uu Training 12 project coordinators in project management.
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accountability
In total, a modest 144 sustainable jobs were created through these
initiatives.
Retail unit
Development is at the core of CSI initiatives of the Retail unit. This
includes the development of people, organisations and communities.
The principle is that the “hand-up” approach is known to create
dignity and independence for the beneficiaries, as opposed to the
more traditional “hand-out” methodology, which fosters continued
reliance of the beneficiaries on the donor community.
Bursary scheme
Bursary grants, valued at R493 000, assisted 60 academicallydeserving undergraduate and postgraduate students with their
studies at universities and universities of technology. Bursary
recipients are dependents of employees in the Retail unit.
A total of 58% female and 42% male students were assisted,
and a total of 90% were from previously disadvantaged
communities.
The 2013 Entrepreneur Winner –
Siyanakekela Community Investment Programme
Employees collected R420 810 through the Siyanakekela Community Siphesihle Gumede – Superior
Kitchens
Investment Programme, which was launched as a special tribute to
Nelson Mandela. These funds were donated to registered non-profit
organisations that work with orphans and vulnerable children, the prevention of child abuse and the
prevention of HIV
and AIDS in the youth.
Ekukhanyeni Community Development Centre (ECDC)
This year, the Retail unit continued to provide this centre with premises in central Germiston (the old Ellerines
head office) at no charge, while continuing to pay for the municipal rates and taxes, security and building
maintenance. This equates to an investment of R740 000. As the building’s location provides easy access for
out-of-school and out-of-work youth from nearby townships and informal settlements, the ECDC raised funds
to purchase the building to secure occupancy.
The ECDC has accreditation from the Media, Information, Communication and Technology (MICT) SETA, the
Education, Training, Development and Practitioners (ETDP) SETA and the Wholesale and Retail (W&R) SETA
and is now registered to undertake the training components for internships and learnerships. Next year, the
Fabric, Processing and Manufacturing (FRP) SETA will provide a special grant to the ECDC for the practical
sections of their training programmes.
School donations
This year, group merchandise and brands provided donations of products to a number of schools and
registered non-profit organisations in the local communities.
Product responsibility
Our approach
The African Bank customer experience mission statement states that “African Bank will create differentiated
experiences across all our touch points that are relevant to our customers’ individual needs, supported by our
brand, our products and processes and delivered by our emotionally engaged, passionate and empowered
people.”
Banking unit
The Banking unit’s customer experience objectives for 2013 were to:
uu Improve the customer value proposition, including the customer experience, employee experience,
brand experience and channel experience in terms of service, take-up and turnaround times;
uu Treat customers fairly through the Consumer Advocate’s Office (CAO) as an independent voice of
customers, and responsible lending practices;
uu Provide side-by-side community empowerment; and
uu Implement customer experience performance indicators.
Employee experience
In 2013, we continued with various initiatives to improve the employee experience by
empowering them to deliver and receive the best service experience. The objectives of the
initiatives remain for all employees to walk side-by-side with their colleagues, where
employees will be able to visit another division or branch to experience and better
understand the daily operations.
It also included an internal service improvement campaign to measure the level of service
provided against a clear set of tracked performance measurements. We tracked the results
over two quarters and there was an improvement in service level Q1: 79,7% and Q2: 80,2%.
Channel experience
Branch – Our Branch Service Index, which is an external, objective measurement executed by a reputable
South African research house, recorded a national result of 80% against the target of 80% during the 2013
financial year. The service index measurement has evolved substantially from 2012, when basic service was
measured, to creating authentic customer experience moments during 2013, making the 80% achievement
even more significant, as the voice of the customer was also included.
We have completed the new branch look-and-feel upgrades to accommodate customer preferences and
support business integration. For added convenience, banking hours have been extended and certain branches
also trade on Sundays and public holidays.
Remote – We offer self-services to customers that allow them to apply for credit, check their balances or
simply buy airtime via their cell phones. On cell phone services, we reported an increase in number of users to
281 251, with a reported 77% of users having an active card or loan account. Customers are also able to
SMS a keyword to 49 494 or visit www.inseconds.africanbank.co.za to apply for and receive a credit offer in
seconds. The inseconds applications sales figures increased by 116 659 to 140 423 (20%), which indicates
that a greater proportion of customers opt for instantaneous indication of whether they qualify for credit.
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accountability
2013 – Self-service indicators
Cell phone banking
Total activations
Average monthly unique users
Total usage %
New activations
inseconds applications
Number of applications
% increase
Capital disbursed
Result
281 251
46 418
17%
23 226
140 423
20%
R3 060 million
ABIL Consumer Advocate’s Office
For six years in a row, African Bank has won the Ombudsman for Banking Services award for excellence in
complaints handling in Category B (this category is for all banks, excluding the four major banks which
compete in Category A).
ABIL established an internal ombuds office, the Consumer Advocate’s Office (CAD), in 2004, to act as a
protector of the rights and interests of ABIL consumers. Its key success is based on the fact that it operates
independently of the group’s operations with a mandate to make its own rulings on consumer complaints,
to which the business is bound. Its terms of reference, which inform its rulings, include determining matters
not only on the basis of law, but, most importantly, on the basis of fairness.
The CAO receives most of its complaints directly from consumers who have been to the Banking, Insurance
or Retail unit, and are unhappy with the outcome. The Banking unit branches, Retail unit outlets and
departments also escalate matters to the CAO where consumers are unhappy with the outcome of their
complaint.
The CAO has also established a consumer lounge as part of its Midrand central office, for consumers who
prefer a direct, one-on-one, face-to-face engagement to meet personally with CAO staff. During the past year,
1 578 consumers visited the lounge.
The CAO is also responsible for assessing and responding to complaints from regulators, statutory bodies and
the media, to ensure a fair resolution in these instances.
During the financial year, the CAO received 8 618 complaints, a decrease of 21% from the previous year.
This decrease indicates an improvement in African Bank’s service delivery at first port of call.
Of the matters brought before the CAO in 2013, 42% (2012: 57%) were resolved in favour of the consumer,
either as a valid complaint or a gesture of goodwill. A total of R3,23 million was written off or refunded to
consumers (2012: R6,28 million). We attribute the decline in valid complaints and compensation to consumers
to the fact that the NCA in duplum adjustments have now addressed many of the previous allegations
relating to balance disputes.
The CAO is also committed to promoting consumer rights through consumer education, and completed the
African Bank jointly funded consumer education project with Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft
GmbH (DEG) in 2013, with the publication of two further financial education comics – one on understanding
how a loan works, the other on understanding debt.
Treating customers fairly (TCF)
A group TCF steering committee has been established and comprises members from the Banking unit,
Stangen and the Retail unit. Regular meetings are being held to further the implementation of TCF throughout
the ABIL group.
A TCF presentation was made to the group insurance boards in May 2013 and they have adopted the
principles. A TCF action plan has been developed and will be presented to the executives in October 2013,
in terms of the initial roll-out of the action plan.
Financial Care Centre (FCC) consumer education
Consumer education forms an integral part in retaining customers by improving their ability to stay credit
healthy and to empowering them to make informed financial decisions. The main objective is to continuously
inform and educate customers within the various credit and collections lifecycles, to improve their ability to
manage their finances responsibly.
The following initiatives were implemented during 2013 as part of the consumer education focus:
uu Awareness of products and services was created through the various communication channels within the
Banking unit to assist customers to make informed financial decisions;
uu Root-cause analysis was done to understand customers’ financial needs and what additional financial
literacy is required to enhance their ability to manage their finances;
uu Multi-media messages have been designed across carefully selected customer segments and credit life
cycles, with the aim of informing customers about the status of their accounts, how to improve their
financial profile and the benefits of effective payment management;
uu Statements were enhanced with educational messages to assist customers to manage their debt, avoid
over-indebtedness, and be informed about the negative consequences of falling behind with payments; and
uu Money Matters, an electronic information leaflet, was designed to provide customers with information and
knowledge around their rights and responsibilities with respect to credit, the importance of responsible
borrowing, solutions available to customers should they find themselves in financial distress, steps on how
to remedy this and sustain a good credit record, and effective query resolution processes.
As part of the employee value proposition, the Banking unit has implemented various initiatives to educate
and support employees, and to assist them to remain financially healthy. This includes financial planning,
setting financial goals, self-realisation, and the importance of savings. The aim of these initiatives is to
improve the lives of employees and to offer relief in terms of financial distress, which in turn will enhance the
Banking unit’s ability to support customers better.
Responsible lending
The Bank is committed to adhering to its legal and moral requirements in practising responsible lending
practices. We provide independent results on how customers choose to utilise the finance they obtain from us,
versus their initial intent. This research shows that loans obtained from the Bank are continuously used for
social upliftment purposes.
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accountability
The top reasons, as disclosed by customers in the survey, are:
Loan usage – African Bank loans (%)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Debt
2010 mean
2011 mean
Housing/home Education
improvements
Furniture
Assist family
Vehicle
Death/
funeral
Small
business
Other
2012 mean
2013 ytd mean
Performance indicators – external customer experience performance ratings
External customer benchmark studies are conducted by an independent research company. The benchmark
study was conducted in 2012 and tracked through two waves in 2013. The wave three results indicate that, on
average, 42% of customers remained committed and loyal to the Bank (2012: 52%).
The reduction in customer loyalty can be attributed to increased competitor activity in the unsecured credit
market. Combined with improved customer experience and ease of loan application through such
competitors, this has had a negative impact on African Bank’s customers’ perceptions.
Overall perception of African Bank (weighted on 2012 income brackets)
Overall value
Emotional affinity to African Bank
Mean
2013ABComp
77%
Loan
84%
9 & 10 Rating
AB Comp
46%
57%
(79%:83%)
(81%:81%)
(46%:57%)
(50%:52%)
C Card 76%(76%)
81%(78%)
47%(48%)
52%(50%)
86% (89%: 92%)
Committed customers – high value and preferred
supplier African Bank
42% (47%: 53%)
Net promoter score/recommendation
African Bank
Preferred supplier index (using future intention
questions) African Bank
56% (66%: 79%)
71% (74%: 83%)
()indicate 2013 Wave 1: 2012 results.
Retail unit
Marketing communications
In a highly competitive environment, the Retail unit is committed to fair competition principles, ensuring its
practices are ethical and adhere to responsible communication of products and the codes of the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA), as well as responding speedily to any issues raised by customers.
There were no complaints lodged with the ASA against our brands during this past year. We have also
established channels to deal with customer feedback and cooperate with the National Credit Regulator (NCR)
and National Consumer Commission (NCC).
All marketing communications, advertising, promotions and sponsorships follow strict adherence to a range of
laws, standards and codes, in particular the National Credit Act (NCA), ASA, Electronic Communications and
Transactions Act (ECT), Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
A range of training programmes have been implemented and these are continuously run for all relevant
employees, to ensure a thorough understanding of the implications of the National Credit Act.
Customer privacy
There has been no legitimate breach of customer privacy or a loss of customer data within the Retail unit.
All processes are compliant with South African law and therefore the Information Capital unit is rated as a
centre of excellence.
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G4 PR 6, 7 and 8
accountability
Due to the above processes for dealing with marketing compliance issues being in place, the Retail unit has
not had any incidents of non-compliance with regulations concerning marketing communications which have
resulted in a fine, penalty or warning.
Compliance
The Consumer Goods Services Ombud (CGSO) has been launched and the Retail unit’s legal representative,
who has been an active member of the CGCSA Ombud working group, continues to serve on this group.
The legal representatives also represent Ellerine Group in matters arising from the offices of the CGSO through
our call centre. Corporate directives are distributed as and when necessary, and there is an escalation process
in place to resolve conflicts expeditiously. Employees are aware that they must escalate certain categories of
complaints to the call centre, which then escalates them to the relevant brand as well as the legal department.
G4 PR 9
Natural capital
Our approach
ABIL was included in the JSE’s Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Index 2013 for the tenth consecutive
year, and also the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) this year. This attests to our commitment as a group
to contribute to the development of responsible business practices in South Africa.
It is important to note that all the data in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) refers to the 2012 financial
year, as the analysis and assurance is done on a retrospective basis.
As a good corporate citizen, ABIL complies with the King III recommendations on environmental
sustainability. As a group, we have a direct environmental impact due to the use of natural resources within
the business operation. ABIL has voluntarily participated in the CDP report for the past three years. Through
this voluntary reporting system, we have identified all possible sources of consumption and related greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions and used this information to compile a greenhouse gas inventory that reflects
approximately 90% of the group. The measured inventory has allowed us to implement actions to reduce
the impact on the environment, monitor and measure progress closely, identify opportunities to reduce
consumption and save costs, as well as consider environmental sustainability when making business decisions.
Environmental strategy
There have been many difficulties along our greening journey, but since 2011, the year of inception, ABIL has:
uu Developed a group wide environmental policy with reduction targets;
uu Developed a green procurement policy;
uu Participated in the CDP for the past three years;
uu Established formal environmental committees at board level;
uu Integrated environmental sustainability training into the induction programmes;
uu Run successful environmental education and awareness campaigns for employees;
uu Invested in energy-saving equipment;
uu Implemented measures and processes to collect emissions data; and
uu Developed a supplier questionnaire for both merchandise and non-merchandise, to determine the green
efficiency level of suppliers.
This is, however, a journey, and the group is committed to making the necessary changes.
Reporting, monitoring and measuring ABIL’s carbon footprint
The carbon disclosure programme is a key area of reporting on environmental sustainability and through
this channel and others, ABIL publishes environmental sustainability and carbon footprint data. ABIL’s
Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions were verified by the group’s internal audit team, as well as Global Carbon
Exchange, an independent third party. ABIL adopts the operational control method when compiling the
GHG inventory.
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accountability
ABIL’s carbon footprint
Methodology
The GHG emissions were prepared in accordance with the GHG protocol.
An external expert was consulted where clarity was needed for emission
factors that were not available for SA.
Inclusions
ABIL’s group activities, equipment and operations, as well as employee
commuting, business travel, and waste generation for head offices and
branches are also included.
Exclusions
Exclusion 1: All EHL non-SA operations
Reason: A number of challenges were encountered in collecting complete and
accurate data for SA. Only once ABIL has established reliable data systems in
SA, will non-SA branches be included. Relative to ABIL’s total emissions,
non-SA emissions are insignificant.
Exclusion 2:
EHL facilities as follows:
uu Roodekop and Cape Town distribution centres
uu Roodefurn assembly plant
uu 24 cross-docks
Reason: Data not available.
However, EHL is working on processes to obtain data from the cross-docks and
the Roodefurn and Cape Town distribution centres.
Operational boundaries
The following Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions were reported on:
Scope 1
uu Company-owned vehicles
uu Stationary equipment (generators)
uu Refrigerants (Kyoto gases)
Scope 2
uu Purchased electricity
The following Scope 3 and other direct emissions sources were also included:
Scope 3
uu Business travel (flights, car hire, reimbursed employee travel and shuttle
services)
uu Third-party transport and distribution (courier deliveries only)
uu Employee commuting
uu Waste generated in operations
Other
uu Refrigerants (non-Kyoto gases)
It should be noted that ABIL’s FY12 GHG emissions were reported in
conformance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard only (i.e. not the
GHG Protocol Corporate Standard and the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Standard).
Reporting on Scope 3 emissions is optional and the company may report any
Scope 3 emissions it chooses.
The carbon footprint for the reported period 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012 (2012 financial year) was
119 323 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Emissions are broken down as follows:
ABIL carbon emissions (tonnes)
98 782
100 000
0
Scope 1
Scope 2
14 346
13 938
13 152
20 000
39 044
61 303
24 345
20 468
24 328
60 000
73 450
80 632
80 000
40 000
119 323
120 000
Scope 3
Total
2010
2011
2012
Statement of GHG emissions for the financial years ended 30 September 2010, 2011 and 2012
Scope per GHG protocol
Tonnes
CO2e
FY 2010
Group
FY 2011
Group
FY 2012
Group
Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions
Refrigerants central office and branches
Stationary fuels (generators)1
Mobile fuels (company-owned vehicles)2
Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions3
Scope 3: Other indirect emissions from:
Employee commuting
Waste in central office operations
Employee vehicles reimbursed
Business flights
Car rental
Transportation and distribution
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
metric
24 328
5 095
6
19 228
61 303
13 152
10094
–
678
579
30
1771
20468
2535
40
17892
39 044
13 938
10 656
379
604
485
54
1 760
24 345
768
108
23469
80 632
14 346
11 467
1 345
907
435
50
142
Total CO2 emissions
metric
98 782
73 450
119 323
The above graph illustrates the carbon emissions calculated for the group for the 2010, 2011 and 2012
financial years.
1
Conversion to Gigajoules for diesel 1 768.
Conversion to Gigajoules for petrol 292 470; conversion to Gigajoules for diesel 100 736.
3
Conversion to kilowatt hours 81 446 651.
2
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accountability
The CDP 2013 report submission, which is based on the 2012 financial year data, has proved to be the most
complete and accurate of the entire three years of data collection, due to many contributing factors:
uu An increase in data integrity;
uu An expansion in the report boundary and scope;
uu Limited use of projections and estimations; and
uu Improved carbon footprint methodologies.
A technical error was made in the 2012 CDP submission regarding the Scope 2 emissions. As we are
committed to transparent and responsible reporting, this error is disclosed in this year’s report.
The carbon emissions data for the financial years 2010 and 2011 was re-baselined according to trading area
to allow for a like-for-like comparison. The re-baselined figures have not been reported this year, as advised
by experts in the field, as it is a stringent process to employ. However, ABIL will consider restating its baseline,
as data integrity has improved in the three-year period of our environmental sustainability journey.
Weaknesses and shortfalls
ABIL believes that the important lessons are learnt from the obstacles faced as the group continues on this
greening journey. The CDP report is the main reporting channel for the group and all other reports flow from
this. The 2013 CDP submission was ABIL’s third to the National Business Initiative’s (NBI) Carbon Disclosure
Project (CDP). When the previous two years’ CDP data was reviewed, it became evident that the projections
and estimations used were not a true reflection of the business, due to a lack of data. During the CDP process,
gathering accurate and complete data has proven to be a mammoth task in itself. However, as we progress on
this journey of accurate reporting and disclosure, ABIL is making great strides in improving its data accuracy
and completeness and will continue to do so by implementing the recommendations made by Global Carbon
Exchange (GCX) after the last CDP audit and verification.
Compared to the previous two reporting years, this year has been the most difficult and challenging because,
as each year passes, we become more aware of the intricacies of the group’s business operations. In the 2013
CDP submission, ABIL has extended its reporting boundaries and aims to include all its operations, even if they
are considered insignificant, so that a true reflection of the business can be achieved.
The Banking unit uncovered numerous billing errors, which have limited its ability to report accurately on the consumption of water and electricity. Electricity meters have now been installed at the Midrand central
office and linked to the building management system for accurate recording and reporting. During various
investigations, we discovered that there is no municipal water meter linked to one of the pipes that feeds one
of the buildings. The local municipality has been notified and the Banking unit is in the process of applying for
a water meter. This should enable us to record water consumption more accurately.
Procedures and processes have been set up to collect accurate data on a regular basis from various
departments and third parties. It is difficult to obtain accurate data from third-party suppliers, as some
suppliers do not record the required type of data.
Water and electricity billing in leased properties still continues to be problematic. However, the Retail and
Banking units have implemented actions that will aid the group in obtaining accurate data from the branch
network.
ABIL is cognisant of the fact that we are still on a learning curve. As we progress on the journey, we will
continue to build a strong foundation and processes to ensure all environmental initiatives are sustainable.
Energy
Energy has been a key focus area for ABIL, not least because of rising costs, the proposed carbon tax,
and energy being the biggest area of emissions.
The Banking unit has installed a new energy-efficient heating ventilation air-conditioning (HVAC) system at
the Midrand central office, replacing the old chilled water air-conditioning system that was a high power user.
The system is able to modulate the flow of refrigerant, depending upon the capacity requirements of the
building, and produce the right amount of output to match the exact requirement of any building. This results
in greatly reduced running costs. The new system also uses R410A refrigerant, a safe, chlorine-free refrigerant
with zero ozone depletion potential (ODP). Accordingly, this system requires less energy to run and has
significantly lower indirect global warming potential.
The building management system (BMS) has been fully commissioned and allows for better monitoring and
measuring of energy consumption at the Midrand central office. Apart from the benefits of the BMS in terms
of light control, switching geysers off during peak times and managing the HVAC system, it allows us to set
certain thresholds so that we do not exceed the maximum demand.
Going beyond green
A second EHL distribution facility in Port Elizabeth, constructed by Growthpoint Properties, has won the Sapoa
innovative excellence award in industrial property development.
Architectural features range from thermally insulated roofing and wall cladding, natural ventilation and
lighting levels, to energy-saving devices, recycled materials utilised in the building, minimal use of PVC
materials and green-friendly siteworks and landscaping.
Water
ABIL is a relatively low-level water user, consuming approximately 27 860 kilolitres on both central office
campuses during the 2012/2013 financial year. This, however, is not necessarily an accurate account of ABIL’s
water consumption due to water billing issues at the Banking unit’s central office.
This is the first year the Banking unit has reported on its branches’ water consumption. Despite relatively low
consumption, it is striving towards a more complete report in relation to environmental metrics. The branches
within the Banking unit network consumed 12 621 kilolitres of water during the 2012/2013 financial year.
It must be noted that this is not a comprehensive consumption value due to billing issues from the
municipalities and landlords, who either do not provide water consumption rates or only provide estimated
values. This poses a real obstacle for ABIL in terms of accurate and complete reporting. A significant
investment is required to install water meters in the branch networks and, due to ABIL being a low-level
water user, this will be considered as a future project.
The Retail unit’s central office uses 24 000 kilolitres of municipal water per annum and 16 056 kilolitres of
grey water for ablutions, thus realising a consumption saving of 23% of total municipal water needs per
annum. These statistics are based on municipal water bills received, as well as metering of grey water that
consists of seepage water on the campus that is being harnessed and deployed to serve ablutions.
In the venture to achieve true sustainability, water coolers have been installed in most boardrooms to avoid
the need for bottled water. ABIL is committed to ensuring that bottled water is phased out at most corporate
events, training workshops and board meetings.
Information technology (IT)
ABIL continues to improve its efficiencies within the information technology space in term of systems and
infrastructure. During the 2013 financial year, 489 energy-expensive monitors were replaced with 305 LED
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accountability
and 184 LCD monitors. This equated to a total saving of 85 425 kilowatt hours, based on a running time of
eight hours per day, saving 20 tonnes of CO2e emissions.
ABIL has sent a total of 770 printer cartridges back to Green Office for remanufacture and reuse, which has
contributed to the following environmental benefits:
uu 722,9 kilograms of plastic will be reused and be diverted from landfill space;
uu 780 kilograms of recyclable metals have been sent for reuse or recycling and have been diverted from
entering landfill;
uu Recycled 146 printer cartridges; and
uu 9 785 green remanufactured cartridges purchased with secondary environmental benefits such as energy
savings, preventing 28 tonnes of carbon emissions and the use of oil.
Paper
ABIL only purchases paper that is approved by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) to ensure that this
resource comes from a sustainable source. During the 2012/2013 financial year, the Banking unit used a total
of 16 384 boxes of paper. We have also focused on reducing consumption. However, this campaign needs to
be revisited with more vigour and proper monitoring, and measurement actions will need to be implemented.
Waste and recycling
The Banking and Retail units recycle all general waste at the central office campuses. The Banking unit
uses separate confidential paper shredding, which is then recycled. Over the 2012/2013 financial year,
ABIL collectively recycled 38 093 kilograms of general waste made up of cans, cartons, plastic, Tetra Pak®,
newspaper and magazines. ABIL’s general waste recycling efforts have avoided the generation of 49 tonnes
of CO2e emissions. The Banking unit also recycled a total of 44 954 kilograms of shredded paper.
The Retail unit continues to recognise the importance of suppliers in its overall business strategy and
operations. As part of the formal interaction with suppliers, it has engaged regarding packaging to improve
sustainability of the supply chain.
Not only is packaging always important to ensure that the product is adequately protected, but increased
focus has been placed on investigating opportunities for reuse or recycling. The Retail unit has engaged with
CHEP, a global provider of reusable packaging, and has received input from a number of suppliers in an effort
to develop appropriate, reusable packaging solutions.
While the Retail unit is some way from a final solution, they are in the process of finalising the business
case and pilot products that can be used on a trial basis. They have also engaged with a reputable waste
management company to identify opportunities to recycle the current packaging, which would include
reclaiming packaging at the time of delivery, as well as reclaiming old merchandise, such as white goods
and bedding. Once again, the business case is almost completed, after which pilot exercises will be conducted
in defined distribution centres and cross-dock networks.
Greening the supply chain
Non-merchandise
ABIL has developed a green procurement policy (GPP). The first phase of implementation was to determine
the green efficiency levels of ABIL suppliers. However, during the implementation of the GPP, which is an
addendum to the group procurement policy, we realised that a single, integrated procurement policy should
be the way forward. This once again points to the fact that incorporating sustainability aspects, including
environmental issues, is a journey and we learn as we move forward. The policy will still endeavour to ensure
that ABIL procures goods and services in a manner that allows the organisation to make choices where
material costs are a key consideration, yet where the true costs, including environmental and social costs,
are taken into account.
The Retail unit has included a section that deals with environmental matters in its standard supplier
accreditation documentation for new suppliers and providers. The information provided forms part of the
adjudication exercise for listing on the Ellerines supplier database. During the year under review, 11 new
suppliers were accredited and listed on the Ellerines supplier database.
Merchandise
During the year, the Retail unit identified suppliers and a waste company who have committed to a case study
at one of the distribution centres, plus an associated cross-dock, in order to identify areas for improvement
and the necessary interventions. This will initially focus on waste management at distribution centre level
and will then extend to a potentially commercially viable solution for the reverse logistics of packaging from
customers and branches. This could possibly extend to servicing customers with respect to end-of-life issues,
e.g. old refrigerators for environmentally safe disposal.
As part of the overriding focus on improving supplier relationships, we are placing a greater deal of focus
on sustainability issues. As such, in the spirit of collaboration, we are not only developing scorecards with
suppliers, but also giving suppliers the proactive opportunity to engage with appropriate industry bodies to
ensure that sustainability issues are considered in all aspects of the supplier’s value chain.
Employee education and awareness campaigns
In 2013, ABIL held its annual Earth Hour campaign under the theme “Wear it bright, turn off the lights”, and
engaged and educated employees about the importance of saving energy.
The branches created an Earth Hour display which served as a talking point for customers and spread the
message. The Banking unit included a message on Earth Hour on electronic statements to create awareness
among customers. At the Banking unit’s central office’s Earth Hour, 129 kilowatt hours were saved, which
equates to saving 121 kilograms of carbon emissions, by switching off the lights and non-essential electrical
equipment.
ABIL understands that all environmental initiatives need to be sustainable and go beyond employees.
Therefore, volunteers from the Banking unit’s collections department and the ABIL sustainability team went
out to Phumolong Secondary School to celebrate Arbor Day with the students. The significance of Arbor Day
was shared, pledges were made and seedlings were planted on the
school grounds.
The Retail unit used an internal magazine to educate and create
awareness among employees about environmental issues and, with
help from Eskom, has published inserts on energy-saving actions that
can help employees save energy and money.
Earlier this financial year, the collections call centre at the Banking
African Bankers at Phumolong
Secondary School on Arbor Day
unit’s central office held a recycling competition, where consultants
were asked to participate by designing an outfit made out of recycled
material, such as old newspapers, plastics, bottle caps, cardboard, etc.
The entries were creative, wonderful and well planned. This competition was run in conjunction with making
people more aware of the greening of ABIL project, and how climate change affects everyone.
58
accountability
Green collaboration
ABIL recognises the need for collaboration between various
partners on the environmental transformation journey. Green
collaboration opens doors for knowledge sharing and future
greening projects, and it serves as a platform to secure the
environmental safety of the planet. ABIL partnered with
Plastics SA, Coca-Cola, the National Recycling Forum and
PETCO for National Clean-up week and embarked on a
clean-up campaign of a portion of the Jukskei River, Buccleuch
on 18 September 2013.
The Banking unit also partnered with Eskom to help educate
employees about reducing their energy usage during peak
periods in their homes. Energy-efficient hot-water bottles were
distributed by Eskom at our central office and the regions.
National Clean-up Campaign
This campaign was very successful in creating awareness
about South Africa’s current energy situation and reducing
usage. These collaborative efforts foster good relationships that will aid in building a sustainable future.
Biodiversity
South Africa has the third highest level of biodiversity in the world but, due to the effects of climate change,
biodiversity is dwindling. ABIL’s business operations do not have a major impact on biodiversity, but we ensure
that the central office gardens and distribution centres are landscaped with indigenous plants to suit the
natural habitat and contribute to the ecosystem.
Going forward
As ABIL progresses on the greening journey, we have realised that environmental issues are just the starting
point. Sustainability is all-encompassing and all issues need to be incorporated and looked at holistically.
Through the 2014 financial year, ABIL will look at engaging on a more significant level with suppliers,
landlords, municipalities and employees to really start entrenching an environmental culture within the
company. Future key focus areas will include:
uu Continuous improvement in terms of data accuracy;
uu Measuring and monitoring against objectives and targets and driving down emissions with a focus on
electricity;
uu Re-education: employee awareness and training; and
uu Working with stakeholders and building solid relationships.
Reducing our environmental impact is an evolving project that we are committed to, even though it is marked
by numerous obstacles. Through collaborative leadership, support from stakeholders and a clear action plan,
ABIL can achieve the goals we have set.
Independent third-party assurance statement
To the board and stakeholders of African Bank Investments Limited (ABIL):
Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS) was commissioned by ABIL to provide independent
third-party assurance (ITPA) over both the sustainability report and the sustainability content within the 2013
integrated annual report (hereafter, both documents being referred to as the report), covering the period
1 October 2012 to 30 September 2013. The assurance team consisted of Michael H Rea, our Lead Certified
Sustainability Assurance Practitioner, with more than 14 years’ experience in environmental and social
performance measurement, including sustainability reporting and assurance, and our team of junior associates.
AccountAbility AA1000AS (revised, 2008)
To the best of our ability and significant experience in sustainability report assurance, this engagement has
been managed in accordance with AccountAbility’s AA1000AS (2008) assurance standard, where the format
of the engagement was structured to meet the AA1000AS Type I (moderate) requirements.
Independence
IRAS has not been responsible for the preparation of any part of the report, nor undertaken any commissions
for ABIL that would conflict with our independence. Responsibility for producing this report lay solely with ABIL
and its report authorship consultants. Thus IRAS is, and remains, an independent assurer over the content and
processes pertaining to this Report.
Assurance objectives
The objectives of the assurance process were to provide ABIL’s stakeholders an independent ‘moderate-level
assurance’ opinion on whether:
uu The sustainability content within the report adheres to the AA1000AS (2008) principles of inclusivity,
materiality and responsiveness;
uu The sustainability content within the report meets the core reporting requirements of Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) G4 guidelines; and
uu The sustainability content within the report meets reasonable local and international reporting
expectations for transparency and accountability, inclusive of the presence of key sustainability data points
(i.e. quantitative performance data).
Assurance approach and limitations
The process used in arriving at this assurance statement is based on AccountAbility’s AA1000AS (2008)
guidance, the GRI’s G3 Application Level requirements, as well as other best practices in sustainability
reporting assurance. Our approach to assurance included the following:
uu A review of sustainability measurement and reporting procedures at ABIL’s head offices to determine the
context and content of sustainability management by the company;
uu A review of ABIL’s information collation and reporting procedures to define the content of the report by
looking at the materiality of issues included in the report, stakeholder engagement responses to issues
identified, determination of sustainability context and coverage of material issues, ultimately leading to
adherence to the AA1000AS principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness;
uu Reviews of drafts of the report for any significant errors, anomalies and/or insupportable assertions;
uu Reviews of drafts of the report to confirm that the GRI’s G4 core reporting expectations have been
met; and
uu Reviews of drafts of the report to test for reasonable disclosure of key sustainability data, as assessed
against IRAS’s Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI).
60
accountability
The process was limited to the content and assertions made within the report for the period under review,
and did not extend to a comprehensive analysis of the accuracy, reliability, completeness and/or consistency
of the data presented by ABIL. Rather, sustainability data presented within the report was subjected to
reasonability tests during draft reviews. The process was further limited to reviewing policies and procedures
for ethics, governance and stakeholder engagements, and did not extend to the physical engagement of any
stakeholders to arrive at our assurance opinion.
Findings
Based on our review of the report, as well as the processes employed to collect and collate information
reported herein, it is our assertion that:
uu ABIL adequately adheres to the Accountability AA1000APS principles of inclusivity, materiality and
responsiveness.
uu The report, inclusive of the approach to identifying the material issues to be reported on, and thus the
identification of the GRI material aspects and indicators to be included, reasonably meets the GRI G4’s
reporting requirements. However, room for improvement continues to exist within the way in which certain
performance data is collected, collated and reported – as identified within the report as continuous
improvement self-assessment disclosures – particularly for certain health & safety, environmental and
human capital indicators. Moreover, it should be noted that while the disclosures on management
approach meet minimum reasonable reporting expectations, additional attention ought to be paid to
improving the quality of information for these indicators.
uu Although scoring relatively highly against IRAS’s SDTI expectations – for the second year in a row, more
improvements can yet be made with respect to the collection, collation and reporting of data for key
sustainability performance indicators that have not yet been included within either the sustainability or
integrated annual reports.
Conclusions and recommendations
Based on the information reviewed via desk research and management interviews, IRAS is confident that
this report provides a comprehensive and balanced account of ABIL’s social and environmental performance
for the period under review. The information presented is based on systematic processes and we are satisfied
that the reported sustainability data reasonably represents ABIL’s ability to manage and/or report on its
performance, while meeting the AA1000AS (2008) principles of inclusivity, materiality and responsiveness.
Moreover, and although the quality of some responses can yet be improved, this report reasonably meets the
GRI G4 core level reporting requirements.
However, the following recommendations have been identified:
uu Given that the Report is for ABIL as a group (i.e. inclusive of the Banking and Retail divisions), all data
should be consolidated and reported as a group. While the presence of segmental reporting makes sense
when comparing the business units against Banking and Retail peers, this should not come at the expense
of ensuring that sustainability data is presented in the same manner as the annual financial statements, as
the group.
uu With respect to adherence to AccountAbility’s AA1000APS principle of responsiveness, ABIL should
continue to ensure that feedback to stakeholders on sustainability matters occurs in line with King III’s
recommendations for integrated reporting.
uu ABIL should improve the extent to which explanations are offered, relative to how the company manages key
sustainability elements, as per the GRI’s guidance around indicator-specific disclosures on management
approach. ABIL should ensure that clear explanations are offered with respect to what is measured, how
often, via what measurement technique(s), and to who results are reported for control purposes.
uu Having successfully addressed the requirements of GRI G4 core level of reporting, it is our recommendation
that ABIL continue to seek process improvement towards the ultimate goal of meeting the GRI’s
comprehensive level requirements.
For more information about the assurance process employed to assess the sustainability information contained
within ABIL’s 2013 integrated annual report and integrated annual report, email [email protected].
Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services
16 December 2013
Johannesburg
62
accountability
Independent
Verification
Statement
INDEPENDENT
VERIFICATION
STATEMENT
To the Board of Directors and Management of African Bank Investments
ToLimited
the board of directors and management of African Bank Investments Limited
Introduction
African
Bank Investments Limited (hereafter referred to as ABIL) operates through two primary businesses,
Introduction
African Bank (AB) and Ellerine Holdings Ltd. (EHL). ABIL commissioned Global Carbon Exchange (GCX) to
African
Investments
Limitedverification
(hereafterof
referred
to as ABIL)
through
two primary
perform
anBank
independent,
limited-level
its greenhouse
gas operates
(GHG) emissions
inventory
as
businesses, African Bank (AB) and Ellerine Holdings Ltd. (EHL). ABIL commissioned Global
calculated in-house for the period 1 October 2011 to 30 September 2012 (FY12). The verification was
Carbon Exchange (“GCX”) to perform an independent, limited-level verification of its
performed
in accordance
withemissions
the International
Standard
ISO14064-3
(2006)
Greenhouse
Gas (GHG)
inventory
as calculated
in-house
forSpecification
the period 1with
October
guidance
validation2012
and verification
greenhousewas
gas performed
assertions. in accordance with the
2011 tofor
30the
September
(FY12). Theofverification
International Standard ISO14064-3 (2006) ‘Specification with guidance for the validation and
Objectives, performance criteria and scope
verification of greenhouse gas assertions’.
For the purposes of public disclosure through the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the GHG assertions
verified were the following:
Objectives, Performance Criteria and Scope
uu That ABIL’s FY12 GHG inventory was developed in accordance with common industry practice and
For
the purposes
of public disclosure
through
the Carbon
Disclosure
Project
(CDP), 2004
the GHG
conforms
to the WRI-WBCSD
GHG Protocol
Corporate
Accounting
Standard,
2nd Edition,
(GHG
assertions verified were the following:
Protocol).
• the
That
ABIL’s
GHG Inventory
wasindeveloped
in accordance
with common industry
uu That
ABIL
GHG FY12
quantification
presented
the spreadsheet
“ABIL Carbonfootprint_2012FY
practice and conforms
to the
WRI-WBCSD
Protocol
Corporate
Accounting
21 May_VERIFIED.xlsx”
for the FY12
reporting
period,GHG
consolidated
according
to the
operational
2nd Edition, 2004 (GHG Protocol).
control Standard,
approach, was
119 323 tonnes CO2e, broken down as follows:
• That
ABILtonnes
GHG quantification
presented in the spreadsheet “ABIL
uu Scope
1: the
23 709
CO2e
Carbonfootprint_2012FY
uu Scope
2: 80 632 tonnes CO2e 21 May_VERIFIED.xlsx” for the FY12 reporting period,
consolidated
according
uu Scope
3: 14 346 tonnes
CO e to the operational control approach, was 119,323 tonnes
CO2e, broken down as2 follows:
uu Other direct:
636 tonnes CO2e 1
Scope 1: included
23,709 tonnes
CO2e of: the reporting approach and boundaries selected;
The scope of the verification
an assessment
Scope 2: 80,632
2e
the quantification methodology
and tonnes
emissionCO
factors
used; the integrity of the activity data used; the
Scope 3:of14,346
tonnes
CO2e and overall GHG reporting to ensure conformance
accuracy and completeness
the GHG
calculations;
Other direct:
CO2e 1
with the principles/criteria
of the 636
GHGtonnes
Protocol.
Exclusions
The
scope EHL
of the
verification included
assessment
of: the
reporting
approach
The
following
entities/facilities
fall underan
ABIL’s
operational
control
but were
excluded and
from the FY12
boundaries selected; the quantification methodology and emission factors used; the integrity
disclosure due to data availability:
of the activity data used; the accuracy and completeness of the GHG calculations; overall
reporting
to ensure conformance with the principles/criteria of the GHG Protocol.
uuGHG
All non-SA
operations
uu Roodekop and Cape Town Distribution Centres (DCs)
uu Roodefurn Assembly Plant
Exclusions
uu 24 Cross-docks
The following EHL entities/facilities fall under ABIL’s operational control but were excluded
from the FY12 disclosure due to data availability:
•
•
•
•
All non-SA operations
Roodekop and Cape Town Distribution Centres (DCs)
Roodefurn Assembly Plant
24 Cross-docks
1
The GHG Protocol states that emissions from non-Kyoto listed refrigerant gases should be reported separately from
the
scopes.
(Reported
herethat
as “other
direct”
For consistency
withshould
base year
reporting,
these emissions
1 The
GHG Protocol
states
emissions
from emissions).
non-Kyoto listed
refrigerant gases
be reported
separately
from
should
be reported
with
scope
1 direct
emissions.
the scopes.
(Reported
here
as “Other
direct”
emissions). For consistency with base year reporting, these emissions
should be reported with scope 1 direct emissions.
Global Carbon Exchange SA (Pty) Ltd I Co Reg. 2012/144204/07 I PO Box 30944 Tokai 7966
[e] [email protected] [w] www.globalcarbonexchange.com
[t] +27 21 702 4058 [f] +27 21 702 4373
Independent
IndependentVerification
VerificationStatement
Statement
ToTo
the
the
Board
Board
ofof
Directors
Directors
and
and
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Management
ofof
African
African
Bank
Bank
Investments
Investments
Activity
data for the following emissions sources was excluded or incomplete due to data availability:
Limited
Limited
Scope 1 and other direct:
Introduction
u
uIntroduction
Refrigerant gas refills for all EHL DCs
African
African
Bank
Investments
Investments
Limited
Limited
(hereafter
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ABIL)
ABIL)
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two
two
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primary
Scope
3:Bank
businesses,
African
African
Bank
Bank
(AB)
(AB)
and
and
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Ellerine
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Holdings
Ltd.
(EHL).
(EHL).
ABIL
ABIL
commissioned
commissioned
Global
Global
u
ubusinesses,
EHL-contracted
transport
and
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for
the DCsLtd.
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limited-level
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uu Waste generated in operations for all AB and EHL branches and EHL DCs
Greenhouse
Greenhouse
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(GHG)
(GHG)
emissions
emissions
inventory
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asas
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calculated
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the
the
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period
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1 October
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Employee
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for
all
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DCThe
employees
2011
toto
3030
September
September
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2012
(FY12).
(FY12).
The
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verification
was
was
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performed
in in
accordance
accordance
with
with
the
the
International
International
Standard
Standard
ISO14064-3
ISO14064-3
(2006)
(2006)
‘Specification
‘Specification
with
guidance
guidance
for
the
the
validation
validation
and
and
The
above exclusions
should
be disclosed
when
respondingwith
to
question
8.4forof
the
CDP
questionnaire.
verification
verification
of of
greenhouse
greenhouse
gas
gas
assertions’.
assertions’.
ABIL’s responsibility
ABIL was responsible for the preparation and presentation of the selected subject matter/data to GCX
Objectives,
Objectives,
Performance
Performance
Criteria
Criteria
and
and
Scope
Scope
(as detailed in the verification report).
ForFor
the
the
purposes
purposes
of of
public
public
disclosure
disclosure
through
through
the
the
Carbon
Carbon
Disclosure
Disclosure
Project
Project
(CDP),
(CDP),
the
the
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GHG
Responsibility
of the
independent
verification provider (GCX)
assertions
assertions
verified
verified
were
were
the
the
following:
following:
The verification task was to form an opinion at a limited level of assurance about the above GHG assertions,
• • That
That
ABIL’s
ABIL’s
FY12
FY12
GHG
GHG
Inventory
Inventory
was
was
developed
developed
in in
accordance
accordance
with
with
common
common
industry
industry
regarding:
practice
practice
and
and
conforms
conforms
toto
the
the
WRI-WBCSD
WRI-WBCSD
GHG
GHG
Protocol
Protocol
Corporate
Corporate
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Edition,
Edition,
2004
2004
(GHG
(GHG
Protocol).
Protocol).
Standard,
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2 2the
uu Conformance
with
general
requirements
of the GHG Protocol.
uu Completeness
and
accuracy
of the quantified
GHG emissions
for
the FY12“ABIL
reporting
• • That
That
the
the
ABIL
ABIL
GHG
GHG
quantification
quantification
presented
presented
in in
the
the
spreadsheet
spreadsheet
“ABIL period.
nd nd
2121
May_VERIFIED.xlsx”
forfor
the
the
FY12
FY12
reporting
reporting
period,
period,
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consolidated
consolidated
according
according
toto
the
the
operational
operational
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was
was
119,323
119,323
tonnes
tonnes
The verification
performed
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applied
broken
broken
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asas
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follows:the ISO14064-3 (2006) International Standard for GHG
CO
CO
2e,2e,
verifications. In conformance with this standard, the following verification activities were conducted:
Scope
Scope
1: 1:23,709
23,709
tonnes
tonnes
CO
CO
2e 2e
1. Preliminary review of ABIL’s GHG documentation and methodologies, including historical GHG data.
Scope
Scope
2: 2:80,632
80,632
tonnes
tonnes
CO
CO
2e 2e
2. Overall risk assessment to identify high-risk areas for further scrutiny. In these areas,
Scope
Scope
3: 3:14,346
14,346
tonnes
tonnes
CO
CO
2e 2e
clarification or a sample of source/corroborating
data was requested.
Other
Other
direct:
direct:
636
636
tonnes
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CO
CO
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3. Investigation to ensure the inclusivity of all relevant facilities in the organisational boundary.
4. Discussion with ABIL personnel and service providers regarding systems and procedures, review of
The
The
scope
scope
of
of
the
the
verification
verification
included
anan
assessment
assessment
of:of:
the
the
reporting
reporting
approach
approach
and
and
relevant
documentation,
andincluded
clarification
requests
where
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boundaries
boundaries
selected;
the
the
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quantification
methodology
methodology
and
and
emission
emission
factors
factors
used;
used;
the
the
integrity
integrity
5.
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assessment
of
GHG
documentation
and methodologies,
as well
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of
selected
of of
the
the
activity
activity
data
data
used;
used;
the
the
accuracy
accuracy
and
and
completeness
completeness
of of
the
the
GHG
GHG
calculations;
calculations;
overall
overall
source data. This included checking:
GHG
GHG
reporting
reporting
toto
ensure
ensure
conformance
conformance
with
with
the
the
principles/criteria
principles/criteria
of of
the
the
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GHG
Protocol.
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uu Completeness, accuracy, relevance, consistency and transparency of the selected activity data used
for the quantification;
uu Accuracy of arithmetical calculations for the selected data;
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The
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EHL
entities/facilities
entities/facilities
fallfall
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but
were
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u Methodology
and
any assumptions,
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toexcluded
the selected
from
from
the
the
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FY12
disclosure
disclosure
due
due
toto
data
data
availability:
availability:
data;
and
u• u •Reliability
andoperations
appropriateness
of emission factors applied to the selected data.
AllAll
non-SA
non-SA
operations
Exclusions
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• • Roodekop
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and
and
Cape
Cape
Town
Town
Distribution
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(DCs)
(DCs)
• • Roodefurn
Roodefurn
Assembly
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Plant
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• • 2424
Cross-docks
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1 The
1 The
GHG
GHG
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states
states
that
that
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“Other
direct”
direct”
emissions).
emissions).
ForFor
consistency
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with
with
base
base
year
year
reporting,
reporting,
these
these
emissions
emissions
should
should
bebe
reported
reported
with
with
scope
scope
1 direct
1 direct
emissions.
emissions.
Global
Global
Carbon
Carbon
Exchange
Exchange
SASA
(Pty)
(Pty)
LtdLtd
I Co
I Co
Reg.
Reg.
2012/144204/07
2012/144204/07
I PO
I PO
BoxBox
30944
30944
Tokai
Tokai
7966
7966
[e] [e]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[w][w]
www.globalcarbonexchange.com
[t] +27
4058
[f] +27
4373
[t] +27
21 21
702702
4058
[f] +27
21 21
702702
4373
64
accountability
Independent
IndependentVerification
VerificationStatement
Statement
ToTo
the
the
Board
Board
ofof
Directors
Directors
and
and
Management
Management
ofof
African
African
Bank
Bank
Investments
Investments
6.
Review of the consistency between the selected sample data and the related activity data used for the
Limited
Limited
GHG quantification, using a materiality threshold of 5% for each scope.
7. Revision of the GHG quantification by ABIL, incorporating the amendments and corrective actions
Introduction
Introduction
requested by GCX.
African
African
Bank
Investments
Limited
(hereafter
(hereafter
referred
as as
ABIL)
ABIL)
operates
operates
through
through
two
two
primary
primary
8.
Final Bank
check
ofInvestments
the revisedLimited
GHG
quantification
byreferred
GCX. to to
businesses,
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African
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and
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(EHL).
(EHL).
ABIL
ABIL
commissioned
commissioned
Global
Global
9.
Completion
of theBank
verification
process
andHoldings
issuing
ofLtd.
the
verification
statement
by GCX.
Carbon
Carbon
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(“GCX”)
(“GCX”)
to findings
to
perform
perform
anan
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of of
its its
10.The
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proceedings,
and
opportunities
forlimited-level
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were
then documented
by
Greenhouse
Greenhouse
Gas
Gas
(GHG)
(GHG)
emissions
emissions
inventory
inventory
as as
calculated
calculated
in-house
in-house
forfor
thethe
period
period
1 October
1 October
GCX in a final verification report.
2011
2011
to to
3030
September
September
2012
2012
(FY12).
(FY12).
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The
verification
verification
was
was
performed
performed
in accordance
in accordance
with
with
thethe
International
International
Standard
Standard
ISO14064-3
ISO14064-3
(2006)
(2006)
‘Specification
‘Specification
with
with
guidance
guidance
forfor
thethe
validation
validation
and
and
Carbon
Disclosure
Project
verification
verification
of of
greenhouse
gas
gas
assertions’.
assertions’.
For
the purposes
ofgreenhouse
CDP reporting,
and
in accordance with the limited assurance guidelines of the
ISO 14064-3(2006) standard, the following was concluded:
Objectives,
Objectives,
Performance
Performance
Criteria
Criteria
and
and
Scope
Scope
Scope 1:
ForFor
the
the
purposes
purposes
of of
public
public
disclosure
disclosure
through
through
the
Carbon
Carbon
Disclosure
Project
Project
(CDP),
(CDP),
the
GHG
GCX
is satisfied
that
therethe
are
noGHG
Total
Scope
1 emissions
reported
for FY12:
23 709the
tonnes
CO2e.Disclosure
assertions
assertions
verified
verified
were
were
thethe
following:
following:
material
discrepancies
in the
revised
activity data.
• That
That
ABIL’s
ABIL’s
FY12
FY12
GHG
GHG
Inventory
Inventory
was
was
developed
developed
in accordance
in accordance
with
with
common
common
industry
industry
CDP •8.5:
Data
accuracy:
10-20%
Uncertainty
range
(assumptions
and data management)
practice
practice
and
and
conforms
to to
thethe
WRI-WBCSD
WRI-WBCSD
GHG
GHG
Protocol
Protocol
Corporate
Corporate
Accounting
Accounting
CDP 8.6a:
Proportion
ofconforms
Scope
1 emissions
verified:
90-100%
Edition,
Edition,
2004
2004
(GHG
(GHG
Protocol).
Protocol).
Standard,
Standard,
2nd2nd
Scope 2
• • That
That
thethe
ABIL
ABIL
GHG
GHG
quantification
quantification
presented
presented
in the
in the
spreadsheet
spreadsheet
“ABIL
“ABIL
e.
GCX
is satisfied
that
there
are no
Total Scope
2 emissions reported for21FY12:
80 632 tonnes CO
21
for2for
thethe
FY12
FY12
reporting
reporting
period,
period,
material consolidated
discrepancies
in
the
revised
activity
data.
consolidated
according
according
to to
thethe
operational
operational
control
control
approach,
approach,
was
was
119,323
119,323
tonnes
tonnes
CDP 8.5:CO
Data
5-10%
e,
broken
broken
down
down
asUncertainty
as
follows:
follows: range (sampling and extrapolation)
CO
2e,2Accuracy:
CDP 8.7a: Proportion of Scope 2 emissions verified: 90-100%
Scope
Scope
1: 1:
23,709
23,709
tonnes
tonnes
CO
CO
2e 2e
Scope 3
Scope
Scope
2: 2:
80,632
80,632
tonnes
tonnes
CO
CO
2e 2e
Total Scope 3 emissions
reported
for
FY12:
14CO
346
tonnes CO2e. GCX is satisfied that there are no
Scope
Scope
3:
3:
14,346
14,346
tonnes
tonnes
CO
2e 2e
material discrepancies
in
the
revised
activity
data.
Other
Other
direct:
direct:
636
636
tonnes
tonnes
CO
CO
2e 21e 1
CDP 14.2a: Proportion of Scope 3 emissions verified: 90-100%
Other
direct
The
The
scope
scope
of of
thethe
verification
verification
included
included
anan
assessment
assessment
of:of:
thethe
reporting
reporting
approach
approach
and
and
e. emission
GCX
is satisfied
that
there
are
no
Total
other direct
emissions
reported
for FY12:
636 tonnes CO
boundaries
boundaries
selected;
selected;
thethe
quantification
quantification
methodology
methodology
and
emission
factors
factors
used;
used;
thethe
integrity
integrity
2and
of of
thethe
activity
activity
data
data
used;
the
accuracy
accuracy
and
and
completeness
completeness
of of
thethe
GHG
GHG
calculations;
calculations;
overall
overall
material
discrepancies
inused;
thethe
data
checked.
GHG
GHG
reporting
reporting
to to
ensure
ensure
conformance
conformance
with
with
thethe
principles/criteria
principles/criteria
of of
thethe
GHG
GHG
Protocol.
Protocol.
Note: other direct emissions, like Scope 1 emissions, are direct emissions that occur on-site and can therefore be
reported under the Scope 1 section of the online submission, as was done for the FY10 base year.
Exclusions
Exclusions
The
The
following
following
EHL
EHL
entities/facilities
entities/facilities
fallfall
under
under
ABIL’s
ABIL’s
operational
operational
control
control
but
but
were
were
excluded
excluded
from
from
thethe
FY12
FY12
disclosure
disclosure
due
due
to to
data
data
availability:
availability:
•
•
•
•
• AllAll
non-SA
non-SA
operations
operations
• Roodekop
Roodekop
and
and
Cape
Cape
Town
Town
Distribution
Distribution
Centres
Centres
(DCs)
(DCs)
• Roodefurn
Roodefurn
Assembly
Assembly
Plant
Plant
• 2424
Cross-docks
Cross-docks
1 The
1 The
GHG
GHG
Protocol
Protocol
states
states
that
that
emissions
emissions
from
from
non-Kyoto
non-Kyoto
listed
listed
refrigerant
refrigerant
gases
gases
should
should
be be
reported
reported
separately
separately
from
from
thethe
scopes.
scopes.
(Reported
(Reported
here
here
as “Other
as “Other
direct”
direct”
emissions).
emissions).
ForFor
consistency
consistency
with
with
base
base
year
year
reporting,
reporting,
these
these
emissions
emissions
should
should
be be
reported
reported
with
with
scope
scope
1 direct
1 direct
emissions.
emissions.
Global
Global
Carbon
Carbon
Exchange
Exchange
SA SA
(Pty)
(Pty)
LtdLtd
I CoI Co
Reg.
Reg.
2012/144204/07
2012/144204/07
I PO
I PO
BoxBox
30944
30944
Tokai
Tokai
7966
7966
[e] [e]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[w] [w]
[t] +27
4058
[f] +27
4373
[t] +27
21 21
702702
4058
[f] +27
21 21
702702
4373
Independent Verification Statement
To the Board of Directors and Management of African Bank Investments
Inherent
Limited limitations
There is an inherent limitation in providing verification of GHG data. Non-financial data is subject to more
inherent limitations than financial data, given both the nature and the methods used to determine,
Introduction
calculate, sample or estimate such data.
African Bank Investments Limited (hereafter referred to as ABIL) operates through two primary
This
assurance
engagement
did and
not include
examination
of theABIL
derivation
of emission
factors,
businesses,
African
Bank (AB)
Ellerinean
Holdings
Ltd. (EHL).
commissioned
Global
conversion
factors, or(“GCX”)
other derived
third-party
information. limited-level verification of its
Carbon Exchange
to perform
an independent,
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventory as calculated in-house for the period 1 October
GCX has not conducted any work outside of the agreed scope and we therefore restrict our opinion to the
2011 to 30 September 2012 (FY12). The verification was performed in accordance with the
agreed
subjectStandard
matter. ISO14064-3 (2006) ‘Specification with guidance for the validation and
International
verification
greenhouse
gas assertions’.
Final
verifierofopinion
and qualifications
On the basis of the limited assurance procedures followed in accordance with ISO 14064-3, there is no
Objectives,
Performance
andfor
Scope
evidence
that ABIL’s
revised GHGCriteria
quantification
FY12, as presented in the spreadsheet “ABIL
21 disclosure
May_VERIFIED.xlsx”:
For the purposes of public
through the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the GHG
assertions
were the
following: with the general requirements of the WRIWBCSD GHG
1.
Has notverified
been prepared
in conformance
Protocol
Accounting
Standard
(2004);
and
• ThatCorporate
ABIL’s FY12
GHG Inventory
was
developed
in accordance with common industry
and
conforms
WRI-WBCSD
GHG Protocol
Corporate
2. Is notpractice
materially
correct
and a to
fair,the
complete
and accurate
representation
of theAccounting
GHG data and
nd Edition, 2004 (GHG Protocol).
Standard,
2nd
information
for the
FY12 reporting period, with the following qualifications:
u• u Total
ABIL may be under-estimated
to the exclusions
ThatGHG
the emissions
ABIL GHGfor
quantification
presented in thedue
spreadsheet
“ABIL and incomplete data
listed
above.
21 May_VERIFIED.xlsx” for the FY12 reporting period,
consolidated
according
to the operational
wasdata
119,323
uu Activity
data for Kyoto
and non-Kyoto
refrigerant control
gas refillsapproach,
was poor. This
was tonnes
estimated
broken
as follows:
CO22e,
where
possible
ordown
else omitted.
There is thus a fairly high level of uncertainty regarding the
accuracy of these Scope 1/other direct emissions.
Scope 1: 23,709 tonnes CO22e
uu Electricity consumption for ABIL’s branches was estimated (using kWh/m2 from a sample of
branches). Invoices for individual branch consumption and branch trading areas were not checked.
uu ABIL has a reduction target against FY10 (base
year) emissions. These emissions require
Other direct: 636 tonnes CO22e 11
recalculation as a result of changes to boundaries, calculation methodologies and emission factors.
Checking the recalculated figures for FY10 was beyond the scope of this verification engagement.
Theuscope
ofvisits
the verification
included an assessment of: the reporting approach and
u No site
were conducted.
boundaries selected; the quantification methodology and emission factors used; the integrity
of the activity data used; the accuracy and completeness of the GHG calculations; overall
GHG reporting to ensure conformance with the principles/criteria of the GHG Protocol.
Exclusions
Signed:
Kerry Evans Signed: Ohad Shachar
Lead
GHG Verifier
Managing
Director
The following
EHL entities/facilities fall under ABIL’s operational
control
but were excluded
GLOBAL
EXCHANGE
GLOBAL
CARBON EXCHANGE
from the CARBON
FY12 disclosure
due to
data availability:
Date:
• 23.05.2013
All non-SA operations
•
•
•
Roodekop and Cape Town Distribution Centres (DCs)
Roodefurn Assembly Plant
24 Cross-docks
11 The GHG Protocol states that emissions from non-Kyoto listed refrigerant gases should be reported separately from
the scopes. (Reported here as “Other direct” emissions). For consistency with base year reporting, these emissions
should be reported with scope 1 direct emissions.
Global Carbon Exchange SA (Pty) Ltd I Co Reg. 2012/144204/07 I PO Box 30944 Tokai 7966
[e] [email protected] [w] www.globalcarbonexchange.com
[t] +27 21 702 4058 [f] +27 21 702 4373
66

Sustainability Report

Transcription

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