Entain has published its 2023-2024 ESG report, outlining its approach to and performance against its sustainability and ESG agenda and key metrics.
Reflecting on the progress made, Virginia McDowell, Chair of the Sustainability and Compliance Committee at Entain, stated that the company was “proud” of the progress that has been made in what has been a “pivotal year” for its ESG strategy.
2023-2024 ESG report
The FTSE 100 company has split its 2023-2024 environmental, social and governance report into four sections: be a leader in player protection, provide a secure and trusted platform, create the environment for everyone to do their best work, and positively impact our communities.
McDowell commented: “2023 was a pivotal year at Entain as we unveiled our new Sustainability Strategy, building on our longstanding commitment to sustainability and taking it to the next level. We also made important progress in our strategic sustainability initiatives.
“As we reflect on 2023, we are proud to report extensive progress across the four pillars of our refreshed sustainability strategy.”
Regarding player protection, Entain noted that it launched ARC, its player protection programme, for digital across 27 jurisdictions and for retail in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
The operator has also contributed one per cent of its UK gross gaming yield to research, education and treatment totalling £18.7m, in addition to its stakeholder education and training in the US, through our partnership with EPIC Global Solutions, MLB, NFL, League Soccer Players Associations and the NHL Alumni Association.
Providing a secure and trusted platform, Entain stated that, as of February 2023, 100 per cent of its group revenues are from regulated or regulating markets, in addition to a new Ethics & Compliance Charter and Strategy and a revised ESG governance structure with two board-level committees (Sustainability & Compliance and People and Governance).
“2023 was a pivotal year at Entain as we unveiled our new Sustainability Strategy, building on our longstanding commitment to sustainability and taking it to the next level.”
Virginia McDowell, Chair of the Sustainability and Compliance Committee at Entain
Creating the best work environment for everyone, the company established an objective-setting programme for colleagues called Your Goals, refreshed its values and related behaviours, and was also recognised for its Returnship programme with McLaren Racing with the Innovator of the Year award at the Women in Gaming Diversity Awards.
Positively impacting communities, Entain has set a long-term target to be net zero by 2035, aiming to reduce its scope one, two and three emissions by 90 per cent by the same year (2020 base year).
For the near term, the operator has ambitions to reduce scope one and two (market-based) emissions by 29.4 per cent by 2027 and material scope three emissions by 29.4 per cent in the same year (2020 base year). In addition, it is also purchasing just under 100 per cent of its electricity in the UK and Republic of Ireland from renewable sources.
“I am delighted to share with you this year’s ESG Report, in which we share progress against our refreshed sustainability strategy and material sustainability issues for the first time,” stated Jay Dossetter, Entain’s interim Group Head of Sustainability.
“With this new framework, we now have the focus and structure needed to be a leader within the industry on sustainability, creating value for all stakeholders.”
Entain added that it is currently reviewing its emission reduction targets and that resulting changes are expected to be announced soon.
“With this new framework, we now have the focus and structure needed to be a leader within the industry on sustainability, creating value for all stakeholders.”
Jay Dossetter, Entain’s interim Group Head of Sustainability
Entain Foundation support
McDowell noted that the company has refreshed its materiality assessment to align with the principle of double materiality, while the work of the Entain Foundation is supporting its new strategy.
She stated: “To make sure we are focused on the right issues, we refreshed our materiality assessment, aligning with the principle of double materiality. This helped us understand our unique sustainability-related risks and opportunities, and our impacts on society and the environment, gathering input from over 250 internal and external stakeholders.
“Supporting our new strategy is the work of the Entain Foundation, which works with partners around the world to support communities where we operate and create impact at a broader level beyond our own operations and value chain.
“Given the strategic alignment between the work of the Foundation and the Group’s sustainability focus areas, this year we have included the content normally included in the Social Impact Report within the ESG Report.”
Entain provided some of the Foundation’s highlights within the report, noting that it had donated £25.4m to support partner organisations creating impact in the community.
In addition, the Foundation has supported 100 non-league football clubs since 2020 via the Pitching In initiative to help them reach their communities. It has also provided a financial award via SportsAid to over 250 people since 2019 to cover training, equipment and travel costs.
Dossetter added: “Looking forward, we will be focused on deeply embedding our strategy within the business and with key partners. Inspiring and enabling them to undertake initiatives to further build upon the great work already delivered.
“We will also continue to refine our approach within each pillar of our strategy, scaling up our activities that reflect our leadership ambition.”
McDowell concluded: “Looking at 2024, we will remain sharply focused on delivering our new strategy and reaffirming the sustainability leadership role that underpins our long-term growth.”
To read Entain’s 2023-2024 ESG report, click here.
