At Volution, our purpose is to provide healthy indoor air, sustainably. Our commitment to operate sustainably, and to help our consumers do the same, is central to our strategy, product offering, culture and capital allocation policy.

Not only is the aim of protecting the health of people and the planet a core driving principle in the evolution of our strategy with these values embedded across the company, we also understand that it is a key concern for our stakeholders. Communicating our approach to sustainability, and how we intend to meet the ambitious financial and operational targets which we have set ourselves, is a key priority for us, and as a result sustainability reporting is now one of the most important sections of our annual report.

Corporate ESG and sustainability policies have become increasingly important to all stakeholders, including institutional investors, over the past decade. This is a trend which has accelerated over the last 18 months in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. With this increasing awareness has come a requirement for clearer and more accurate ESG reporting within financial and broader corporate communications.

It is our belief that effective and explicit sustainability reporting increases transparency and therefore stakeholder confidence, as well as enhancing corporate reputation. Equally importantly, it allows companies to take a step back and assess their own internal approaches, flagging areas of improvement. At Volution, the reporting process enables us to ensure that our strategy is continually evolving to meet our aims, deliver against our targets and remain aligned with our stakeholders needs.

It is not always straightforward to define a sustainability or ESG strategy succinctly or to communicate it effectively to a broad target audience. For us, simplicity is key to credible reporting, with one of our main concerns being to avoid any impression of ‘greenwashing’ or talking about sustainability in a non-valid way. To ensure we achieve this in our reporting, we have focused on 3 core areas to streamline the communication of our strategy: product, planet and people. Within each respective area we have detailed initiatives and improvement plans as well as setting out the over-arching approach. To further our credibility, we have aligned our strategy with the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals which are key to embracing a universal approach to the sustainable development agenda.

Whilst we continue to review and refine our sustainability strategy and how we illustrate it in our reporting, the focus on sustainability and the clear messaging and incorporation in the equity story has so far been well received and understood by our stakeholders and shareholders. The spotlight on these considerations will only become brighter as time goes on, and we believe that it is important that these matters remain at the top of corporate agendas for the long term.