“Sustainability at Aristocrat is a whole company endeavour,” says the supplier’s group general manager for sustainability Harry Ashton. “It is embedded in our strategy, operations as well as the values and culture of our teams around the world.
“It is an essential part of our long-term commitment to the communities within which we work and live and a key way we serve our customers and players by improving our business and the broader industries in which we operate.”
Sustainably is embedded in the Aristocrat business in different ways, depending on the area of focus, he explains. For example there are enterprise-wide policies supported by awareness activity and training for responsible gambling, privacy, cyber, modern slavery and anti-bribery and corruption.
Diversity, equity and inclusion targets are integrated into hiring processes. At executive and board level there are additional, targeted programmes.
Commitment to sustainability trickles into supply chains
And this extends beyond the internal operations, Ashton explains, and throughout the entire Aristocrat value chain.
“For example, we engage closely with our supply chain through surveys and requiring compliance with our supplier code of conduct,” he says. “We engage with customers on responsible gameplay technology and do awareness campaigns and surveys for our players.”
This ultimately reflects the growing importance of sustainability across the gaming industry. For the largest operators and suppliers it’s already a non-negotiable he says.
However ESG maturity varies depending on the geography and market segment in such a global industry, he adds, even if the expectation for action is increasing. That means integrating sustainability into business strategies and decision-making processes, not to mention enhanced reporting.
Crucially, it factors into growing investor engagement, for whom ESG is an increasing focus. Aristocrat has gone as far as holding an investor day focused on ESG issues and outlining its approach. “That level of transparency and communication aims to foster investor confidence,” he adds.
A new three-year cycle for ESG
As with many companies in the FiNTEL Sustain top 10, Aristocrat’s strategy started by bringing together a range of strategies into a more coherent approach. “As our programme has matured there has been increasing ownership operationally and now the overwhelming majority of priorities are executed by the business – not just the sustainability team,” Ashton explains.
“It’s work that is mainstreamed into our core systems, processes and practices, with priorities captured in many people’s annual performance goals.”
But it’s coming to the end of a three-year cycle for its FY22-24 ESG strategy and it has completed a comprehensive double materiality assessment for the next iteration. This will underpin the next three-year strategy, due to be published later this year.
“Over the coming years, we will also be expanding our sustainability disclosures as we look to meet evolving stakeholder expectations and the introductions of mandatory sustainability reporting,” Ashton adds.
“As such, we have taken steps to further integrate sustainability considerations into key areas of our organisation, including with finance and data teams and through operational practices.”
And to be ranked second in FiNTEL Sustain’s inaugural Sustainability+ rankings, Ashton credits the “passion and commitment” of the Aristocrat team, not to mention the support and endorsement of its leadership and board.
“Despite the recognition, we know that this is a journey of continuous improvement, so I think it’s important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves,” he adds. “We know that stakeholder expectations are constantly changing and we look to tailor our ESG programme to respond accordingly.”
Over the next few days iGB will continue counting down the remaining highest ranked companies in FiNTEL Sustain’s Sustainability Plus rating system. Watch FiNTEL Sustain founders Robert Montgomery and Steven Myers share the rationale for creating a gaming-specific rating system in this exclusive interview.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/sustainable-gambling/fintel-sustain-rankings-2024-number-2-aristocrat/
