Centrica : Modern Slavery Statement 2023

ENTER

OUR MODERN SLAVERY STATEMENT 2023

Energising a greener, fairer future

1	INTRODUCTION		GOVERNANCE		ASSESSING RISK		TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE		& COLLABORATION

WHAT'S IN

THIS REPORT?

INTRODUCTION

CHIEF EXECUTIVE INTRODUCTION	2
OUR PURPOSE, STRATEGY AND VALUES	4
OUR BUSINESSES	6
OUR SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW	8
GOVERNANCE & POLICIES	9
ASSESSING RISK & DUE DILIGENCE	13
TRAINING & COLLABORATION	20
LOOKING AHEAD	23

2	INTRODUCTION		GOVERNANCE		ASSESSING RISK		TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE		& COLLABORATION

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

INTRODUCTION

Inherent in our Purpose of energising a greener, fairer future is our commitment to conduct our business responsibly.

At the very core of being a responsible business with obligations to the communities in which we operate, is our determination to uphold the fundamental rights and freedoms of those who work for Centrica, with Centrica, and interact with Centrica. As an international business with a global footprint, we strive to ensure that every person, regardless of their role within our business or supply chain, is treated with dignity and respect. That's why we will not tolerate human rights abuses or any form of modern slavery across our operations or supply chains.

So, in our eighth Modern Slavery Statement published in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015, I'm proud to share the steps

we took during the financial year ending 31 December 2023, to ensure that we maintain a robust approach to identifying and preventing any risks of modern slavery arising across our business operations. Our actions are supported by being signatories of the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, with commitments embedded into our business processes and

practices aligned to international standards like the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Over the last year, much of our focus has been on continuing to advance our responsible sourcing programme by further strengthening core compliance and delivering on the objectives that we described in our Statement last year. In summary, we have sought to address potential or emerging risks in the following ways:

• expanded the scope of our supplier audit programme with on-site audits conducted at solar and battery systems manufacturers;
• carried out a deep dive risk assessment focusing on working hours in manufacturing facilities as a result of some of our initial audit activity;
• tackled emerging concerns about modern slavery risk in the solar supply chain by deepening our existing involvement in and collaboration with the Solar Stewardship Initiative whose purpose is to improve transparency in the operation of the solar supply chain; and
• further enhanced our processes governing how human rights considerations are incorporated into our procurement and business decisions.

3	INTRODUCTION		GOVERNANCE		ASSESSING RISK
			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE

From a global geopolitical perspective, 2023 saw a continuation of many of the same global challenges seen in 2022 with the continued conflict in Ukraine and continued high inflation driving ongoing cost of living pressures. The associated displacement of people and more widespread poverty clearly increase the risk of human rights abuses taking place amongst vulnerable populations. While we have not uncovered any explicit instances of forced or compulsory labour in our business or supply chain, I'm acutely aware of the very real risk posed by modern slavery particularly in a world where supply chains may be more complex and less transparent. Together, we must therefore remain vigilant to the scourge of modern slavery and continue to do our best to ensure a more inclusive and sustainable future for all.

Chris O'Shea,

Group Chief Executive

LEADERS IN TRANSPARENCY

In 2023, we secured a top score of 96% for our transparent voluntary response to the Workforce Disclosure Initiative, which is now led by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The disclosure provides an in-depth update on key issues like pay, diversity and human rights across our business and supply chain. We also received special mention for our disclosure, including for being the 'Most Transparent'.

TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
& COLLABORATION

4	INTRODUCTION		GOVERNANCE		ASSESSING RISK		TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE		& COLLABORATION

OUR PURPOSE, STRATEGY AND VALUES

Centrica is a uniquely integrated energy company comprising a balanced portfolio of market-leading businesses that complement, de-risk and add value to one another. Together we are greater than the sum of our parts.

At Centrica our Purpose is 'energising a greener, fairer future' because we believe in energy that works for colleagues, customers and communities, today and into the future.

Our strategy is driven by our Purpose and we live by our Values. While we have evolved our strategy to help meet today's challenges and prepare us for a net zero future, our values remain firmly embedded in who we are and guide everything we do. They drive us to collaborate with our suppliers and partners to collectively address modern slavery risks across our supply chain with care and courage.

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5	INTRODUCTION		GOVERNANCE		ASSESSING RISK		TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE		& COLLABORATION

Our Values

CARE		C0LLABORATION		C0URAGE		AGILITY		DELIVERY
We care deeply about		Together we win,		We step up and		We are nimble, curious		We do things right
our impact on the		we build winning		take responsibility.		and innovative; we		and deliver for all of
planet, our customers		relationships		We recognise the		adapt to our markets		our stakeholders.
and our colleagues.		throughout our own		importance of		rapidly and seek
We want to make a		organisation and with		challenging the		out opportunities to
difference to society		others to deliver on		industry to make		support the system
and the safety and		the scale challenges		difficult decisions for		and succeed.
wellbeing of our		the industry faces.		our future and we
team and customers				stand by our beliefs.
is paramount.

Our People & Planet Plan

Central to achieving our purpose and strategy is ourPeople & Planet Plan- from being a net zero business by 2045 and helping our customers be net zero by 2050, to creating the diverse and inclusive team we need to get there and contributing to the communities we're all part of.

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			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE

OUR BUSINESSES

We operate across the energy sector with distinct but complementary businesses.

Retail

We provide energy, services and solutions to our customers to heat, power, run and maintain their homes and businesses through trusted brands such as British Gas in the UK and Bord Gáis Energy in Ireland.

17,343	2,512	60%
colleagues	suppliers	supply chain
		spend

TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
& COLLABORATION

Infrastructure

The energy that is needed to supply our residential and business customers comes from our established infrastructure. We produce gas through our majority controlled upstream production subsidiary, Spirit Energy Limited ('Spirit Energy'), and generate electricity through our minority stake in the UK's portfolio of existing nuclear power stations, as well as through Whitegate Power Station in Ireland and our Centrica Business Solutions assets, which include renewable power generation and the storage of electricity using grid scale batteries. In addition, we store gas through Centrica Energy Storage+'s Rough gas storage facility.

2,848 2,546 25%

colleagues	suppliers	supply chain
		spend

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			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE		& COLLABORATION

Optimisation

Connecting our infrastructure with the retail market is Centrica Energy, which helps move energy from source to use, optimises energy, and manages energy procurement and risk for the Group.

811	820	2%
colleagues	suppliers	supply chain
		spend

Our colleagues within our Group Functions provide shared services across our businesses.

1,873 705 13%

colleagues	suppliers	supply chain
		spend

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			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE

OUR SUPPLY

CHAIN OVERVIEW

Our suppliers are key stakeholders and partners, enabling us to deliver on our strategic objectives by targeting high standards of business conduct whilst securing a stable supply of services

and solutions for customers.

We interact with our suppliers in many ways such as tendering, surveys, site inspections and remote worker surveys. Through engagement, we ensure we pay suppliers fairly and enforce our Responsible Sourcing Policy which sets out ways of working to benefit communities and the environment, including obligations under anti-modern slavery laws. Our teams aim to develop and strengthen relationships with our portfolio of suppliers who are required to share our commitment to doing business responsibly.

During 2023, we continued to manage our portfolio of suppliers providing goods and services to our global operations with a spend of around £3bn.

TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
& COLLABORATION

9	INTRODUCTION		GOVERNANCE		ASSESSING RISK
			& POLICIES		& DUE DILIGENCE

GOVERNANCE

We've established responsibilities for the effective management of our modern slavery risks at Board and Group level.

The Centrica Board has overall responsibility and accountability for our approach to managing the risk of modern slavery.

The Board delegates management of sustainability-related matters to a sub-committee, the Safety, Environment and Sustainability Committee, attended by Centrica's Group Chief Executive, non-executive directors and senior executives, who meet three times a year, review and recommend for approval the annual Modern Slavery Statement to the Board, assess emerging risks, and monitor progress and plans relating to our responsible sourcing strategy including our supplier ethical audit programme.

The Human Rights and Modern Slavery Steering Group meets on a quarterly basis, chaired by the Group General Counsel & Company Secretary, and comprises of members representing key functions: Group Procurement, Responsible Business, People and Colleague Experience, alongside Legal, Compliance and Business Ethics and where necessary managing directors of our business units. Together, they provide oversight of and challenge to Centrica's efforts to manage the risk of adverse human rights and modern slavery arising within our operations.

TRAINING		LOOKING AHEAD
& COLLABORATION

The Modern Slavery Working Group is responsible for the production of the annual Modern Slavery Statement, and coordinating efforts to prevent, detect and respond to modern slavery within Centrica's Group operations. Chaired by the Head of Business Ethics, they comprise of representatives from across the business including commercial and functional leads who monitor the effectiveness of actions taken to reduce the risk

of modern slavery including emerging risks, tracking progress against commitments, and ensuring policies and procedures align with relevant laws, regulations and industry best practice.

BOARD

SAFETY, ENVIRONMENT AND

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITEE (SESC)

HUMAN RIGHTS AND MODERN

SLAVERY STEERING GROUP

MODERN SLAVERY WORKING GROUP