ECM.L Regulatory News (ECM)

4 November 2021

ELECTROCOMPONENTS PLC

GLOBAL 2030 ESG ACTION PLAN: FOR A BETTER WORLD

Electrocomponents plc announces new 2030 ESG action plan For a better world focused on four global goals:

1. Advancing sustainability

Developing sustainable operations and product and service solutions to reduce environmental impacts and tackle climate change.

· Committed to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions across our global operations by 2030 and across the wider value chain by 2050.

· We have set science-based targets for Scope 1,2 and 3 emissions and have committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

2. Championing education and innovation

Building skills and fostering innovative solutions.

· Supporting 1.5 million engineers and innovators, including engaging our DesignSpark community to support the development of sustainable solutions that improve lives.

3. Empowering our people

Enabling our people to reach their full potential and thrive in a safe, inclusive and dynamic culture.

· Working towards 40% of our leaders being women and 25% being ethnically diverse.

4. Doing business responsibly

Ensuring the highest ethical and environmental standards throughout our business and global value chain.

· ESG objectives to be embedded in employee rewards, supplier objectives and a sustainability-linked loan.

LINDSLEY RUTH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, COMMENTED: "Electrocomponents has been on a journey to establish and strengthen our ESG approach for a sustainable future. Today, we are proud to take the next steps and launch our 2030 ESG action plan For a better world. This is an integral part of our Destination 2025 strategy and beyond, and we see the opportunity to leverage our global scale, product and service solutions and differentiated offer to grow stronger, advance sustainability and improve lives. We believe that having a strong ESG action plan is critical for us to become a truly great company."

Building upon a strong ESG foundation

The goals announced today build upon the strong progress we have already made. Our key achievements to date include:

• Carbon: 62% cut in CO2 emissions from premises' energy usage since 2014/15

• Energy: 67% of electricity usage from renewable sources in 2020/21

• Waste: 76% of waste recycled in 2020/21

• Diversity: 44% Board members are female including our Chair

Our achievements have been recognised externally shown by our high ESG ratings:

• CDP 2020 score: A- leadership category

• EcoVadis: Gold

• MSCI: A

• Sustainalytics: negligible risk (6.2), 10/13,494 (all companies), 3/540 (sector)

Governance and reporting

To drive progress towards achieving the ESG goals, Electrocomponents has established a new ESG Leadership Committee overseen by Lindsley Ruth, our CEO. The Committee has four members from the Senior Management Team, plus our VP of Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Andrea Barrett. The Board and Senior Management Team have full oversight of our ESG approach and performance.

Our ESG action plan will also form a fundamental part of our governance, strategy and risk processes in line with Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD); the first disclosure will be provided in the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Presentation

We have detailed our ESG action plan - For a better world in a presentation which can be accessed on our website: www.electrocomponents.com/esg.

LEI: 549300KVXDURRKVW7R37

Notes to editors:

Our 2030 ESG action plan in full

To drive the delivery of each goal, clear actions have been identified to achieve by 2029/30 from a 2019/20 baseline, unless otherwise stated:

Advancing sustainability

Developing sustainable operations and product and service solutions to help reduce environmental impacts and tackle climate change 

1. Be net zero with a science-based target to reduce absolute emissions from our own operations by 75%

2. Make our packaging more sustainable: reduce intensity by 30%, with 100% of packaging widely reusable, recyclable or compostable and made with 50% recycled content

3. Reduce, reuse and recycle our waste: reduce intensity by 50%, recycle >95% and achieve zero waste to landfill in our direct operations

Work with our supplier and customer partners towards a net zero global value chain by 2050:

4. Engage 65% of our suppliers by spend to set science-based targets by 2025

5. Reduce Scope 3 transport emissions by 25% per tonne sold

6. Develop innovative and sustainable product and service solutions for all our customers

Championing education and innovation

Building skills and fostering innovative solutions that improve lives

7. Reach one million young people with educational technologies, learning content and skills development to support future engineers and innovators

8. Support our social impact partners to develop solutions that improve lives - including supporting The Washing Machine Project to help 100,000 people in need

9. Engage with 1.5 million engineers and innovators in creating socially responsible and sustainable solutions

Empowering our people

Creating a safe, inclusive, and dynamic culture where our people can thrive and grow 

10. Ensure our team is reflective of the customers, suppliers and communities we serve by working towards 40% of our leaders being women and 25% being ethnically diverse

11. Achieve and maintain an employee engagement score in the top 10% of high-performing companies

12. Aim for zero accidents with our people

13. Inspire 50% of colleagues to volunteer to support their communities and build new skills

Doing business responsibly

Taking action to ensure the highest ethical and environmental standards throughout our business and global value chain

14. Evaluate our suppliers against our high ethical and environmental standards. Set ESG objectives for strategic suppliers

15. ESG-related targets included within our employee rewards programme

About The Washing Machine Project

The Washing Machine Project is a registered social enterprise dedicated to designing, developing and distributing low-cost, water-saving, manual washing machines to provide displaced and low-income people with an alternative to handwashing clothes. The Washing Machine Project is supported by The Washing Machine Project Foundation which is a registered charity in England & Wales (No.1193480).

About Electrocomponents plc

Electrocomponents plc is a global omni-channel provider of product and service solutions for designers, builders and maintainers of industrial equipment and operations. We stock more than 650,000 industrial and electronic products, sourced from over 2,500 leading suppliers, and provide a wide range of product and service solutions to over 1.2 million industrial customers. With operations in 32 countries, we trade through multiple channels and ship c. 60,000 parcels a day.

We support customers across the product life cycle, whether via innovation and technical support at the design phase, improving time to market and productivity at the build phase, or reducing purchasing costs and optimising inventory in the maintenance phase. We offer our customers tailored product and service propositions that are essential for the successful operation of their businesses and help them save time and money.

Electrocomponents plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the year ended 31 March 2021 reported revenue of £2.0 billion. Electrocomponents plc has nine operating brands; RS Components, Allied Electronics & Automation, RS PRO, OKdo, DesignSpark, IESA, Synovos, Needlers and Liscombe.