African Equity Empowerment Investments : SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

2022 Sustainability Report

empowering people

4 INTRODUCTION	4
	ABOUT THIS REPORT	4
	REPORTING BOUNDARY AND SCOPE	6
	STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY	6
	AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS	7
7 AEEI AT A GLANCE	7
	BUSINESS PROFILE	8
	ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE	8
	OUR GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT	9
	OUR BUSINESS MODEL	10
	OUR VISION	14
	OUR STRATEGY	14
	OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT	16
25 SUSTAINABILITY	25
	SUSTAINABILITY GOVERNANCE	26
	SUSTAINABILITY FIRST	26
	OUR SUSTAINABILITY	26
	OUR APPROACH TO ESG	28
	OUR MATERIALITY DETERMINATION AND ESG	28
	OUR APPROACH TO MATERIALITY	30
	RESPONDING TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS	30
36 HUMAN CAPITAL	36
	INTRODUCTION	36
	OUR HUMAN CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS, OUTCOMES AND ACTIONS	38
	TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT	40
	HUMAN RIGHTS	43
	HEALTH AND SAFETY	44
	INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS	45
	EMPLOYEE BENEFITS	46
	POST COVID-19 AND OUR EMPLOYEES	46
	EMPLOYMENT EQUITY AND TRANSFORMATION	48

52 SOCIAL AND RELATIONSHIP CAPITAL	52
	INTRODUCTION	52
	OUR SOCIAL AND RELATIONSHIP CAPITAL HIGHLIGHTS, OUTCOMES
	AND ACTIONS	53
	OUR STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS	55
	ENTERPRISE AND SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT	56
	SUSTAINABILITY AND OUR VALUE CHAIN	58
	SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENT	59
74 INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL	74
	INTRODUCTION	74
	INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY	74
	PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY	75
	BRANDS AND PRODUCTS	75
76 NATURAL CAPITAL	76
	INTRODUCTION	76
	HIGHLIGHTS ON THE PROGRESS ON OUR NATURAL CAPITAL IN 2022	76
	WATER CONSUMPTION	78
	WASTE	78
	CARBON EMISSIONS	78
	CLIMATE CHANGE	78
	OUR ACTIONS THAT ENHANCED OUR OUTCOMES	78
80 MANUFACTURED CAPITAL	80
	INTRODUCTION	80
	OUTCOMES OF OUR MANUFACTURED CAPITAL	83
	OUR ACTIONS THAT ENHANCED OUR OUTCOMES	83
84 FINANCIAL CAPITAL	84
	INTRODUCTION	84
	OUR PERFORMANCE	84
	OUTCOMES OF OUR FINANCIAL CAPITAL	85
	OUR ACTIONS THAT ENHANCED OUR OUTCOMES	86
87 GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS	88

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ABOUT THIS REPORT

This report aims to inform our stakeholders clearly and concisely, including providers of financial capital, stakeholders and future shareholders of African Empowerment Investments Ltd ("AEEI", "the Company", or "the Group") of our investment portfolio across the various divisions within AEEI, namely: fishing and brands, technology, events and tourism, health and beauty, biotherapeutics, associates and strategic investments.

The content of the Sustainability Report has been informed by the following:

• Basic regulatory and compliance guidelines
• King IV™ Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa 2016 (King IV™)
• The International Integrated Reporting Framework
• The Companies Act, 2008 (Act 71 of 2008), as amended (Companies Act)
• The JSE Listings Requirements
• JSE Sustainability Disclosure Initiative
• International best practices
• Independent Third-Party Assurance from Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS)
• The Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI)
• The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

OUR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

We prioritised the six capitals with the SGDs that are aligned with our strategy:

HC

SRC

IC

NC

MC

FC

INTRODUCTION

AEEI AT A GLANCE

SUSTAINABILITY

HUMAN CAPITAL

SOCIAL AND

RELATIONSHIP

CAPITAL

INTELLECTUAL

CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL

MANUFACTURED CAPITAL

FINANCIAL

CAPITAL

GLOSSARY OF

ACRONYMS

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REPORTING

BOUNDARY AND SCOPE

INTRODUCTION	AEEI AT
	A GLANCE

THIS SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

is supplemented by our full suite of online publications, catering to our stakeholder base's diverse needs. A summary of this report is included in the Integrated Report. The full suite consists of the following:

PRINT & ONLINE	ONLINE
INTEGRATED	CORPORATE
REPORT	GOVERNANCE
	REPORT

ONLINE	ONLINE
SUSTAINABILITY		INVESTMENT
REPORT		PORTFOLIO
	ONLINE&PRINT	REPORT
ONLINE	2022
		Notice of
		Annual General
		Meeting, Form
		of Proxy and
		Condensed
		Annual
		Financial
		Statements
		for the year ended 31 August 2022
		empowering
		people

ANNUALNOTICE

FINANCIALOF AGM AND

STATEMENTSPROXY

This report covers all material sustainability matters for AEEI for the financial year ending 31 August 2022.

It is important to note that ESG/sustainability performance data reporting within this document is for all companies (inclusive of subsidiaries) where AEEI is the majority shareholder or where management control falls within the responsibility of AEEI (or one of its subsidiaries). Performance data is collated and reported on from an AEEI Group level which includes all the subsidiaries.

The Sustainability Report is divided into the following sections in terms of our most material matters:

• Sustainability
• Human capital
• Social and relationship capital
• Intellectual capital
• Natural capital
• Manufactured capital
• Financial capital

The ESG data table is provided as a supplement and is available on the website.

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Board of directors of AEEI ("the Board") is ultimately responsible for sustainability. Accordingly, it has tasked the Social, Ethics and Transformation Committee to monitor, manage and report sustainability matters to the Board.

The Group is committed to promoting a strong culture of social responsibility, encompassing ethical values, community responsibility, environmental protection, cautious use of natural resources, economic advancement and employment.

ASSURANCE

Independent third-party assurance over 244 key sustainability indicators were provided by Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS).

In accordance with the guidance provided by AccountAbility (www.accountability.org), independent third-party assurance (ITPA) to the level of Type 1 (Moderate) has been provided by Integrated Reporting

• Assurance Services (IRAS). This includes a review of Account Ability's AA1000 Assurance Principles Standard (APS) and a limited review of the reasonability of data supplied for 244 key sustainability indicators (where data has been provided). The assurance statement provided by IRAS is available on our website for download.

NAVIGATIONAL TOOLS

The following icons have been applied throughout the report to direct the reader to additional information or cross-referenced sections:

Online reference for further information

Page reference for information elsewhere in the report

King IV™

To highlight evidence of our application of the King IV™ principles, we have indicated references to the relevant principles per section. To define the principles and details of our application and practices, download the full governance report/King IV™ register available online at

https://aeei.co.za/about-us/corporate-governance/king-iv-on-corporate-governance-report/.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

For its disclosure for Environmental, Social and Governance Data in the Financial Services: Investments sector of the Sustainability Data Transparency Index (SDTI) Reporting in South Africa, AEEI was ranked first in its sector by Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services (IRAS) for its reporting in 2021 (published in August 2022) with an overall score of 87.37% from a total of 270 JSE-listed companies. For 2020, AEEI won first place in its sector with a score of 89.71%, and also won the award in 2015 and 2016 (Top in Sector).

SUSTAINABILITY

HUMAN CAPITAL

SOCIAL AND

RELATIONSHIP

CAPITAL

INTELLECTUAL

CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL

MANUFACTURED

CAPITAL

FINANCIAL CAPITAL

GLOSSARY OF

ACRONYMS

BUSINESS PROFILE	8
OUR ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE	8
OUR GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT	9
OUR BUSINESS MODEL	10
OUR VISION	14
OUR STRATEGY	14
OUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT	16

The above reports can be accessed on our website:

6 www.aeei.co.za.

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AEEI AT A GLANCE

NORTH

AMERICA

BUSINESS PROFILE

EUROPE

OUR GEOGRAPHIC FOOTPRINT

South Africa remains our primary market and we continue to expand our footprint into the rest of Africa. Outside of South Africa, we have a market presence in Asia, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Nigeria, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Malawi, Mauritius, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Belgium, and Canada.

INTRODUCTION

AEEI AT A GLANCE

SUSTAINABILITY

HUMAN CAPITAL

SOCIAL AND

RELATIONSHIP

CAPITAL

INTELLECTUAL

CAPITAL

NATURAL CAPITAL

MANUFACTURED CAPITAL

FINANCIAL

CAPITAL

GLOSSARY OF

ACRONYMS

AFRICA

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

The following principles apply to all our business units:

• Operate ethically and in compliance with applicable laws.
• Value employees, embrace diversity and promote a fair and respectful workplace.
• Provide a safe and healthy workplace and strive to reduce the environmental footprint of products and operations.
• Be an asset to local communities by supporting programmes and ongoing economic development.
• Promote engagement with and the development of diverse suppliers and enterprise development clients.
• Strengthen management systems that govern responsible operations.
• Work with enterprise development clients and suppliers to improve performance.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

FISHING AND	TECHNOLOGY	EVENTS AND	HEALTH AND	BIOTHERAPEUTICS	STRATEGIC
BRANDS	TOURISM	BEAUTY	INVESTMENTS

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