Our Policies & Reporting
We take transparency & accountability seriously
We report publicly on a number of different parts of our business.
We report both voluntarily and in compliance with various pieces of legislation and regulation. The following policies and reports provide a snapshot of the work we do at Lion:
Lion is committed to acting with integrity and building a transparent and ethical supply chain. This extends to respecting and upholding business ethics, implementing sustainable practices, and upholding the human rights of our own employees, as well as other people impacted by our extended value chains.
Our Procurement Policy and Supplier Responsible Sourcing Code embrace the International Bill of Human Rights, the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and enact within our value chains the UN Global Compact core values of human rights, labour standards, the environment as well as anti-corruption and its 10 principles.
Under our responsible sourcing code, Lion is requiring all suppliers to commit to a strict set of criteria to minimise the risk of modern slavery in our supply chains, including:
- That employment is freely chosen;
- That all employees have a legal right to work in their respective countries of employment;
- That freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining are respected;
- That child labour is not used;
- That working conditions are safe, healthy and hygienic;
- That fair wages are paid and working hours are not excessive; and
- That workers are treated fairly and with respect.
Lion has filed a comprehensive statement under the Australian Modern Slavery Act for 2021, outlining the actions we are undertaking to ensure that our operations and our broader supply chain are free from modern slavery - click here to read our statement.
Lion has already filed a modern slavery statement under UK legislation – click here to read our statement.
Environmental Monitoring
All of Lion’s sites conduct environmental monitoring to ensure we meet our commitment and obligations to protecting the environment.
In NSW specifically, the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 (POEO Act) requires under section 66(6) of the POEO Act that holders of environmental protection licences make their pollution monitoring data publicly available.
The intention of this requirement is to improve the general public’s access to information about the environmental performance of licensed facilities. This is in addition to other information that the EPA includes on its public register.
In NSW, our Tooheys Brewery site at Lidcombe has specific requirements set out in its environment protection licence to monitor ground water and boiler stack gases on the site.
To view the results, click on the following links:
- Tooheys Ground Water Report May 2020
- Tooheys Ground Water Report Nov 2020
- Tooheys Ground Water Report May 2021
- Tooheys Ground Water Report Nov 2021
- Tooheys Ground Water Report May 2022
- Tooheys Ground Water Report Dec 2022
- Tooheys Ground Water Report May 2023
- Tooheys Ground Water Report Nov 2023
- Tooheys Ground Water Report May 2024
The NSW EPA requires all of our licensed sites in NSW to make available a summary of their environmental contingency plans. Below are the plans for each of our licensed sites in NSW:
Climate Active
Lion is carbon neutral certified under the Climate Active Carbon Neutral Standard for organisations for its Australian business operations. This is a voluntary standard used to manage greenhouse gas emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. Lion’s first certification year was CY2020 and our annual Public Disclosure Statements are published on our profile on the Climate Active website.
Toitū Envirocare
Lion NZ is Toitū net carbonzero organisation certified from 2021. Details on our certification are published on our profile on the Toitū Envirocare website.
Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO)is a voluntary initiative by Government and Industry to reduce the impacts of packaging on the Environment from the disposal of used packaging, conservation of resources through better design and production processes and facilitation of the re-use and recycling of used packaging materials.
Lion has been participating in the Covenant since 2011 and we have made significant improvements in our packaging over the past decade as a result.
Lion as a covenant signatory, submits an annual report and action plan outlining in detail what they propose to do to reduce the impact of their packaging both within their organisations and externally in the market place. KPIs need to be established in line with those proposed in the Covenant. Lion reports on progress against this action plan annually in line with signatory status requirements.
More detail on the packaging covenant and Lion’s commitments to sustainable packaging can be found using the flowing links:
Annual Report & Action Plan 2022
For more information, visit APCO.
Tax Transparency
Lion supports the Australian Government’s Voluntary Tax Transparency Code (“the Code”) as a key platform to better inform public debate about tax policy and to increase transparency to the wider community. We strongly believe that sustainable financial results come from generating genuine societal value and offering transparency about the way we approach tax risk management.
Lion is one of the leading beverage companies in Australasia employing approximately 4,000 people globally and paying over $1.3 billion in taxes in these jurisdictions.
Lion’s Tax Transparency Report provides an overview of our tax strategy, governance and policies, all of which align to Lion’s overall corporate governance and sustainability frameworks. We include a breakdown of Lion’s tax contribution in Australia and other foreign jurisdictions and commentary on Lion’s key international related party transactions. Details of Lion’s effective tax rate and a reconciliation of the accounting profit to income tax expense and to current year income tax payable and taxes paid are also included.
We see this report as an important step in providing transparency and accountability to our stakeholders, and an opportunity to maintain an open dialogue regarding our tax commitments.
Read the latest Tax Transparency Report here.
Read Lion’s 2018 Tax Transparency Report here.
Read the Lion Little World Beverages UK Tax Strategy 2022 Report here.