The materiality assessment pointed to seven priority issues: IT security and data privacy, business ethics, energy and climate change, responsible payment digitization, client satisfaction, talent management and sustainable and healthy food promotion.
The materiality exercise helped the Group to develop a new social responsibility strategy built around its three pillars – People, Planet and Progress – and aligned with stakeholder expectations and its two strategic plans, Fast Forward (2016-2019) followed by Next Frontier (2019-2022).
At the end of 2021, the Group launched a new materiality assessment to update this matrix. Work on this will continue through 2022 and will be used to update the list of issues relevant to the Company.
5.1.3.2 Risks and opportunities
The risks and threats to the Group’s business are reviewed regularly, under the supervision of the Audit and Risks Committee. To comply with the directive of October 22, 2014 on the non-financial information disclosure, the Group’s CSR Department conducted a review of non-financial risks in 2018, based on international standards including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and external benchmarks. The materiality of the impact of non-financial risks was assessed using the Group’s risk mapping methodology, but also by taking into account the views of stakeholders.
In 2021, the Risk Department updated the risk map, taking material non-financial risks into account. The process involved interviewing the various corporate functions and operating divisions in all of the Group’s host countries. These analyses were monitored by the Audit and Risk Committee. The methodology is set out in section 4.1, page 70.
The approach identified the non-financial risks liable to impact the Group or its third parties. In addition, some of these risks, so-called major non-financial risks, are associated with a priority challenge and are presented in section 4.1, page 70. These are the risks related to competition law, corruption and money laundering, personal data protection, information system security and cybersecurity together with transition risks related to climate change.
This risk analysis, as well as the materiality assessment, was used to identify and update the major issues to which the Group is exposed. These issues, presented in the table below, refer to major non-financial risks, secondary non-financial risks and opportunities considered material for Edenred, its stakeholders and society in general. For each of these issues, quantified commitments and voluntary action plans are implemented.
