Annual Report 2022

Our People & Planet Plan aims to create a more inclusive and sustainable future that supports communities, our planet and each other.

Through five group-wide goals, we’re advancing action in areas that matter deeply to our business and society, and where we’re well-placed to make a world of difference.

People and Planet 
Goal 1

By 2030, we want to create an engaged team that reflects the full diversity of the communities we serve*

Key: Progress against goals

● On Track     ○ Behind

* Towards this, our milestone goal was to be 30% women, 13% ethnically diverse, 4% disability, 3% LGBTQ+ and 3% ex-service by the end of 2022. 2030 goal was based on 2011 Census data for working populations and for 2023 annual reporting onwards, our 2030 goal will be re-aligned to the recently released 2021 Census data for working populations with 48% women, 18% ethnically diverse, 20% disability, 3% LGBTQ+ and 4% ex-service. Senior leaders include colleagues above general management and spans senior leaders, the Centrica Leadership Team and the Board.

We made good progress attracting, promoting, and retaining more diverse talent. For example, the proportion of women on our team improved for the first time in a long time and is on track. Although some gains were achieved across ethnicity, disability, LGBTQ+ and ex-service, opportunities for improvement remain including through encouraging self-declaration.

To drive progress, we embedded tailored diversity and inclusion dashboards alongside business unit action plans, made FlexFirst the new normal which enables colleagues to choose when to work from home or come into the office, and rolled out allyship training for leaders to ensure we cultivate an inclusive culture. In 2023, we’ll continue to embed our action plans.

People and Planet 
Goal 2

By 2030 we want to recruit 3,500 apprentices and provide career development opportunities for under-represented groups (1,000 apprentices by the end of 2022)

Key: Progress against goals

● On Track     ○ Behind

1. Base year 2021

This is equivalent to hiring an apprentice every day over the next decade. We’ve made great progress hiring 1,033 apprentices and helping over 700 trainees professionally qualify in areas like gas and whitegoods. Our Ex-Forces programme got off to a particularly strong start, as we aim to recruit 500 veterans, reservists, spouses, and partners by the end of 2023.

Meanwhile, 20% of our Smart Energy Apprentices were women as we work towards our 50% ambition by 2030. This is higher than the gas engineer average of 0.2% women but lower than the 30% achieved in 2021. As a result, we’re strengthening branding and marketing campaigns to continue to breakdown gender stereotypes and inspire more women into engineering.

People and Planet 
Goal 3

By 2030 we want to inspire colleagues to give 100,000 days to build inclusive communities (20,000 days by the end of 2022)

Key: Progress against goals

● On Track     ○ Behind

2. Base year 2019.

People and Planet 
Goal 4

By 2050 we want to help our customers be net zero (28% GHG intensity reduction by end of 2030)

Key: Progress against goals

● On Track     ○ Behind

Savings were largely achieved through renewable and low carbon energy tariffs, alongside energy efficiency and optimisation solutions. This was down from our 17%⁽²⁾ reduction in 2021, following the reintroduction of fossil fuels into our electricity mix due to the escalating cost of green energy certification and the need to keep costs down for customers.

To help customers advance towards net zero, we:

• Installed more heat pumps than any other UK company
• Delivered 28,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points so far
• Provided 11.6GW of renewables under management

In 2023, we’ll drive action including via ambitions to deliver up to 20,000 heat pumps and 100,000 EV charging points a year by 2025.

1. Measures the GHG intensity of our customers’ energy use including electricity and gas with a 2019 base year of 83gCO₂ e/kWh, normalised to reflect acquisitions and divestments in line with changes in Group customer base. Target aligned to the Paris Agreement and based on science, corresponding to a well below 2°C pathway initially and 1.5°C by mid-century.

2. Restated due to availability of improved data.

People and Planet 
Goal 5

By 2045 we want to be a net zero business (40% GHG reduction by the end of 2034)

Key: Progress against goals

● On Track     ○ Behind

With Whitegate power station resuming normal operations following an outage in 2021, savings were down from the 53%⁽⁴⁾ temporary reduction achieved that year but we remain on track with our long-term goal. Reductions in 2022 mainly arose from our oil and gas business which included closing our last offshore oil production facility.

Savings were also secured via low carbon initiatives across fleet and property, such as rolling out EVs and delivering efficiencies across lighting, heating, and cooling systems. In 2023, we’ll continue to cut emissions from our property, fleet and travel, whilst delivering up to 800MW of low carbon and transition assets by 2025.

3. Measures scope 1 (direct) and 2 (indirect) GHG emissions based on operator boundary, which now includes all emissions from shipping activities relating to Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) alongside the retained Spirit Energy assets in the UK and Netherlands. Non-operated nuclear emissions are excluded. Target is normalised to reflect acquisitions and divestments in line with changes in Group structure against a 2019 base year of 2,132,680mtCO₂ It’s also aligned to the Paris Agreement and based on science, corresponding to a well below 2°C pathway initially and 1.5°C by mid-century.

4.Restated due to LNG shipping and Spirit Energy moving into scope in 2022.

† Included in DNV Business Assurance Services UK Limited (DNV)’s independent limited assurance. Find out more.