Corporate Governance and Sustainability Report: Woolworths Group

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Woolworths Group's corporate governance and sustainability practices. It begins with an introduction to the importance of corporate governance and sustainability, followed by a background of the company, its corporate governance policy, and its sustainability and CSR policy. The report then delves into the details of corporate governance mechanisms, including board structure, risk management, and the audit committee. It also explores the sustainability and CSR initiatives undertaken by the company, categorized into social, environmental, and economic aspects. The analysis includes an evaluation of the company's performance in these areas, along with recommendations and suggestions for improving both governance and sustainability practices, such as evaluating board performance, prioritizing risk management, minimizing waste, and empowering employees. The report concludes with a summary of the key findings and recommendations.

Running head: WOOLWORTHS GROUP
WOOLWORTHS GROUP
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
Good corporate governance can be considered to be very relevant for the different
organizations. In line of this, it is important that the firm engages in adequate corporate
governance activities so that it is being able to work on public confidence and thereby work on
the corporate leadership (Armstrong et al. 2015, p. 15). There are various corporate social
responsibilities which have been recommended to the firm so that it is successfully being able to
improve the accountability to the stakeholders and come up with relevant best practices which
shall then enhance their relationship with the stakeholders (Clayton and Radcliffe 2018, p. 280).
Moreover, sustainability has also become a relevant activity which can be adopted by the
different organizations so as to see to it that the overall condition of the organization improves
and the firm is being able to prosper in the long run. The report focuses on the corporate
governance and sustainability discussion which shall be based on the functioning of the
Woolworths Group. The Sustainability and the corporate governance report will be assessed and
certain recommendations to improve the activity will also be provided.
A brief background of the company Corporate Governance policy
The good corporate governance can be taken to be central to the operations of the
Woolworths Group Limited. With respect to this, it can be mentioned that the firm aims to
approach sustainable growth and enhance the long term shareholder value (Yermack 2017, p.28).
The different directors and the team members who are present are largely expected to act
ethically and be responsible for their actions at all times. The ambition of the firm goes beyond

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the legal compliance but seeks to ensure that they are being able to create better experiences for a
better tomorrow (McCahery et al. 2016, p.2925). The firm considers it to be their duty to look
out for the needs of the customers, team members as well as the key stakeholders.
The ARMCC (the Risk Management, Audit and the Compliance committee tends to deal
with the commissioned Internal Audit team and seeks to review the governance practices of the
firm. The committee then reviews the overall operations of the firm and is successfully able to
see to it that it is being able to manage the different corporate governance activities and along
with this, it is also being able to apply the different recommendations of the firm to ensure that
the firm is being able to perform well considering all aspects (Du Plessis et al. 2018, p. 150). In
addition to this, the annual report of the firm mentions that the directors of the organization
continue to focus on the enhancing culture and conduct a reasonable amount of risk and reports
to the Board and related members on a continuous basis (Tricker and Robert Ian Tricker 2015, p.
260).
A brief background of the company Sustainability and CSR policy
The Sustainability at the Woolworths Group aims to see to it that they will be able to
impact the overall economy of the nation, the communities and the environment (Armstrong et
al. 2015, p.14). The firm understands that it has a considerate responsibility towards creating a
better tomorrow. The Woolworths has a diverse group of retail businesses and functions with the
specific purpose of ensuring that the business is being able to create better experiences in
partnership along with the associations with customers which will help them in making a positive
impact on the society at large.

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The customers form the heart of all the activities of the organization. The firm embraces
new as well as the innovative ideas which enables them to ensure that they are successfully being
able to adapt new ways of business processes and enables agile and responsive abilities
(McCahery et al. 2016, p.2927). The core value of the firm is the guide to the operations and the
key to their success in the field of sustainability and the corporate social responsibility can be
stated to be the Purpose, Core Values and the Ways of Working assist them to see to it that they
remain centered around their goals. The focus of the firm relies on:
 Safeguarding the mental health and the overall wellbeing of the team members and the
human rights of the supply chain (Woolworthsgroup.com 2019).
 They ensure that the consumer concerns can be answered accordingly and that the use of
plastic can be reduced.
 It also ensures that sustainable ingredients are used in the own brand range
Detail of corporate governance mechanisms undertaken by the company under the
categories of Board structure, risk management, audit committee and so on
The Woolworths Group can be understood to be a committed organization which
undertakes various initiates in order to ensure that it is successfully being able to maintain good
corporate governance mechanisms. In line with this, the different mechanisms are as follows:
Board structure
The Board comprises of eight different members who are present in the organization and
are involved in different committees. These members are greatly committed towards the overall

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objective of the firm. The duties and responsibilities of the firm are centered around ensuring that
the Purpose and culture, the Strategy, the Risk Management framework, the Leadership, the
Regulators and the corporate governance are carried out adequately. The board structure mostly
involves a majority of independent non-executive directors who along with the CEO have a set
of skills which forms a good skill and experience to meet with the responsibilities and objectives.
Risk Management
The organization is exposed to a number of risks which can be categorized under the
strategic, operational, and financial and the compliance risks which is associated with the firm
due to the exposure to the retail environment (Solow 2019, p. 196). The firm has been able to
come up with a well refined risk management framework and related policy which aims to
function with the government structure and provides a background which aims to ensure that all
legal guidelines and standards which the firm is required to follow are fulfilled. The company
undertakes various initiatives through which it aims to ensure that it will successfully be able to
improve the risk management framework. This framework has been approved by the ARMCC
reporting period.
Audit Committee
The external auditor of the company is the Deloitte and the ARMCC provides certain
recommendations to the firm in order to ensure that it is successfully able to select and adopt the
right kind of external audit for the organization (Laszlo and Zhexembayeva 2017, p.120). The
reports of the external auditor are formally reviewed every 3 years and all the information to the
auditors is provided with the help of the financial statements of the organization. Within the
organization, the Group Risk and Assurance team tends to manage the overall operations of the

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firm and performs the various audits in accordance with the Internal Audit Plan. Additionally,
the committee has direct access to be accountable and to regularly report to the board.
Shareholder management
The shareholder management is another mechanism which is associated with the
Corporate Governance of the firm (Laszlo and Zhexembayeva 2017, p. 125). The Woolworths
Group ensures that it is successfully being able to maintain a good communication with the
different shareholders which may help them to gain the details about the performance of the
group. The various shareholder activities of the group comprise of the Annual General Meeting,
the Annual report, the regular release of financial information, the half and full yearly reports
along with shareholder videos (Woolworthsgroup.com 2019).
Detail of Sustainability and CSR initiatives undertaken by the company under the
categories of Social, Environmental and Economic
The firm has a dedicated CSR and Sustainability management department which
undertakes the following initiatives:
Social
The Woolworths is greatly concerned about the People. The main aim of the Social
aspect of the report is to look after the aspects which relate to the embracement of the diversity in
the organization. The firm aims to see to it that the customers are being able to find a reflection
of themselves in the organization (Samra 2016, p. 99). This strategy will also enable the different
customers to see to it that they are successfully being able to embrace the targets well and
involve the different customers with inclusion and respect (Larcker and Tayan 2015, p. 328). The

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firm promotes gender equity by minimizing the age gaps. Additionally, it also aims to ensure that
it will successfully be able to include more women executives in the organization which shall
contribute towards ensuring that, there is no disparity. Moreover, the firm encourages in the
promotion of the diversity and ensures that the Group is being able to fully reflect the community
which they live in.
Environment
The company is largely concerned about the environment and hence, in relation to this, it
is ensuring that the overall environmental activities of the firm have strong impact on the value
chain and supports healthy operations with respect to the circular economy, environmentally
sustainable commodities and respond adequately to climate change. The firm aims to move
towards a circular economy and ensures that it is being able to source the environmental
sustainable commodities (Jacoby et al. 2018, p. 362). Additionally, the firm aims to ensure that it
is being able to respond actively to climate change.
Economic
The key to success in the economic aspects can be considered to be the fact that the firm
aims to focus on positive relationships with the suppliers, ensure to return to the communities
they build in and rebuild the trust with the different customers. Woolworths has been functioning
closely with the business partners and ensuring that they are being able to undertake good
relationships with the different shareholders and improve the EBIT Programs. Additionally, the
firm also aims to create shared values with the customers (Woolworthsgroup.com 2019).
Recommendations and suggestions to improve governance practices of your selected
company

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For Woolworths, the following suggestions can be provided in order to ensure that the firm is
being able to improve the governance practices of the selected company.
 Evaluating Board Performance: The Board performance of the organization needs to be
evaluated on a regular basis (Neubauer and Lank 2016, p. 400). This will ensure that the
firm is successfully being able to manage the performance of the board members and that
their dedication towards the improved performance of the firm can be committed.
 Prioritizing risk management: The risk management in an organization needs to be
managed in a manner such that the firm is successfully being able to ensure that it is
being able to avoid all the risks and able to help the firm in achieving long term success
(Epstein et al. 2018, p.222).
 Increasing diversity: The Woolworths Group will also be required to increase its diversity
initiatives which will ensure that the firm is being able to perform well and return to the
different communities.
Recommendations and suggestions to improve Sustainability/CSR practices of your
selected company
The following suggestions are being provided to Woolworths in order to ensure that the
firm is being able to improve the Sustainability and overall CSR practices
 Minimizing waste: Although Woolworths has been undertaken a large number of
initiatives, it will be necessary for the firm to see to it that it will successfully be able to
minimize the waste. This will then contribute towards ensuring that the organization is
able to contribute to the environment (Epstein et al. 2018, p. 223).

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 Empowering the employees: The Woolworths would also be required to see to it that it is
being able empower the employees and engage them in the various sustainable activities
of the organization. In addition to this, the empowerment of the employees will enable
the different members of the firm to see to it that they are being able to play their role
(Jacoby et al. 2018, p. 363).
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above analysis, it can be rightfully understood that the corporate
governance and the sustainability issues form a relevant part of the organization. In order to seek
the support of the society, the firm would be required to see to it that it will successfully be able
to engage in a long term relationship with the different members of the society and that it is
being able to see to it that, all its goals are achieved. The given report followed a systematic
format with respect to which it outlined the various Corporate Governance and Sustainability
practices of the firm and outlined ways in which these initiatives can be applied in the firm to
improve the scenario and to provide the firm with a sustainable competitive advantage.

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