Our Group Code of Conduct and Business Ethics (our Code) sets out the ethics, principles and standards which are required to be consistently upheld by each division, business and corporate function within the Group. It also applies to our business partners: suppliers, agents and customers. Download our Code of Conduct and Business Ethics (PDF 0.13MB) to find out more.

A Speak-Up telephone line is available in all jurisdictions where the Group’s operations are present. The Speak-Up line can be used by any employee in the Group and allows them to report any incidents or inappropriate behaviours in their own language. The confidentiality of the information reported is correctly protected. The Group has also carried out full refreshment training on the basic principles of our Code as well as the Speak-Up line, so it is well-known and can be used, as needed, by any employee in the organisation.

You can submit your concern on a confidential basis to our Speak-Up Line, which is managed for us by an independent company named Expolink, by clicking on the ‘Submit a Report’ section within this link: http://www.expolink.co.uk/stockspirits.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 requires large UK businesses to publish a statement describing the activities they are undertaking to prevent slavery and human trafficking in their own business operations and supply chain. The Stock Spirits Group statement fulfils the requirements of this act and covers all group companies.

You can download our Modern Slavery Statement here.

We are conscious that our products should be enjoyed responsibly by those who choose to drink them, and we don’t want irresponsible drinking to harm the health of our consumers.

We believe that efforts to reduce the misuse of alcohol are most effective if all parties involved (including authorities, individuals and producers) work together to regulate alcohol consumption.

Czech Republic and Slovakia

Our companies in these markets are founding members of “Fórum PSR”, which brings together the countries’ major spirits producers and distributors to work against alcohol abuse. The forum focuses primarily on preventive and educational projects targeting the serving of alcohol to minors, drinkdriving and excessive drinking. Additionally, we are actively introducing the 'PSR, (drink responsibly)' platform within our media, in-store and other brand communication. Forum members have also pledged to observe a code of conduct that strictly regulates their advertising activities. Stock Spirits Group is a member of the Spirits Trade Association in the Czech Republic. This Association was active during 2015 in supporting the local government in its ongoing efforts to implement a strong regulatory environment in the spirits industry.

Poland

Stock Polska belongs to the Association of Employers Polish Spirits Industry (Polski Przemysł, Spirytusowy), the trade organisation which, as part of its work, promotes responsible drinking through educational programmes and public campaigns. These include, "Don't drink and drive"; "Pregnant – don't drink", and "Responsible drinking", an educational programme promoting responsible alcohol consumption, including guidelines on "How to sell and serve alcoholic drinks responsibly". The current campaign objective is to reduce the availability of alcohol to the underage, by encouraging retailers to ask for identification from younger customers and through additional training in schools.

Italy

In Italy, we are a member of Federvini, the national trade association founded in 1917 which, as part of its role, promotes responsible drinking using educational and informative programmes.

Our businesses are fully aware of their responsibilities to the environment. In addition to mandatory compliance programmes, many of our businesses have undertaken a number of voluntary initiatives, which demonstrate the importance that is given to environmental matters.

The Independent Assurance Statement from ERM Certification and Verification Services is available here (PDF 0.33MB).

Poland

During 2016, we continued our environmental and safety awareness campaigns in our main factory in Lublin, using mascots named “Sztokus” and “Sztosia”. The aim of the campaign is to raise the eco-awareness of Stock personnel and employees of external partners and to reduce our environmental impact as a business and to promote a series of specific health and safety initiatives.

The campaign is carried out at several levels:

• Eco-awareness and behaviours
• Waste segregation and reduction
• Water, gas and electricity savings initiatives
• Communication campaigns for environmental protection, including posters, banners and stickers displayed throughout the business.

In 2016, the amount of waste we produced increased by 40%, driven by the write-off of obsolete packaging materials following the product range review referred to in the financial review section of this annual report and accounts. Excluding the effect of that write-off, our waste decreased by 6% and we were able to recycle 98% of the waste we produced on site. Electricity increased by 17%, due to a full year of operation of our new warehouse compared to a part year in 2015. We reduced gas usage by 51% due to less alcohol rectification in Lublin and reduced water by 7% compared to last year due to increased training, focus and more accurate monitoring.

Czech Republic

In 2016, employees received training in waste reduction, improving recycling efficiency and chemical management processes. Following the success of our “Sztokus” and“Sztosia” campaigns in Poland, we introduced local equivalents – Štokácek and Štokinka – as part of our environmental and safety campaigns in the Czech Republic during 2016. Štokácek and Štokinka are the carrier mascots for these campaigns which are intended to raise awareness and are part of a continued drive towards health and safety and environmental excellence at Stock Spirits. These initiatives continue to helpdrive our safety and environment improvement culture.

We continue to support our people through training and development, so that they can both grow professionally, and meet the evolving challenges of our industry. We also care about a diverse workforce.

The success of a business depends on its people, therefore we are committed to providing every employee and potential employee with equal opportunity in all areas of employment. The Group recognises the communities in which it operates and the benefits of having a diverse workforce at all levels. The Group takes its responsibilities with regard to equality and diversity seriously and expects all employees to observe this also. This is underpinned by our Equality and Diversity policy which can be downloaded here.

The Senior Management Teams in our markets comprise predominately of local nationals who understand the cultures in which we operate. We have a recruitment policy to ensure that we recruit high calibre individuals matched to the requirements of the role we wish them to undertake, irrespective of gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin or disability. As a consumer-focused business, we recognise the value that a diverse mix of employees provides us with, particularly in terms of consumer insights.

As an example of our diversity, at 31 December 2016 we had a diverse mix of age with 18% under 30 (14% in Poland and 22% in Plzeň) and 15% over 50 years old (13% in Plzeň and 17% in Poland), and in the bottling area most of the shift leader are women (3 out of 3 in Plzeň and 3 out of 4 in Poland). In our production plant in Czech Republic 61% of the managerial positions are held by women.

As at 31 December 2016, at Board level, 88% (7 out of 8) Directors are male, while at Senior Management level 67% (6 out of 9) are male and across the Group 58% (539 out of 934) of all employees are male.

The Group complies fully with relevant legislation in the countries in which it operates and ensures that human rights are protected in all the production plants and offices from which the Group operates. As mentioned previously, we have a Code of Conduct which we ask all our suppliers to adhere to which requires that they and the persons acting on their behalf act without regard to gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin or disability in accordance with our Equality and Diversity Policy.