Associated British Foods Plc

Description

UK-based Associated British Foods plc is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail Company. It was founded in the year 1935, and its headquarters are situated in London. With around 133,000 employees, it has a substantial area of operation, covering 53 countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas, Asia and Australia. The company has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange, and it is also a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. It has many subsidiaries, which include Primark, AB MAURI (UK) Limited, AB Sugar, Wander AG, Patak's, British Sugar, and Westmill Foods etc.

The primary goal of the company is to provide safe, nutritious, and affordable food and clothing to people. The company runs its operations through various segments, which include Retail, Agriculture, Ingredients, Grocery, and Sugar. The Retail segment includes Primark, which holds a position among the largest fashion retailers across Europe, as well as the largest clothing, footwear, and accessories retailer by volume across the UK. Covering 13 countries, including the US, it has around 384 stores. The ingredients segment is leading in bakery, yeast, and specialty ingredients for industries including pharmaceutical, food, and feed. The agriculture segment includes AB Agri, which is the largest agri-food company in the UK, as well as a global leader in science, nutrition, and technological innovation in animal feed.

The Sugar segment includes AB Sugar, which holds a position among the largest sugar producers in the world. In Africa, the largest producer of sugar is Illovo and the only processor of UK sugar beet is British Sugar. The Grocery segment of the company comprises of brands leading worldwide. Around nine out of 10 UK households use the brands of the company across the UK.  

Associated British Foods plc follows a well-defined framework of corporate governance and aligns itself with the UK Corporate Governance Code 2018. The board of the company has set up separate committees for audit, remuneration, and nomination. It has an ethical code of conduct for running its business operations and promotes a culture of trust, transparency, and accountability. Apart from fulfilling all its corporate responsibilities, the company also fulfils its environmental and social responsibilities. It has a comprehensive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework in place and complies with international best practices and guidelines to create a sustainable business. It aims to minimise the impact of its business activities on the environment and create long-term value for the business as well as the wider community. Around 55% of the energy used by the company is derived from renewable resources, 84% of its waste is either recycled or put to other beneficial uses, and 25% of the total water abstracted is reused before returning to the environment. The company has also provided 2.6 million meals to food banks through surplus food donations.