RCL FOODS LIMITED
SUSTAINABLE
BUSINESS  
REPORT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE
2021
START HERE

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
1
REPORTING APPROACH
This report is part of our annual suite of reports and covers the 12 months 
from July 2020 to June 2021. The information reported covers all 
activities of RCL FOODS and our three divisions, Food, Chicken and 
Vector Logistics, for the stated periods which are considered relevant 
to our stakeholders.
The Sustainability Reporting Guidelines developed by the Global 
Reporting Initiative (GRI), the recommendations of King IV, as well 
as the criteria of the Sustainability Reporting Index (SRI) of the JSE 
Limited, have been used to compile this report. These criteria have been 
used for guidance only, with the reporting predominantly focusing 
on issues that are specifically material to RCL FOODS’ business and 
stakeholder base. 
The target audience for this report is all stakeholders with an interest in 
the activities of RCL FOODS, with particular emphasis on shareholders, 
customers, consumers, employees and suppliers.
The report should be read in conjunction with the 2021 Abridged 
Integrated Annual Report which provides an overview of our strategy 
and performance.
ENSURING ACCURACY AND CREDIBILITY 
OF OUR RESULTS
We have implemented a number of management systems, some 
of which are independently verified, as a platform for managing our 
business’ economic, social and environmental practices as indicated in 
the pages that follow.
Although our sustainability performance and reporting have not 
been independently assured for the year, a significant portion of the 
information in this report is independently verified through compliance 
structures such as the International Standards Organisation (ISO), the 
Carbon Disclosure Project and others. The Board has relied on internal 
assurance providers with regard to the reliability of sustainability 
reporting in the Integrated Annual Report.
ENHANCING COMPARABILITY AND 
TRANSPARENCY OF OUR RESULTS
To enhance the comparability and transparency of our reporting, 
we  have included a comprehensive Environmental, Social and 
Governance (ESG) data table at the end of this report for the first time. 
We value feedback and welcome any questions or comments 
regarding this Report. These can be emailed to the Company 
Secretary, John Maher, at john.maher@rclfoods.com 
USABILITY FEATURES
Signifies that related information is available online  
at www.rclfoods.com
Directs readers to the page within the Sustainable Business Report 
with more details
IAR
Directs readers to the page in the Abridged Integrated Annual Report 
with more details
CONTENTS
ABOUT THE 
REPORT
1
About the report
2
Message from the CEO
OUR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DRIVE: 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
6
Our business overview 
8
Our approach to sustainability
9
Our sustainable business framework  
10
Our sustainable impact in 2021
12
Our DO MORE FOUNDATION
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
16
Nourishing people
17
More nutritious products
18
More nutritional thought leadership 
19
More basic nutrition for children 
22
Enriching communities 
23
More inspired employees
29
More economically developed communities  
32
More socially developed communities
36
Sustaining resources 
37
More energy self-sufficient operations 
41
More water-smart operations 
44
More waste-free operations
OUR CARBON DISCLOSURE REVIEW 
50
Our carbon disclosure review
OUR APPROACH TO  
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
54
Our approach to environmental sustainability
OUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS  
58
Our environmental and social review
59
Our value-added summary 
60
Our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data 
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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3
MESSAGE  
FROM THE CEO
Something else that has become clearer than ever is that we 
cannot make a sustainable change on our own. It is only through  
co-ordinated, collective action on many fronts that we can 
hope to address complex problems like climate change, 
environmental degradation, unemployment, malnutrition and 
food insecurity. Shocks like the pandemic and the recent unrest 
in South Africa remind us how dependent we are on each other, 
and a more collaborative mindset is replacing the individualistic 
“take, make and waste” attitude that fuelled many of the 
problems we face today.  
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO 
WITH US, A FOOD COMPANY IN 
SOUTH AFRICA IN 2021? 
First, we need to understand that we are part of a system – 
or rather many systems – and we affect these systems as much 
as we are affected by them. Droughts, floods and pandemics 
affect our operations, and we have to manage our impacts 
carefully to ensure we don’t contribute to natural resource 
depletion and human health issues. On a social level the same 
holds true – just as our employees’ and communities’ wellbeing 
is crucial to our existence, we have a duty to positively  
impact them. 
Second, we need to relook at our practices – see things 
differently – to ensure that we are not creating one-sided value 
and extracting more than we put back. This is the thinking 
behind concepts like regenerative agriculture, sustainable 
development and the circular economy, which are necessary 
to ensure that we can continue operating and feeding people 
in the future. This is because the natural, economic and social 
system all influence, and are part of, the food system. As a 
result, it is no surprise that the food system is currently in such 
a state of dysfunction, producing too little of the right kind of 
food and too much of the wrong kind, overnourishing some 
while others starve, and pushing planetary boundaries beyond 
safe operating limits. 
Third, we need to take action and start doing things differently, 
taking some bold steps to change the narrative and create a 
more sustainable future. This extends from the way we nourish 
people to the way we enrich communities and sustain resources 
– the three pillars of our Sustainable Business Framework.  
As our 2021 progress shows, not all change occurs at the same 
pace, and sometimes progress in one area sets back gains in 
another. Nevertheless, we can and must keep moving towards 
our sustainability goals so that we can create a better food 
system and bring More Food to More People, More Often. 
A brief synopsis of our most needle-moving work is contained 
on 
 10 and 11, and I encourage you to read more about it 
in the section titled “Our Sustainable Impact Unpacked”.  
I am particularly excited about work we are doing to make 
plant-based protein more widely available in South and  
sub-Saharan Africa in order to create a more sustainable future 
of food. Coupled with that, our DO MORE FOUNDATION 
has gone the extra mile this year to create a better future 
on a human level through the nutritional, early learning and 
enterprise development support it has provided in vulnerable 
communities. Equally important is the economic benefit our 
partnerships with land claimant communities, small-scale 
growers and land reform beneficiaries have brought to the rural 
Nkomazi region. 
Within our organisation, it has been encouraging to see how 
the conversation around diversity and inclusivity has gained 
momentum, supported by our leadership’s commitment to 
creating a strong, diverse RCL FOODS that is fit for the future. 
In the same way, we have continued to develop our people 
and ensure we have the right skills and leadership capacity in 
place for our next chapter as a business. Supporting our people 
practically and emotionally during the pandemic has also been 
a key focus we can be proud of.   
Alongside this human-focused work, we have continued 
to lighten our load on the environment by reducing our 
dependence on coal-based electricity, saving water and 
diverting waste from landfills. Key highlights of the year 
include an increase in our Waste-to-Value and Solar electricity 
generation, as well as some exciting projects to investigate 
ways of making our plastic packaging more recyclable and 
increasing recycling rates. 
On that note, thank you to every person and organisation that 
has partnered with us to make this impact possible. More Food 
to More People, More Often is a collective journey towards a 
powerful vision and I look forward to what MORE is to come. 
Miles Dally  
Chief Executive Officer
ABOUT THIS REPORT
Chief Executive Officer 
Miles Dally
We must keep moving towards 
our sustainability goals so that 
we can create a better food 
system and bring More Food 
to More People, More Often.
Six years ago I started my introductory message to our Sustainable 
Business Report with the following words: “There are two kinds of companies: 
the one that doesn’t see change coming, or ignores it until it’s too late, and 
the one that sees the change and runs towards it to find new, better ways 
of doing business. The past is littered with the skeletons of the ‘deniers’, 
while the ‘disruptors’ are the ones who created the future and whose legacy 
lives on in our daily lives.” 
As true as this was then, it’s even truer and more urgent now. Even though we have known about climate change for years, its 
impacts are now tangible as weather extremes and natural disasters increase. In the same way, longstanding social frustrations 
are boiling over into large-scale upheavals that are challenging the status quo and calling for systemic change. The COVID-19 
pandemic itself has radically upended the world as we know it, and many have seen it as an opportunity to “reset” and put 
humanity on a more sustainable path. The bottom line is that we need to see and do things differently – we need to reimagine 
our future and then take concrete steps to create it. 
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
4
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
4
OUR BUSINESS 
OVERVIEW
6
OUR APPROACH  
TO SUSTAINABILITY
8
OUR SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS FRAMEWORK   
9
OUR SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT IN 2021
10
OUR DO MORE 
FOUNDATION  
12
“We need to take action 
and start doing things 
differently, taking some 
bold steps to change  
the narrative and create  
a more sustainable future.” 
– Miles Dally
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE  
BUSINESS DRIVE:  
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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7
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DRIVE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OUR BUSINESS OVERVIEW
OUR WAY:
ACROSS OUR THREE DIVISIONS:
RCL FOODS is a leading South African food manufacturer that produces 
a wide range of branded and private label food products in various categories, 
ranging from staples to value-added high-end speciality offerings. 
Vector Logistics is our route-to-market supply chain specialist. 
BUSINESS UNITS
DIVISION
FOOD
CHICKEN
VECTOR 
LOGISTICS
REVENUE 
CONTRIBUTION: 
R19,8 billion
 
EMPLOYEES: 
8 627
REVENUE 
CONTRIBUTION: 
R10,3 billion
 
EMPLOYEES: 
6 130
REVENUE 
CONTRIBUTION: 
R3,2 billion
 
EMPLOYEES: 
5 354
 
	
GROCERIES  
	
(Grocery, Pies, 	 	
	
Beverages)
	
BAKING  
	
(Milling, Bread, 
Buns & Rolls 
(BBR), Speciality) 
	
SUGAR  
	
(Sugar, Molatek 		
	
Animal Feed)  
CHICKEN 
(includes Epol 
Animal Feed)
SALES SOLUTIONS
SUPPLY CHAIN 
INTELLIGENCE
WAREHOUSING
DISTRIBUTION
IMPORTS/EXPORTS
CREDIT 
MANAGEMENT
Supported by our  
Integrated Business Services Organisation
MORE IMPACT
MORE BRAVE
MORE OPEN
MORE CURIOUS
MORE SPEED
MORE YOU
Our unique RCL FOODS culture is 
at the heart of our strategy, brought to 
life in Our Way – the key behaviours that 
inspire the way we work and create value
WE OPERATE THROUGH:
290 000 tons of chicken 
products
760 000 tons of sugar
349 000 tons of flour
55 million litres of beverages
208 million loaves of bread
96 million jars of mayonnaise
24 million jars of peanut butter
34 million units of Speciality  
products
30 million bags of pet food
1,3 million tons of animal feed 
PRODUCING:
MORE THAN
280 
Operations
OVER 30 Brands
OUR DO MORE 
FOUNDATION
MORE THAN
20 000 
Employees

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9
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DRIVE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OUR APPROACH  
TO SUSTAINABILITY 
To manufacture, sell and distribute 
our large and diverse basket of 
food products, we operate through 
a complex value chain that spans 
from raw material production to 
the consumption of our products, 
and includes the communities in 
which we operate. Managing the 
impacts of our business, supply chain, 
communities and environment on 
each other in a sustainable way is 
essential to our survival now and in 
the future. It is for this reason that 
driving sustainable business is a key 
Group-wide priority, as set out in 
our Sustainable Business Framework. 
OUR GOVERNANCE 
OF SUSTAINABILITY
The Board of RCL FOODS has overall responsibility 
for RCL FOODS’ sustainable development, and 
a director is responsible for championing our 
Sustainable Business Drive within the organisation. 
Both the Risk Committee and the Social and 
Ethics Committee assist in monitoring all aspects 
of our sustainability initiatives, including the 
health and safety, economic, environmental and 
social impacts of our business. Their oversight role 
enables risks and opportunities to be identified 
proactively and in an integrated way, in line with 
the provisions of the Risk Charter.
OUR SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS FRAMEWORK 
OUR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS 
FRAMEWORK
In 2016 we asked ourselves what we needed to see and do 
differently to ensure that RCL FOODS is able to continue 
providing More Food to More People, More Often in decades 
to come. Using insights from the GRI, legislation, stakeholder 
surveys, peer reviews, business intelligence, market surveys and 
media reports, we crafted a sustainable business vision for 
RCL FOODS – to secure the future for our business, while 
establishing a competitive advantage in a fast-changing 
world – and we developed our Sustainable Business 
Framework.
Given our interlinked business, social and environmental 
agenda, our Sustainable Business Framework has three 
pillars: NOURISHING PEOPLE, ENRICHING COMMUNITIES 
and SUSTAINING RESOURCES. The framework sets out 
our ambitions in each area and is the foundation of our 
Sustainable Business Drive. The rest of this report unpacks 
our progress under each of the elements of our Sustainable 
Business Drive, with numbering providing easy reference back 
to the framework. 
To capture our overall progress during the year and aid 
navigation of the report, we have included a summary of our 
sustainable business impact in 2021 on 
 10 and 11.
1.1    MORE NUTRITIOUS PRODUCTS
We will provide more nourishing 
food, better value and greater 
choice to all people – educating 
our consumers on the benefits 
of a balanced diet.
Ambition:
To lead the promotion of nutrition 
with innovative product solutions 
in the context of a balanced diet.
1.2    MORE NUTRITIONAL 
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP 
We will strive to become a trusted 
source of influence in food policies, 
regulation and food labelling 
development.
Ambition:
To lead the promotion of nutrition 
through influencing policy 
development. 
1.3    MORE BASIC NUTRITION  
FOR CHILDREN 
We will drive awareness of the 
basic nutrition challenges for 
children through collaborative multi-
stakeholder partnerships aimed 
at addressing nutritional stunting.
Ambition:
To lead the promotion of nutrition 
for children through collective 
action against stunting.
2.1    MORE INSPIRED EMPLOYEES
We will build a unique organisation 
where work is safe, fun, meaningful 
and enriching in a way that unlocks 
the potential and creativity of our  
more than 20 000 people.
Ambition:
To become THE place to work 
by building a compelling RCL  
FOODS culture.
2.2    MORE ECONOMICALLY 
DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES 
We will drive an inclusive business 
agenda through land reform and new 
inter-connected business models.
Ambition:
To become THE trusted business 
partner for economic development 
in the communities in which 
we operate.
2.3    MORE SOCIALLY DEVELOPED 
COMMUNITIES
We will drive social upliftment of 
our communities through a dialogue 
approach – understanding their needs 
and partnering with like-minded 
organisations to find solutions.
Ambition:
To become THE respected business 
partner for social development in the 
communities in which we operate.
3.1    MORE ENERGY SELF-
SUFFICIENT OPERATIONS
We will invest in energy self-
sufficient operations and support 
the generation of renewable 
resources at a rate greater than 
we consume them.
Ambition:
To become an energy self-
sufficient business.
3.2    MORE WATER-SMART 
OPERATIONS
We will invest in water-smart 
operations and influence local 
government and other key 
stakeholders for collective solutions 
in the higher risk areas.
Ambition:
To become a water-smart business 
that continually seeks new ways to 
reduce, reuse and “create” water.
3.3    MORE WASTE-FREE 
OPERATIONS 
We will invest in new business 
opportunities that turn our waste 
into value (through circular 
economy principles), and minimise 
our waste to landfill.
Ambition:
To become a waste-free business 
that continually seeks new ways 
to turn waste into value.
UNDERPINNED BY NEW DISRUPTIVE MODELS
ACHIEVED AND SUSTAINED BY STRONG WIN-WIN MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS
NOURISHING 
PEOPLE 
 
More NUTRITIONALLY  
creative solutions
1
ENRICHING 
COMMUNITIES
More SOCIALLY  
creative solutions
SUSTAINING  
RESOURCES
More ENVIRONMENTALLY  
creative solutions
1
2
3
Our Sustainable Business Drive is about creating the future.  
Underpinned by Our Passion, it sets out our response to the most critical 
social and environmental challenges we face. Our Sustainable Business 
Drive enables us to secure the future for our business, whilst establishing 
competitive advantage in a fast-changing world.

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11
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DRIVE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
OUR SUSTAINABLE  
IMPACT IN 2021
NOURISHING PEOPLE
1.2  MORE NUTRITIONAL 
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
1.3  MORE BASIC NUTRITION  
FOR CHILDREN
Delivered through our DO MORE 
FOUNDATION: 
•	 272 tons of nutritious  
DO MORE Porridge to vulnerable 
children and families 
•	 Almost 10,5 million meals 
to communities affected by 
the COVID-19 lockdown since  
March 2020
1
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES
2
3.1  MORE ENERGY SELF-
SUFFICIENT OPERATIONS
•	 Generated 182% more 
electricity from our  
Waste-to-Value 
(biogas) plants 
•	 Five times more solar power 
generated than last year
3.2  MORE WATER-SMART 
OPERATIONS
•	 We used 7.5% less water 
overall, driven by water 
savings in Sugar agriculture 
•	 Installed water-efficient 
irrigation on our  
CBJV farms
SUSTAINING RESOURCES
3
2.3  MORE SOCIALLY DEVELOPED COMMUNITIES
•	 30 youth businesses have been born out of the DO MORE FOUNDATION’s 
Township Economy initiative in Hammarsdale   
•	 A unique toy-making enterprise has been set up in Worcester,  
with differently-abled youth creating wooden toys for ECD centres 
using timber offcuts 
•	 Our “Leave No Young Child Behind” initiative in Nkomazi is now 
benefiting 81 ECD programmes – up from 24 in 2020
2.1  MORE INSPIRED EMPLOYEES
•	 Received a Top Employer certification for a second year running 
•	 Held nearly six times as many Diversity and Inclusivity Conversation 
Circles in 2021
•	 R32,6 million invested in training 9 250 employees 
•	 Transitioning to an agile, hybrid working model mainly at National Office
•	 No jobs or income lost among our employees due to COVID-19  
•	 Mental wellness workshops and counselling support offered to  
employees during the pandemic 
•	 31% of our total sugarcane 
supply came from our large-
scale community-based joint 
ventures (CBJVs), small-scale 
growers (SSGs) and long-term 
land reform partnerships
More SOCIALLY creative solutions
More ENVIRONMENTALLY creative solutions
More NUTRITIONALLY creative solutions
•	 R98 million in goods 
and services procured 
from enterprises owned 
by land claim beneficiaries 
•	 In partnership with the 
AgriSETA, supported 35 SSGs 
and five land reform entities 
through a structured training 
and mentoring programme 
to enhance their sustainability
•	 Taking customers and 
consumers on a journey 
to make plant-based 
protein “the new norm”
•	 Collaborating to advance  
the Master Plans for the 
poultry and sugar industry
2.2  MORE ECONOMICALLY 
DEVELOPED 
COMMUNITIES 
1.1  MORE NUTRITIOUS 
PRODUCTS
•	 Jointly established 
LIVEKINDLY Collective 
Africa (LKCA)  
to make plant-based protein 
more accessible to more 
people in South Africa  
and beyond 
3.3  MORE WASTE-FREE 
OPERATIONS 
•	 90.5% of our waste was converted into 
fertiliser or energy, reused or recycled 
•	 We signed the 10x20x30 initiative 
to halve food loss and waste 
in the supply chain by 2030 
•	 We are moving the needle 
in our Plastics Packaging 
Sustainability Strategy

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13
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
BUSINESS DRIVE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS DRIVE: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2017 RCL FOODS established the  
DO MORE FOUNDATION as a separate non-
profit organisation (NPO) to enable us to 
amplify the impact and sustainability of our 
corporate social investment in impoverished 
communities surrounding our operations.
Our experience had shown that challenging 
social issues like poverty, hunger and social 
dysfunction require co-ordinated action 
on many fronts, and are best addressed by 
combining the resources, experience and 
insights of all key stakeholders – government, 
non-governmental organisations (NGOs), 
business and communities. 
The DO MORE FOUNDATION was formed to catalyse and 
co-ordinate strong multi-stakeholder partnerships in order 
to drive sustainable change in Early Childhood Development 
(ECD), youth enterprise development and hunger alleviation.  
The vision of “creating better tomorrows” for young children 
runs across all of the Foundation’s programmes – from  ECD 
to food security to enterprise development – and the 
developmental needs of young children are at the heart of what 
it does. 
The Foundation has launched various National Young Child 
programmes focusing specifically on nutrition, early learning 
and parenting support. It also runs geographically-focused 
programmes that aim to engage, uplift and capacitate various 
stakeholders (parents and caregivers, ECD practitioners, 
the local and provincial public sector, the private sector and 
communities) to better meet the rights and needs of young 
children in Worcester, Hammarsdale, Pongola and Nkomazi 
through programmes focusing on ECD, easing hunger and 
enterprise development.
Community-based impact studies in 2018 and 2019 confirmed 
that the DO MORE FOUNDATION’s collaborative model was 
having a positive impact on social outcomes for communities 
and on co-ordination between role players.
OUR DO MORE  
FOUNDATION
A partnership model 
that is “creating  
better tomorrows”
ENTERPRISING SOLUTIONS 
THAT #DOMORE FOR YOUNG 
CHILDREN AND YOUTH 
•	#DoMorePlay Toy Programme: Young children learn 
best through play, but toys are in short supply at most ECD 
centres in South Africa. Addressing the twin need to improve 
ECD resources and boost youth employment, the DO MORE 
FOUNDATION partnered with the Breede Valley Association 
for People with Disabilities (BVAPD) to train 20 intellectually-
challenged young people in Worcester to create high-quality, 
durable and affordable wooden toys using donated timber 
pallet off-cuts. These toys are packed into sturdy wooden kits 
(also upcycled) for use in ECD centres for various group and 
individual activities. Sponsoring the production of these kits is 
an opportunity for businesses to not only support early learning 
but provide income to the woodworkers and repurpose waste. 
•	Ikhwezi Bakery Co-operative: Affectionately known 
as the DO MORE Bakery in the Hammarsdale community, this 
is one of the youth development enterprises born out of the 
DO MORE FOUNDATION’s Township Economy Programme in 
2019. Despite having to close its doors for six months during 
2020, the bakery has managed to bounce back and, with 
support from local business, is now providing affordably-
priced bread to local ECD centres – including free bread to the 
35 centres who receive no state funding. In collaboration with 
the DO MORE FOUNDATION, plans are under way to extend 
the bakery’s product range and extend its market linkages in 
order to provide even more income generation opportunities 
for local youth. 
•	Owethu Sewing: While impacted by the COVID-19 
lockdown, the Owethu Umqhele Co-operative Sewing Initiative 
– also a product of the Township Economy Programme – took 
the opportunity to diversify their product range. In addition to 
their signature DO MORE BAGS, which are made using leftover 
branded fabric and sold through the DO MORE FOUNDATION, 
they now also produce toiletry bags, cushions and face masks. 
Owethu Sewing produced 19 000 of the 22 000 face masks 
which RCL FOODS ordered from the DO MORE FOUNDATION 
in late 2020 (refer to 
 33), providing short-term employment 
for an additional 14 young seamstresses from the community. 
The  sewing initiative includes a training programme which 
has resulted in 45 young women being able to enter formal 
employment in Hammarsdale. 
  
For more information on the DO MORE FOUNDATION’s social 
and economic development impact, please refer to the website  
www.domore.org.za
DURING THE COVID-19 
PANDEMIC, THE 
FOUNDATION HAS 
LEVERAGED ITS 
NATIONAL AND 
COMMUNITY-BASED 
PARTNERSHIPS TO:
creating  
better  
tomorrows”
“
•	Mount 
a 
nationwide 
#DoMore 
Feeding  campaign to ease hunger 
amongst vulnerable children and families 
affected by the pandemic (refer to 
 20).
•	Support 
parents 
and 
caregivers 
of young children via an online “parenting 
resource hub”. 
•	Continue providing resources that 
promote cognitive skills in young 
children 
through 
its 
Repurpose 
for  Purpose programme. Quality early 
learning materials are printed on excess white 
board by a DO MORE FOUNDATION partner 
and 
distributed 
to 
under-resourced 
ECD 
centres, playgroups, toy libraries and home 
visiting programmes – along with printed 
support materials and data-free e-learning 
training materials for ECD practitioners and 
other adult facilitators. 
•	Drive enterprise development at 
community level as part of its Township 
Economy Programme – with a particular focus 
on youth.

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OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
NOURISHING PEOPLE
16
MORE NUTRITIOUS 
PRODUCTS
17
MORE NUTRITIONAL 
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
18
MORE BASIC 
NUTRITION FOR 
CHILDREN
19
ENRICHING 
COMMUNITIES
22
MORE INSPIRED 
EMPLOYEES
23
MORE ECONOMICALLY 
DEVELOPED 
COMMUNITIES 
29
MORE SOCIALLY 
DEVELOPED 
COMMUNITIES
32
SUSTAINING 
RESOURCES
36
MORE ENERGY 
SELF-SUFFICIENT 
OPERATIONS
37
MORE WATER-SMART 
OPERATIONS 
41
MORE WASTE-FREE 
OPERATIONS
44
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT  
UNPACKED
We are working to grow the 
alternative protein market 
by educating customers and 
consumers on plant-based 
options, how to cook them, and 
how to incorporate them into a 
more sustainable way of eating.

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
South African society is in transition, with a widening gap between rich 
and poor. On one hand there is a demand for foods that satisfy more 
affluent tastes and include more meat, and on the other there is a shift 
in consumption towards more affordable, filling, high-energy (but often  
low-nutrient) foods as household income levels decline. Across the 
spectrum, time-poor consumers are also attracted to convenience foods 
that are quicker to prepare but tend to be higher in fat, salt and sugar. 
NOURISHING PEOPLE
1
1	
South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1), 2014
2	
http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10334 Poverty on the rise in South Africa, 2017
3	
Stats SA. South Africa Demographic and Health Survey, 2016
1.1  More nutritious products
Our ambition is to lead the promotion of nutrition with 
innovative product solutions in the context of a balanced diet.  
South Africa suffers from a triple burden of malnutrition due to a combination of undernutrition (underweight, stunting and wasting), 
overweight and obesity, and micronutrient deficiencies. Over half our population experiences hunger or is at risk of experiencing 
it1, with one in four people being unable to afford enough food to meet their basic needs2. At the same time, 68% of women and 
31% of men are overweight or obese3, often also as a result of poverty which impacts on access to healthy food. Both undernutrition 
and overnutrition are risk factors for non-communicable diseases which place an increasing burden on public health systems and 
the economy. 
We seek to meet the changing needs of our consumers through our broad basket of products which range from staples to value-
added products. We acknowledge the role that we can play in strengthening the nutritional profile of our products and our overall 
portfolio, while continuing to maintain food quality and safety as priorities.  
We have continued to move towards this ambition in the 2021 financial year, with a focus on laying the foundation for positive change:
•	 In partnership with LIVEKINDLY Collective, we jointly established LIVEKINDLY Collective Africa (LKCA) to develop the plant-
based market in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. LKCA will sell Fry’s, Oumph!, NO MEAT, Like Meat and other LKC 
brands as part of a collective vision to make plant-based living “the new norm” and shift the global food system to a more 
sustainable one. This dovetails with our own vision to make plant-based protein more accessible to all South Africans (and those 
in sub-Saharan Africa), providing them with more protein options and encouraging more sustainable food choices from a health 
and environmental point of view. 
•	 In line with our commitment to alleviate hunger and reduce stunting through the DO MORE FOUNDATION, we have continued to 
provide DO MORE Porridge at cost (refer to Section 1.3 below) and are currently strengthening its nutritional profile further. 
•	 To boost our innovation capability we are in the process of creating an integrated R&D function and a dedicated director has 
been appointed to lead it. 
This “nutrition transition” and the Westernisation of diets are responsible for rising levels of under- and 
overnutrition (malnutrition) and associated health issues, while also placing unsustainable pressure on 
environmental resources as the population grows. Addressing hunger and promoting good health and 
wellbeing are key priorities both for South Africa and globally, in line with Sustainable Development 
Goals 2 and 3. 
As one of South Africa’s leading food producers, we are present in many households via our diverse 
basket of brands. We aim to improve South Africa’s nutritional landscape by nourishing people 
more sustainably according to their needs, focusing on three areas: More Nutritious Products, More 
Nutritional Thought Leadership and More Basic Nutrition for Children.
THE GLOBAL “ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN” MARKET IS EXPANDING RAPIDLY, DRIVEN BY INCREASING 
CONSUMER CONSCIOUSNESS AROUND HEALTH, ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND 
ANIMAL WELFARE.

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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
In a context of rising malnutrition and pressure on the environment, the challenge for South Africa is to find 
ways to provide its growing population with adequate amounts of safe, nutritious, affordable and sustainably 
grown food. To ensure co-ordinated and lasting impacts, this should be supported by appropriate and timeous 
policy that is both fit for purpose and workable, based on input from a range of stakeholders.    
We continue to focus on enhancing the sustainability of the local chicken and sugar industries through our 
engagements with government and other industry players to bring the Poultry Sector Master Plan and 
the Sugar Industry Master Plan to fruition.  
Within our business we believe that plant-based protein has the potential to provide an affordable, low-
cholesterol and tasty alternative to meat which could help address malnutrition in all its forms, while providing 
consumers with enhanced choice. Through our partnership in LKCA, we are working to grow the market by 
educating customers and consumers on plant-based options, how to cook them, and how to incorporate 
them into a more sustainable way of eating.  
NOURISHING PEOPLE CONTINUED
1.3  More basic nutrition for children
Our ambition is to lead the promotion of nutrition for 
children through collective action against stunting. 
1.2  More nutritional thought leadership 
Our ambition is to lead the promotion of nutrition 
through influencing policy development. 
According to the 2020 Child Gauge, nearly one in three 
South  African children are currently living below the food 
poverty line, which means there is not enough household 
income to meet their basic nutritional needs. As a result there is 
a rising incidence of stunting, wasting and underweight which 
affects children’s physical and cognitive development and 
significantly impacts on their health and economic future. Also 
on the rise is childhood obesity, often driven by a lack of access 
to affordably priced, nutritionally balanced food. 
With stunting levels ranging from 21% to 34% in parts of the 
country4 and wasting, stunting and overweight collectively 
affecting 38% of children under the age of five5 – without 
factoring in the long-term effects of COVID-19 – there is a clear 
need for co-ordinated action on multiple fronts. 
As the DO MORE FOUNDATION’s lead nutrition partner, we are 
making a sustainable difference by enabling vulnerable young 
children to eat better so that they can grow and learn better, 
with a greater chance of breaking out of the poverty cycle.  
Last year we partnered with the Foundation in launching a DO 
MORE FOUNDATION-branded fortified sorghum porridge 
“DESPITE ALL THE TECHNOLOGICAL, 
CULTURAL AND SOCIAL ADVANCES OF 
THE PAST FEW DECADES, WE HAVE LOST 
SIGHT OF THIS MOST BASIC FACT: IF 
CHILDREN EAT POORLY, THEY LIVE POORLY.”  
HENRIETTA FORE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNICEF
270 tons 
OF DO MORE PORRIDGE 
WERE DISTRIBUTED IN 2021,  
EQUATING TO 2,7 MILLION MEALS 
specifically for donation purposes. Providing this to the 
Foundation at cost price means that the Foundation can buy 
far more with the funds it raises – including from RCL FOODS – 
and reach more children in the process.  
Since its launch in June 2020, DO MORE Porridge has 
been the lead vehicle in the DO MORE FOUNDATION’s 
#DoMoreFeeding COVID-19 relief initiative, helping to ease 
hunger for vulnerable young children and communities affected 
by school closures and loss of income. 
The porridge is also central to the Foundation’s ongoing 
efforts to combat stunting and improve ECD outcomes. 
To  build a pipeline of future support, the Foundation ran a 
#2020Challenge for World Food Day in October 2020, 
aimed at encouraging sponsorship of at least R20 per month 
for 20 months. This has contributed to DO MORE Porridge 
now being provided to young children at 1 043 ECD centres 
across the country. These include playgroups affiliated to the 
SmartStart network, as well as ECD centres in Pongola, Nkomazi 
and Hammarsdale. In Hammarsdale alone, the Foundation has 
been able to leverage its partnerships to provide over 30 000 
meals to young children at 30 ECD centres every month. 
4 	 National Department of Health (NDoH), Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), and ICFDHS. 2016. 
South Africa Demographic and Health Survey. Pretoria: South Africa
5 	 Sylla, Mariamme. 2020. Too many of SA’s children are stunted, wasted or obese, Mail & Guardian, 6 November. Article written in response to Unicef 
report: The State of the World’s Children 2019: Children, Food and Nutrition 
“A FAIR FOOD SYSTEM IS BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES OF EQUITY, DIVERSITY, ECOLOGICAL 
INTEGRITY, AND ECONOMIC VIABILITY.” – ORAN HESTERMAN

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
NOURISHING SA’S MOST VULNERABLE  
COMMUNITIES DURING THE PANDEMIC 
AND BEYOND 
NOURISHING PEOPLE CONTINUED
CASE STUDY
Since its launch during the 
lockdown, a total of 272 tons 
of sorghum-based DO MORE 
Porridge have been delivered to 
needy children and their families. 
The porridge is now served daily 
in 1 043 ECD centres countrywide.
The closure of schools and ECD centres due to 
the COVID-19 lockdown – leaving nearly 10 million 
children without a daily meal, not to mention vital 
early learning stimulation – was a watershed moment 
for our DO MORE FOUNDATION. Already providing 
daily nutritional snacks to thousands of vulnerable 
young children at ECD centres, it had set its sights on 
developing its own branded porridge – and when the 
lockdown occurred, that was needed quickly. 
In partnership with RCL FOODS, the Foundation  
launched 
the 
now-iconic 
DO 
MORE 
Porridge 
(affectionately known in the community as the 
“blue  porridge”) in July 2020. As with all the 
Foundation’s 
initiatives, 
strong 
multi-stakeholder 
partnerships have supported the rollout of DO MORE 
Porridge every mile of the journey – from the creative 
collaboration of RCL FOODS’ own operational, 
marketing and logistics teams, to the generosity 
of funders, to the energetic commitment of the  
118 organisations distributing the food to needy 
children and families nationwide. Among the latter 
is the Kingsley Holgate Foundation which, having 
carried out the first DO MORE Porridge deliveries 
in KwaZulu-Natal in mid-2020, went on to deliver  
27 000 bags of porridge (270 000 meals) to   
South Africa’s most outlying communities during the  
month-long Mzansi Edge expedition later in the year. 
A key success factor in the Foundation’s COVID-19 
response has been its ability to rally its network of 
partners around a common vision – and then to execute 
its plans effectively. Having set up a dedicated COVID-19 
relief fund to source food at cost price from RCL FOODS, 
the Foundation launched a widely-shared #GiveItUp 
campaign that saw businesses, media agencies, radio 
stations and proudly South African brands “give up” 
their profits and/or advertising space to encourage 
individuals and organisations to contribute to the fund. 
This played a key role in the DO MORE FOUNDATION 
being able to distribute nearly 10,5 million meals across 
all nine provinces from March 2020 to June 2021.  
Of these, a million meals were served in honour of 
Mandela Day alone, for which RCL FOODS provided the 
100 400 kilograms of chicken that were made into hot 
meals at over 100 soup kitchens. 
Alongside this hive of feeding activity, the Foundation 
also leveraged its partnerships to maintain early learning.  
An online “parenting resource hub” was developed to 
help parents and caregivers stimulate young children, 
cognitive development resources were distributed 
directly to homes, and funds were raised to provide 
PPE starter kits that helped 215 ECD centres to reopen 
safely. Today the parenting and early learning resources 
continue to support healthy cognitive development, and 
DO MORE Porridge is served on a daily basis to 20 000 
young children at ECD centres, assuring them of at least 
one nutritious meal a day.

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
2.1  More inspired employees
Our ambition is to become “THE place to work” by building 
a compelling RCL FOODS culture.
Through our direct employment of more than 20 000 people and our 
partnerships with numerous contract growers and secondary businesses 
across our supply chain, we play a key role in sustaining livelihoods 
in South Africa. Acknowledging the need to secure the future of our 
company while contributing to the creation of a more prosperous, equal 
and harmonious society, we adopt a transformative approach focused 
on growing a healthy and sustainable business that creates value for all 
our stakeholders; building and retaining a pipeline of talented employees; 
and creating more economically and socially developed communities.
Our single greatest asset is our more than 20 000 employees whose skill, commitment and teamwork are core to 
our ability to deliver on Our Passion. In order to create an effective and sustainable business where work is safe, 
meaningful and enriching, we focus on:
•	 creating a diverse and inclusive organisation with a unique and compelling culture, “Our Way”; 
•	 building authentic leaders and developing a sustainable skills set;
•	 driving collaborative employee relations and increased engagement; and
•	 protecting and promoting our employees’ health, safety and wellness.
Highlights of our progress in 2021 are described below.
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES
Within our organisation, this means investing in our employees’ learning and 
development while creating a diverse, inclusive and rewarding work environment. 
Beyond our business, it means promoting Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment 
(B-BBEE) through our procurement policies and our Supplier and Enterprise 
Development partnerships, stimulating community economic development through 
inter-connected business models, and creating meaningful change in communities 
through our corporate social investment, led by the DO MORE FOUNDATION.  In 
so doing, our work contributes to Goals 1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11 and 17 of the Sustainable 
Development Goals.   
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY CONVERSATION CIRCLES ARE A WAY OF ENGAGING EMPLOYEES 
IN OPEN, SAFE, HONEST DISCUSSIONS WHERE THEY CAN LISTEN TO AND LEARN FROM EACH 
OTHER. BY BUILDING UNDERSTANDING OF DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AND PERSPECTIVES,  
WE AIM TO BUILD A MORE INCLUSIVE CULTURE WHERE DIVERSITY IS CELEBRATED AND VALUED.
2

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
CULTURE AND DIVERSITY
We have continued to drive our diversity and inclusivity strategy through Diversity and Inclusivity Conversation Circles, 
transparent communication on our progress towards greater diversity, and the setting of new five-year targets. 
•	 255 Conversation Circles have been completed to date, of which 223 took place in the last year. A total of 1 121 employees 
have attended one or more sessions so far.   
•	 Senior business leaders are taking the lead in driving the strategy via a communications plan to reinforce the inclusivity 
message and update the business on progress towards diversity targets. 
GROUP EMPLOYMENT EQUITY (EE) BREAKDOWN
TOTAL RCL FOODS 
BY GENDER:
Male 
68%
Female  
32% 
(unchanged)
MANAGEMENT  
BY GENDER:
Male 
69%
Female  
31%  
(up by 1%)
TOTAL RCL FOODS 
BY ACI*:
ACI 
94% 
(up by 1%)
White 
6%
MANAGEMENT  
BY ACI*:
ACI 
43% 
(up by 3%)
White 
57%
* ACI: African, Coloured, Indian
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES CONTINUED
•	 Our Basadi Bereka (Women at Work) programme has established itself as a feeder scheme for developing key 
female talent at the middle level of our Chicken Processing operations. This year it took on a further 49 participants, 
bringing to 98 the number of female employees who have embarked on a mentorship-driven growth journey.
•	 To strengthen awareness around sexual harassment in line with our RCL FOODS Sexual Harassment Policy,  
we launched an online learning programme which was attended by 96 employees during the year.  
•	 We initiated the More Flex project to develop a fit-for-purpose best practice framework and implementation toolkit to help 
National Office employees transition from a fully remote to a hybrid working model, when lockdown restrictions ease. 
This will allow for more flexible, “agile” ways of working that combine the benefits of remote and office-based work, in line 
with progressive global trends. 
•	 Stretching new African, Coloured and Indian (ACI) and EE targets have been set to drive increased transformation 
at management level by 2025. 
	
– Progress on our diversity journey since 2018 includes a 20% increase in the number of African employees and a 15% 
increase in Indian employees at management level – with ACI employees occupying 50% of middle management positions, 
and EE candidates (ACI, women and people with disabilities) occupying 67%. At upper management level, there has been 
a more modest 18% improvement in EE representation, aided by a 21% increase in women. 
	
– The main gaps to be addressed include a lack of progress in female representation at middle management level, 
limited ACI representation at upper management level, and limited ACI and EE diversity at top management level. 
	
– Our 2025 Employment Equity Plan was submitted to the Department of Labour in January 2021. 
RCL FOODS MANAGEMENT DIVERSITY TARGETS TO 2025 
Occupational levels
RCL 
 grades
(Bands)
EE 
2025
% target
Female  
2025
% target
Top management
F
40
25
Senior management
E
50
30
Professionally qualified and experienced specialists and mid management
DU
55
35
Professionally qualified and experienced specialists and mid management
DL
70
45
•	 We were certified a Top Employer by the Top Employer Institute for the second year running.
•	 We achieved a Level 4 B-BBEE rating for 2020, sacrificing one level due to our not participating in the Youth Employment 
Service (Y.E.S) Programme during the lockdown. Pleasingly, 82 of more than 330 youth from our 2019 Y.E.S intake have since 
been placed in permanent positions within the business – a retention rate of over 25%.  
The agile working model is 
ready to implement, with a new 
agile working policy approved 
and arrangements in place for 
a transition to hot desk which 
will be booked via the Let’s Talk 
mobile app.
DEVELOP LEADERS AND GROW TALENT 
•	 We maintained a strong focus on learning and development, despite some physical constraints on in-person training 
due to COVID-19 restrictions.  
	
– R32,6 million was invested in training 9 250 employees, of which 87% were ACI. 
	
– We delivered a number of programmes virtually and also made various online platforms available to our employees 
to provide on-demand learning solutions, including LinkedIn Learning, Percipio, GetAbstact and Lesson Desk. 
	
– We continue to grow a strong pipeline of ACI talent through our various talent feeder schemes (see table below). 
Apart from company-assisted studies, these are all youth-focused. 
F2019
F2020
F2021
Talent feeder schemes
Total
Total  
ACI
% 
ACI
Total
Total  
ACI
% 
ACI
Total
Total  
ACI
% 
ACI
Apprenticeships*
72
71
99
96
93
97
79
79
100
Learnerships*
518
503
97
247
245
99
241
188
78
Bursaries
20
16
80
10
9
90
9
8
89
Company Assisted Studies (CAS)
90
82
91
91
79
87
132
109
83
Graduate Placements
6
6
100
10
10
100
7
7
100
Management Trainees (including 
Engineers-in-Training)
63
49
78
63
51
81
68
58
85
Internships
80
80
100
39
39
100
69
44
64
*  Accredited by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
•	 We continued to grow our current and future leaders 
through our various leadership development programmes 
– our third year of the Emerging Leaders Development 
Programme, a partnership with Nelson Mandela University. 
This will soon have produced a total of 49 promising young 
leaders – 78% of them ACI and nearly 50% of them women.  
•	 A virtual Coaches’ Library supported our management 
employees with specifically selected coaches to attend to 
personal development needs arising during the pandemic.
•	 We provided Competition Law Compliance Training to 
680 employees in under three months via an e-learning 
platform. As part of our broader compliance programme, 
the Competition Act has been identified as a key piece of 
legislation impacting on all our business activities, including 
dealings with competitors, customers, suppliers and other 
third parties.  
•	 We continued to build industry capability, upskill 
our workforce and build operational capabilities 
via learnerships, apprenticeships and our professional 
skills academies. 
	
– One example is our Siyabhaka Learnership in the Baking 
business unit, a strategic partnership between Food 
Partners (our out-of-home food service division) and key 
customers. This focuses on building future ACI bakers 
by giving unemployed youth the opportunity to complete 
the National Certificate in Flour and Confectionary 
Baking (National Qualifications Framework level 2 and 3). 
Two alumni have already been permanently absorbed as 
Learner Bakers by the Food Partners team, and 15 more 
learners are currently nearing completion.  
	
– In support of the RCL FOODS Supply Chain 
Strategy, our Supply Chain Excellence Academy saw 
eight members of the executive team attend further 
development programmes with the Toyota Wessels 
Institute for Manufacturing and over 100 employees 
trained in Operational Leadership and Pragma. 
EMPLOYEE HEALTH, 
SAFETY AND 
WELLNESS 
We have continued to promote and protect the wellbeing of 
our employees through strict adherence to health and safety 
protocols and provision of a range of occupational and personal 
support initiatives. 
•	 A director has now been appointed to lead the Safety, 
Health, Environment and Risk (SHER) portfolio. 
•	 We have continued in our efforts to safeguard our 
employees against COVID-19 infection through our 
compulsory protocols around screening, hygiene, social 
distancing, mask wearing and self-isolation. This has been 
supported by strong communication to raise awareness 
and share information. 
•	 RCL FOODS has more than 50 occupational clinic 
arrangements in place, with clinics focusing primarily on 
occupational health services. Throughout the COVID-19 
lockdown our clinics have continued to provide support 
and advice to the operational, SHEQ and HR teams, as 
well as assisting with screening protocols and monitoring 
vulnerable individuals. 
•	 A total of R52 million was spent on Cleaning, Health 
& Safety and Medical to keep employees safe during 
the COVID-19 pandemic. 
•	 To improve employee resilience and address anxiety 
and stress related to the pandemic: 
	
– We implemented a series of workshops on agile 
leadership and mental wellness.
	
– A Staying Strong Programme was delivered to 
employees to help them build emotional resilience 
during the pandemic. 
	
– We made the decision to include the Food Division in 
the employee assistance programme currently offered 
in Vector Logistics. This will provide employees and their 
families with counselling assistance and education in a 
range of different areas to ensure more holistic support. 
COLLABORATIVE 
EMPLOYEE RELATIONS  
AND ENGAGEMENT 
•	 We leveraged technology to engage with large numbers 
of employees during the pandemic, creating a more 
connected business. This includes the use of the  
Let’s Talk employee mobile app, monthly online leadership 
engagements, and the bi-monthly Let’s Talk Live webinars 
led by the CEO and open to all employees. 
 Refer to the 
case study for more information. 
•	 We implemented an extended leave entitlement to allow 
up to 15 days of negative leave to be taken to supplement 
annual or sick leave in the case of employees being unable 
to work from home or self-isolating due to COVID-19 
infection or exposure. As a result of this, no employee 
missed a single paid day due to COVID-19. 
•	 We completed our review of the variable compensation 
incentive schemes and finalised the revised short-term 
incentive profit share scheme. The long-term scheme is 
still in progress.  
•	 The business had no major industrial action during the 
year, notwithstanding a challenging labour environment. 
	
– Currently, 75% of our employees are represented by 
the various bargaining units in our business, through 
which the recognised trade unions negotiate salaries 
and conditions of employment. Of these, 40% are 
not unionised.
	
– Union membership declined from 50% to 46% year-on-year. 
	
– 56% of the bargaining unit negotiated agreements 
are multi-year, which has provided our business with 
certainty and stability.  
•	 Total employee terminations (whether due to death, 
disability, dismissal, resignation, retirement, retrenchment 
or other factors) declined 7% from 2020. 
	
– While there were 90 retrenchments during the year, 
these were related to organisational restructuring and 
not COVID-19. 
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES CONTINUED
The business had no major 
industrial action during 
the year, notwithstanding 
a challenging labour 
environment.

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
Keeping our people safe during COVID-19 means 
more than just protecting their physical safety – 
it’s  about psychological safety too. Global statistics 
show that up to 45% of adults are feeling adverse 
mental health impacts1 and up to 70% of adults feel it 
is the most stressful period in their careers2. For many 
people, connection with colleagues can provide an 
important buffer to their feelings of social isolation 
and disconnection. Interestingly, research in Hong 
Kong after the 2003 SARS outbreak found that 
increased social connectedness offset the negative 
mental health impacts of the pandemic. With stress 
rising among our employees as they adjusted to the 
“new normal” of COVID-19 – including remote working 
for those that could – we have been working to drive 
virtual human connections and create psychological 
safety wherever we can. 
For those 3 000 employees working remotely, 
technology allowed us to have regular online team 
check-ins and to engage in virtual conversations 
around operational and culture issues. Among these 
was the introduction of bi-monthly Zoom webinars 
led by our CEO and his executive team which are open 
to all employees and allow for information sharing 
and two-way conversation on key issues. Another is 
the online continuation of our Diversity and Inclusivity 
Circle Conversations, which remain high on our agenda 
despite our physical separation. Participating in a 
Conversation Circle cultivates the skills of listening, 
empathy, 
compassion, 
understanding, 
respect, 
vulnerability and courage – all vital for building a 
connected, supportive community.
“When the lockdown stopped us from having our 
Diversity and Inclusivity Circle Conversations face to 
face, we gathered through our computer screens – and 
the discussions brought us closer to each other while 
working remotely,” said Food Division HR  Director 
David Scott.
More than 200 of these Circles have taken place this 
year alone, including 14 women’s circles following our 
2020 Women’s Day event. Also driving connection 
and inclusion is our Let’s Talk mobile app which now 
reaches almost 13 000 employees with updates and 
relevant information on various topics.
Apart from leveraging “connection” opportunities to 
support each other and strengthen our team, we have 
also been tackling mental wellbeing head-on, running 
several mental wellness workshops to build emotional 
resilience and securing a free counselling service for 
employees. #StrongerTogether. 
ENRICHING HUMAN CONNECTIONS 
DURING THE PANDEMIC 
CASE STUDY
“Miles’ Let’s Talk Live sessions 
have been very successful 
in terms of engaging large 
numbers of our employees. 
They’ve been very 
transparent as we allow 
people to ask questions 
and comment anonymously.” 
1	
Centres for Disease Control
2	
World Economic Forum
2.2  More economically developed communities 
Our ambition is to become “THE trusted business partner” 
for economic development in the communities in which 
we operate.
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES CONTINUED
Small-scale growers, community-based joint ventures (CBJVs) and long-term land reform partners are an integral 
part of our supply chain, and mutually-supportive relationships are key to our long-term sustainability. 
By promoting sustainable farming programmes and inter-connected business models, we are empowering our 
communities to improve their agricultural practices, increase their competitiveness and enhance their livelihoods 
– thereby creating shared value. On the basis of this work we once again scored full marks for the enterprise and 
supplier development element of the B-BBEE scorecard. 
WE ONCE AGAIN SCORED FULL MARKS FOR THE ENTERPRISE AND SUPPLIER DEVELOPMENT 
ELEMENT OF THE B-BBEE SCORECARD.

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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
COMMUNITY-BASED 
JOINT VENTURES 
(CBJVs)
Between 2007 and 2012 we sold the majority of our Nkomazi 
agricultural operations in settlement of land claims in the 
region. After establishing partnership agreements with the 
claimant communities, three CBJVs were established, which 
lease back the agricultural land assets at market rates from 
these communities. This has resulted in significant benefits to 
both parties. The communities receive income from the high-
potential agricultural assets they own, along with study and 
enterprise development opportunities through RCL FOODS 
and the CBJV companies, while RCL FOODS benefits from 
a sustainable cane supply to our Malalane and Komati mills. 
Highlights of our 2021 financial year were as follows:
•	 Continued implementation of the optimised farming 
operations strategy resulted in delivery of nearly one 
million tons of sugarcane from over 9 400 hectares of 
irrigated land. 
•	 192 beneficiaries from the three land claimant 
communities were directly employed. 
•	 26 companies owned by beneficiaries from the above 
communities were awarded contracts totalling R98 million 
in procurement spend, as part of the CBJVs’ enterprise 
development efforts. 
•	 R42 million in lease payments was received by the land 
claimant communities. This was R18 million higher than 
2020 due to higher recoverable value (RV) prices, driven by 
a significant increase in the local market demand for sugar.
•	 Four qualifying students were identified and received 
bursaries to study in the fields of Agriculture, Engineering 
and Finance.
•	 Community development projects totaling R300 000 
were implemented in land claimant communities. 
SMALL-SCALE 
GROWERS (SSGs)
Nearly 1 200 SSGs occupy the communal areas of Nkomazi, 
farming approximately 9 500 hectares of irrigated cane on 
farms averaging around eight hectares in size. Together, they 
provide approximately 16% of cane supplied to our Nkomazi 
mills. To maintain our Nkomazi cane supply and protect the 
livelihoods of SSGs and their families, we are committed 
to ensuring the long-term sustainability of their farming 
enterprises. We do this through two joint venture services 
companies – Akwandze Agricultural Finance and TSGRO – 
which we operate in partnership with the SSGs to provide them 
with affordable financial and farming support. During the 2021 
financial year: 
•	 SSGs generated approximately R370 million in turnover 
through the supply of 570 000 tons of cane to our two 
sugar mills in Nkomazi. 
•	 In partnership with the AgriSETA, we supported 35 SSGs 
and five land reform entities through a structured 
training and mentoring programme to enhance their 
sustainability. Representing a combined investment of 
R5 million, the project aims to improve governance and 
compliance for the 40 entities and is expected to end in 
December 2022. 
DEVELOPMENT 
FINANCE – AKWANDZE 
AGRICULTURAL 
FINANCE (AAF)
Akwandze Agricultural Finance (AAF) is a joint venture 
between RCL FOODS and Nkomazi small-scale sugarcane 
growers that provides these farmers with access to unsecured 
credit at reduced interest rates. AAF was established in 2006 
with R20 million capital. Of this, R10 million was contributed 
by the growers and RCL FOODS’ Sugar business unit in a 
50/50 partnership, and the other R10 million was donated by 
the South African Sugar Association (SASA). The company 
managed to leverage a number of different funds to support 
land reform and small-scale farmers, resulting in a current AAF 
loan book of R610 million which underpins the production of 
two million tons of cane (approximately 14% of the industry’s 
cane volume). Since its inception, AAF has invested over  
R3 billion into SSGs and B-BBEE joint venture companies in 
the form of loans and retention savings. Highlights from the 
year were:
•	 The 1 200 SSGs reinvested nearly R200 million into their 
own operations through retention savings and new loans. 
•	 AAF has entered into a six-year funding partnership 
with Rand Merchant Bank which has resulted in the CBJVs 
securing loans of R350 million.
•	 AAF provided R21 million in loans to over 100 SSGs.  
The improved RV price has resulted in a much improved 
financial position for SSGs, resulting in growers requiring 
fewer loans to sustain their businesses in 2021.
FARMING  
AND BUSINESS  
SUPPORT SERVICES  
(TSGRO)
TSGRO was formed in 2014 when our Sugar business unit 
entered a joint venture with the 1 200 SSGs farming on 
communal land in Nkomazi. The company provides farming 
and business support services to these small growers to help 
maximise their production and returns, ensuring long-term 
sustainability. In  addition to improving farm productivity, 
TSGRO also sets up enterprise development opportunities for 
small-scale growers to become contractors. During the 2021 
financial year:
•	 630 SSGs and seven co-operatives with 456 members 
accessed TSGRO’s Bulk Water Supply service (BWS), 
a user pay service that repairs, maintains, services and 
protects irrigation infrastructure on an ongoing basis.
	
– In 2021, approximately 6 000 hectares of land were 
maintained by the BWS service. 
	
– BWS has played a critical role in stabilising SSG irrigation 
and sustaining production by ensuring reliable bulk water 
delivery to field’s edge.
•	 All 1 200 SSGs benefited from an ongoing free extension 
service that includes sugarcane agronomy, better 
management practices, and planning tools for management 
and budgeting.
•	 315 farmers utilised TSGRO’s basic accounting and 
bookkeeping services to ensure good governance.
•	 35 SSGs opted to utilise TSGRO’s complete farm 
management service. 
LONG-TERM LAND 
REFORM PARTNERSHIPS
In addition to our community joint ventures on private land 
and our partnerships with SSGs on communal land, we partner 
with a number of land reform beneficiaries farming on both 
private and communally-owned land. The relationships were 
originally established from 2012 when the Department of Rural 
Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) appointed our Sugar 
business unit to mentor 12 distressed land reform beneficiaries 
in Nkomazi and Pongola as part of the Recapitalisation 
and Development Programme (RADP). Under our five-year 
mentorship, the farmers’ business plans were approved and 
the DRDLR released R65 million to fund the rehabilitation 
of infrastructure and plant sugarcane on farms that had not 
been economically active for some time. Leveraging our 
Sugar business’ existing partnership with the Land Bank, 
we were able to facilitate the restructuring of some of these 
growers’ existing Land Bank debts from R17 million to just over  
R3 million. Although our contracted mentorship has come to an 
end, we still support the farmers who provided 79 000 tons 
of sugarcane to our Nkomazi and Pongola mills in the 2021 
financial year.
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES CONTINUED
Selati supports 
1 200 small-
scale growers in 
rural Nkomazi.

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33
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
HAMMARSDALE – #DoMore4Hammarsdale
In collaboration with various stakeholders from the private, public and non-profit sectors, the DO MORE FOUNDATION spearheaded 
the Greater Hammarsdale Community Development Initiative in 2015, which came to be known as #DoMore4Hammarsdale. 
This initiative aims to empower the Hammarsdale community and restore hope through various enterprise development and 
Early Childhood Development (ECD) projects in five wards. As with our other community development initiatives, the success 
of #DoMore4Hammarsdale lies in its strong partnerships which have been key in helping the community navigate the social and 
economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our achievements this year included the following: 
2.3  More socially developed communities
Our ambition is to become “THE respected business 
partner” for social development in the communities 
in which we operate.
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES CONTINUED
•	 The Food Gardens project proved vital as vegetables 
from these gardens were often the only source of affordable 
nutrition and income for families.
•	 Communal gardeners who were previously assisted by 
the DO MORE FOUNDATION are now helping to restore 
gardens at local ECD centres and are expanding their 
own operations.  
	
– Four large communal gardens are mentoring 29 ECD 
centres to assist them in restarting the gardens they 
lost during the lockdown.  
	
– The DO MORE FOUNDATION continues to assist the 
communal gardeners with market linkages. A small 
drying tunnel was procured and the growers have started 
processing dried herbs with guidance from the RCL 
FOODS research and development team. 
	
– One innovative youth gardening enterprise recently 
received a sponsored vertical growing tunnel at its 
premises. The tunnel has shortened harvest times, used 
minimal water and saved on ground space. The garden’s 
manager has also recently featured in a number of 
“how-to” videos produced for the Chef’s Association 
Annual Conference.  
	
– Through the DO MORE FOUNDATION, a local clothing 
retailer is sponsoring nutritional support and toy kits 
for 30 local ECD centres.  
•	 The collaborative Enterprise Development initiative 
continued to grow. 
	
– Through its Township Economy Programme, the DO 
MORE FOUNDATION is enhancing youth entrepreneurship 
and  accelerating youth-owned and managed enterprises 
in the community. The multi-partner programme 
provides high-quality business training, mentorship and 
entrepreneurial support to young women and small 
businesses run by youth in the Hammarsdale community. 
	
– So far, 30 small businesses have come out of this 
programme fully equipped with essential business 
skills around registrations, web design, market linkages, 
business administration, market  research, branding, 
marketing and access to micro-financing. These include 
the Ikhwezi Bakery Co-operative and Owethu Sewing 
(refer to 
 13). 
We have operations in some of the most socially and economically challenged communities in 
South  Africa: Hammarsdale and Pongola in KwaZulu-Natal, Malalane in the Nkomazi district of  
Mpumalanga, and Worcester in the Western Cape. Each faces a high level of unemployment, rising poverty 
levels and a host of related social problems. 
As a major employer in these areas, we have an opportunity to stimulate social development that can help 
restore human dignity, empower marginalised communities to undertake their own development, and 
ultimately break the cycle of poverty. We do this through our DO MORE FOUNDATION which acts as a 
“backbone organisation” for multi-stakeholder initiatives directed at easing hunger, supporting youth and 
ECD. (Refer to 
 12 and 13).
INVESTING IN THE WELLBEING OF THE COMMUNITIES AROUND OUR OPERATIONS 
IS KEY TO THE STABILITY OF THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT OUR BUSINESS OPERATES 
IN. ADVANCING GOVERNMENT’S SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENDA 
THROUGH CSI INITIATIVES AND ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIPS HAS ALSO STRENGTHENED 
OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS OF HEALTH, SOCIAL 
DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION.

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35
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
Our Western Cape Chicken and Speciality plants are located 
in the Worcester area, where rising rates of poverty, crime 
and substance abuse are major risks to family life and 
healthy childhood development. To help strengthen families 
and stimulate positive early learning, we sponsor a weekly 
#LovePlayTalk radio programme and monthly ECD workshops 
for local teachers and principals. The Breede Valley Young 
Child Forum, a collaborative initiative which the Foundation 
established in 2019, continues to mobilise its various 
stakeholders to co-create an environment in Worcester 
that is conducive to healthy early childhood development. 
In addition: 
•	 The DO MORE FOUNDATION established the 
#DoMorePlay toy-making programme in partnership with 
the Breede Valley Association for Persons with Disabilities 
and a corporate partner. The programme is giving 
20 differently-abled youth an opportunity to earn an 
income while making high-quality educational toys for 
ECD centres. (Refer to 
 13).
•	 74 ECD centres were assisted in applying for the 
Presidential ECD Stimulus Package, and PPE was provided 
to help with centres’ safe re-opening after the lockdown.
•	 Monthly educational workshops for members of the 
Young Child Forum continued throughout the lockdown.
NKOMAZI –  
“LEAVE NO YOUNG CHILD BEHIND”
ENRICHING COMMUNITIES CONTINUED
The #DoMorePlay programme 
not only gives vulnerable young 
children an opportunity to 
learn through play, but it gives 
marginalised youth a chance to 
generate an income and turn 
‘‘waste’’ into lasting value.
WORCESTER –  
“A PLACE WHERE YOUNG CHILDREN FLOURISH”
The collaborative, multi-stakeholder “Leave No Young Child 
Behind” initiative was established in 2015 in the two poorest 
wards of the Nkomazi municipality where our Malalane 
sugar mill is located. It aims to help improve the wellbeing 
of young children through the joint implementation of the 
National Integrated Early Childhood Development Policy, 
which envisages every young South African child having access 
to key essential services by 2030. In 2019 an independent 
research report found this collaborative initiative to have 
catalysed meaningful progress in seven strategic service 
areas targeted by the policy. Highlights from 2021 include:
•	 Components of the tried and tested “Leave No Young 
Child Behind” implementation model are in the process 
of being replicated at other DO MORE FOUNDATION sites 
such as Pongola.
•	 The initiative entered a new phase of growth in 2021, 
extending its work to a further six wards comprising  
57 ECD programmes. This brings to eight the number of 
wards it works in, benefiting a total of 81 ECD programmes. 
•	 The DO MORE FOUNDATION has extended its nutritional 
support in Nkomazi to unregistered ECD centres, enabling 
an additional 500 young children to receive a daily meal 
of DO MORE Porridge on weekdays. 
•	 91 ECD programmes were assisted to apply for the 
Presidential ECD Stimulus Package, and PPE was provided 
to enable their safe reopening after the lockdown. 
NKOMAZI SEWING 
GROUP
A sewing group has been established in Nkomazi, made  up 
mainly of young people. Through the DO MORE FOUNDATION 
they received a donation of six industrial sewing machines as 
well as fabric to produce their first 3 000 masks. These were 
produced at cost and donated to ECD programmes in the 
Nkomazi area to help them re-open after the lockdown.

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37
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
As a large food business that spans from farm to fork, we have an 
extensive environmental footprint. How we manage our environmental 
impacts and utilise scarce natural resources has a direct impact on our 
ability to provide More Food to More People, More Often. We strive 
to see and do things differently in order to reduce our use of non-
renewable energy and fresh water, and to minimise the waste we send 
to landfills by diverting as much as possible into “new” value streams in 
line with circular economy principles. Our efforts in this space contribute 
to Goals 6, 11, 12 and 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals.   
HOW WE PLAN TO STEP CHANGE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENERGY
WATER
WASTE
Our  
Ambition
To become an
energy self-sufficient* 
business by supporting
the generation of 
renewable resources
To become a water-
smart business by seeking 
new ways to reuse, reduce 
and “create” water in our 
operations
To become a waste-free 
business by minimising our 
waste to landfill and exploring 
ways to turn waste into value
Our  
Targets
50% electricity  
self-sufficiency by 2025
50% coal reduction
by 2025
50% water reduction 
in Chicken Processing  
by 2025
30% improvement  
in water use efficiency for 
Sugar Agriculture by 2023
60% water reduction  
in logistics warehousing 
by 2025
Zero waste to landfill  
by 2025 at our operations
100% of plastic packaging 
to be reusable, recyclable or 
compostable 
70% of recyclable plastic  
to be recycled
30% average post-consumer 
resin (PCR) content across 
all plastics packaging
*  Energy self-sufficiency refers to the difference between total energy consumed in a year and the amount we 
produce through our own generation. Since most of our own generation comes from post-processing by products, 
the amount can fluctuate year-on-year depending on processing volumes.
3.1  More energy self-sufficient operations
Our ambition is to become an energy self-sufficient business.  
CO-GENERATION 
WASTE-TO-VALUE
SOLAR
RENEWABLE ENERGY GENERATION
1
2
3
SELF-SUFFICIENCY 
WITHIN BUSINESS UNITS
Chicken processing plants 
and sugar mills
GROUP  
SELF-SUFFICIENT 
Maximum wheeling  
(intra-Group)
EXPORT 
Maximise energy 
 production and use  
“trading platform”
OUR THREE-PHASE IMPLEMENTATION
SUSTAINING RESOURCES
Electricity is a critical input in our agriculture, processing and distribution chain. Power interruptions – whether in the form 
of planned load shedding or unplanned external infrastructural failures – pose a risk to staff, equipment and production, 
with negative consequences for sustainable, affordable food supply. At the same time, we recognise the need to reduce our 
dependence on unsustainable fossil fuel-based power by reducing our usage and generating renewable energy through 
our operations. 
Our ambition is to become energy self-sufficient and ultimately export power to the national grid.
Our Energy Roadmap identifies practical, quantifiable opportunities to achieve energy self-sufficiency, ensure price 
certainty and secure long-term energy supply to our business. 
We have identified three focus areas that will enable us to achieve our future electricity requirement: Co-generation at our 
Sugar mills, Waste-to-Value (W2V) at our Worcester and Rustenburg Chicken Processing operations, and rooftop Solar 
Photovoltaic (PV). Our approach is to first work towards self-sufficiency in a business unit, then in the wider business, and 
finally to export excess energy through a trading platform. 
3
OUR CO-GENERATION, W2V AND SOLAR PROJECTS PROVIDED US WITH A TOTAL OF 160 GWH 
OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN 2021.

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39
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
TOTAL ENERGY CONSUMPTION 
INCLUDING RENEWABLES (GWh)
Purchased (Eskom)
526.0
Co-generation
145.0
W2V
13.5
Solar
1.3
Total
685.8
SUSTAINING RESOURCES CONTINUED
OUR RENEWABLE 
ENERGY GENERATION 
IN 2021
CO-GENERATION 
Bagasse, an energy-dense by-product of sugar production, is 
used to create renewable energy at our sugar mills through 
a process known as co-generation. The electricity generated 
powers our sugar manufacturing process and a portion is also 
sold externally. 
•	 158 GWh of electricity was co-generated in 2021, 
a decrease of 9% from the previous year due to lower 
bagasse availability. 
•	 Of this, 145 GWh was used to supply 88% of the sugar 
mills’ electricity requirements while 13 GWh was 
exported to the Coega Industrial Development Zone 
via the Eskom grid. 
WASTE-TO-VALUE (W2V)
We produced 182% more electricity from our W2V plants 
due to the newly completed Rustenburg plant coming on line.  
The plant has yet to reach full capacity owing to a slower than 
expected ramp-up due to construction delays and unforeseen 
modifications regarding design changes. Using a biological 
digestion process to turn poultry waste into biogas and heat 
energy, our W2V plants contributed 13.5 GWh of renewable 
energy in 2021. 
SOLAR 
Rooftop solar power generation increased by 509% 
from 218 223 kWh to 1 329 084 kWh (1.3 GWh) in 2021 due to 
new solar PV installations at our Vector Peninsula hub and 
Nelspruit Bakery. Between these and our National Office solar 
installation, they reduce their sites’ respective Eskom demand 
by an annual average of approximately 10% and help to reduce 
generator usage during load shedding. 
GROUP CONSUMPTION (GWh)
2015 
baseline
2019
2020
2021
539
511
536
526
Consumed
Exported
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
CO-GENERATED ELECTRICITY 
CONSUMED AND EXPORTED (GWh) 
22
115
151
173
153
145
19
27
21
13
11%
41%
48%
Logistics
Chicken
Food
BUSINESS UNIT CONSUMPTION (GWh) 
OUR 2021 ENERGY 
PERFORMANCE
Since our energy usage is directly linked to our agricultural, 
manufacturing and distribution output and may therefore vary, 
our main focus is on increasing the efficiency of our energy 
consumption across our operations. This involves measuring 
and managing our energy usage and implementing reduction 
and optimisation initiatives where feasible.  
ELECTRICITY 
In 2021 our total purchased (Eskom) electricity use 
was 2% lower. 
•	 Our Food Division used 0.2% less electricity mainly 
due to an electricity savings campaign in Sugar. 
•	 Our Chicken Division used 6% less electricity due 
to lower usage in Chicken Agriculture. 
•	 Our Vector Logistics Division used 7% more electricity 
due to its expanded network.

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41
OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
GROUP CONSUMPTION (kℓ)
2018
2019
2020
2021
26 435
27 664
28 548
27 294
38%
62%
Chicken
Food 
BUSINESS UNIT CONSUMPTION (tons) 
GROUP CONSUMPTION (tons)
2015 
baseline
2019
2020
2021
183 444
176 540
171 419
175 533
37%
21%
42%
Logistics 
Chicken 
Food
BUSINESS UNIT CONSUMPTION (kℓ)
Being a food company, we consider the safety and wholesomeness of our products to be our highest priority. 
Water plays a critical role in producing the quality foods we sell, in maintaining the cleanliness of our facilities, and 
is a key input in our agricultural operations. Against this backdrop, we recognise the need to conserve water in 
view of increasing water scarcity linked to climate change. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, water 
withdrawals in South Africa are expected to exceed water renewals by 2025 – five years ahead of the global trend. 
This poses a significant risk given the current crisis in water service provision driven by inadequate planning and 
maintenance by the country’s water authorities and providers.  
To reduce our water consumption, we have initiated a number of water-saving, reuse and education initiatives in 
various parts of our business. These include the work done by water committees; team member education and 
quality inspections; and the introduction and maintenance of reuse systems, reservoir systems and wastewater 
treatment systems. 
DIESEL
In 2021 our total diesel consumption decreased by 4.4% 
against the restated 2020 total (which factors in diesel outputs 
previously not accounted for due to an improvement in the 
reporting process).  
•	 The Food Division reduced its diesel usage by 5% 
mainly owing to lower volumes of sugar cane transported 
to the mills. 
•	 The Chicken Division decreased its diesel usage by 2% 
due to lower volumes in Chicken Agriculture. 
•	 The Logistics Division decreased its diesel usage by 5% 
mainly due to the consolidation of the Imperial Logistics 
Cold Chain (ICL) network into the Vector Logistics network. 
COAL 
Coal is used for steam production and heating purposes 
at our poultry farms, grocery and beverage manufacturing 
facilities and our animal feed, flour and sugar mills. Through the 
implementation of industry standard boiler management 
practices and annual boiler inspections, we ensure that our 
equipment operates safely and efficiently.
In 2021 our coal consumption increased by 2.4%
•	 Our Food Division’s coal consumption increased by 5.6% 
due to our sugar mills having less bagasse available which 
subsequently increased their coal usage.
•	 Our Chicken Division’s consumption decreased by 2.4% 
mainly owing to reduced coal usage in Chicken Agriculture.
3.2  More water-smart operations 
Our ambition is to become a more water-smart business 
that continually seeks new ways to reduce, reuse and 
“create water.”
SUSTAINING RESOURCES CONTINUED
OUR OVERALL WATER USE DECREASED BY 7.5% IN 2021.

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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
DROUGHT-PROOFING OUR SUGAR CANE 
OPERATIONS
South Africa has been experiencing water shortages since 2015, when delayed rainfalls and decreasing dam levels led to the worst 
drought in the country since 1982. Drought-proofing our Sugar Cane operations has been a key priority since then, and we have 
been introducing a combination of water-saving practices to achieve a 30% improvement in water use efficiency by 2023. These 
include green (no burn) harvesting, which allows leaves to remain on fields as mulch to preserve soil moisture; the use of drones, 
satellite imagery and soil moisture probes to allow for better irrigation planning; and the progressive conversion of inefficient 
irrigation systems to sub-surface drip irrigation. 
Sub-surface drip irrigation is the most efficient as it delivers the water close to the cane roots, unlike overhead systems which sprinkle 
it onto the plants and soil from above, resulting in higher water loss due to evaporation. While not all fields can be converted to sub-
surface drip for topographical reasons, we have embarked on a programme to replace our most inefficient overhead systems with 
sub-surface drip irrigation, targeting 80% sub-surface irrigation by 2031. By then we anticipate saving over 3 000 megalitres (Mℓ) 
per year. 
GROUP CONSUMPTION (Mℓ)
2018
2019
2020
2021
5 949
5 537
5 490
5 412
Irrigation system
Water efficiency rating
2015 financial year 
hectares
2021 financial year 
hectares
2031 financial year 
(target) hectares
Floppies
6
403 
165 
0 
Sprinklers
5
750 
609 
93 
Draglines
4
2 002 
897 
0 
Pivots
3
5 914 
5 636 
2 250 
Surface drip
2
2 150 
1 687 
235 
Sub-surface drip
1
1 996 
3 484 
10 002 
Total
 
13 215 
12 478 
12 580 
RAW WATER 
Raw water refers to water from rivers which is used to irrigate 
our sugar cane crops. 
•	 Overall raw water usage was 8% lower in 2021 
while cane yield remained constant, attesting to good 
irrigation management. 
•	 We continued to pursue raw water savings and 
efficiency initiatives in Sugar Agriculture and converted 
nearly 200 hectares to water-efficient irrigation.   
•	 Our raw water use efficiency has been improving by 
an average of 6.3% per year since 2018, which means 
we are on track to reach our 30% target by 2023. 
MUNICIPAL WATER 
To better understand and manage the water risk in our 
manufacturing operations, we conducted a Water Risk Profiling 
and Strategy study at our Grocery facility in Randfontein 
and our Flour Mill in Pretoria in 2019. These studies have 
allowed the plant to manage the “low hanging fruit” or quick-
win opportunities, while budgeting towards more capital 
intensive projects.
Our municipal water consumption in 2021 reduced by 1.4%.
•	 Our Food Division’s water consumption increased by 5% 
owing to the implementation of further cleaning protocols 
in Groceries.
•	 Our Chicken Division’s water consumption decreased 
by 3% due to lower volumes in Chicken Agriculture.
•	 Our Vector Logistics Division’s water consumption increased 
by 11% due to higher volumes in the warehouse network, 
equipment refurbishment at Roodepoort, and temporary 
maintenance-related closure of the municipal grey water 
line at the Peninsula hub.  
PROGRESS AGAINST OUR IRRIGATION CONVERSION PROGRAMME 
IN SUGAR AGRICULTURE
BUSINESS UNIT CONSUMPTION (Mℓ)
3%
80%
17%
Logistics
Chicken
Food
SUSTAINING RESOURCES CONTINUED
OUR 2021 WATER CONSUMPTION
EXPLOIT BUSINESS AS USUAL 
OPPORTUNITIES
EXPLOIT BUSINESS UNUSUAL 
OPPORTUNITIES
DRIVE BRILLIANT BASICS WITHIN THE SUPPLY CHAIN: 
INTERNAL, CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS
RE-THINK TO REDUCE 
Re-think how we produce 
products that have water 
needs, to reduce water 
usage throughout the 
product life cycle
RE-DEFINE FOR ZERO 
WASTE 
Re-define the possibilities 
in obtaining the best 
value from waste water 
by reusing and  
recycling water
RE-INVENT TO CREATE 
Re-invent our 
relationship with 
water by identifying 
opportunities to 
“create water”
DRIVE BRILLIANT BASICS: 
EMPLOYEES
DRIVE BRILLIANT BASICS: 
COMMUNITIES
So far 28% of our fields have been converted to sub-surface drip, with our three cane-growing joint ventures being the focus 
this year. This means that we are currently 35% of the way to reaching our 2031 target of 10 000 hectares (80%) under sub-
surface drip.

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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
“WHAT WILL IT TAKE TO TRANSFORM OUR THROWAWAY ECONOMY INTO ONE WHERE 
WASTE IS ELIMINATED, RESOURCES ARE CIRCULATED, AND NATURE IS REGENERATED?” 
– ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
OUR WASTE 
MANAGEMENT 
APPROACH
We strive to manage all waste generated by our activities in the 
most environmentally responsible way possible. Applying the 
waste management hierarchy, we analyse all types of waste 
material generated to assess options for possible reduction, 
reuse, recycling or recovery options. Waste that cannot be 
channelled back into the circular economy is disposed of at 
licenced waste disposal facilities. 
We have refined and implemented business models that will 
maximise our waste-to-value prospects at two key sites, 
and  we continue to work towards reducing the amount of 
waste sent to landfills.
Having joined the South African Plastics Pact in February last 
year, we have already made significant progress towards 
our 2025 Plastics Packaging Strategy. A key focus for the 
year has been on laying the foundations for RCL FOODS to 
adhere to the new EPR regulations, particularly the Extended 
Producer Responsibility Scheme for Paper, Packaging and 
Some Single-Use Products (R.1187). Producers are required to 
submit EPR Schemes to the Department of Forestry, Fisheries 
and the Environment (DFFE) by 5 November. These will 
need to outline how the annual collection, recycling and PCR 
percentage inclusion targets per material type will be achieved, 
as well as the funding required to do so (i.e. as outlined in the 
Regulation). Once DFFE approves these schemes, EPR levies 
will be charged at different rates per ton per material type 
placed onto the market. Fees will fund closing the gaps that 
currently prevent industry from achieving the EPR targets.
OUR 2021  
WASTE  
PERFORMANCE 
•	 We joined the 10x20x30 initiative to halve food loss 
and waste in the supply chain by 2030. 
•	 90% of our waste was used as energy, converted 
into fertiliser or reused. 
•	 0.5% of our waste was recycled. 
•	 9.5% of our waste was landfilled. 
•	 We continued investigating innovative processes 
and strategic partnerships to divert waste from landfill 
into alternative value streams.
	
– Production waste from the Speciality and Pies 
operating units was diverted to pig farmers, 
reducing waste sent to landfill as well as saving on 
waste disposal costs.
	
– Production waste from poultry farms is being 
diverted to a composting facility, reducing potential 
landfill waste by more than 105 760 tons. 
•	 We continued to optimise waste contracts and align 
them across sites. 
•	 We continue to update our packaging design to include 
recycling statements such as “Care for the environment. 
Dispose of packaging responsibly.” We are also increasing 
the number of products featuring retailer-approved  
On-Pack Recycling Labels (OPRLs) and Material 
Identification Codes (MICs). 
•	 We moved the needle in all three pillars of our 
Sustainable Packaging Strategy (see following page).
MEASURE  |  MANAGE  |  ELIMINATE
3.3  More waste-free operations
Our ambition is to become a waste-free business that 
continually seeks new ways to turn waste into value.
SUSTAINING RESOURCES CONTINUED
UPSTREAM WASTE:  
Raw material packaging
DOWNSTREAM 
CONSUMER/CUSTOMER:
Product and packaging
RCL FOODS WASTE
OUR SUPPLY CHAIN WASTE:
Site-based waste management
PRE-RCL FOODS
POST-RCL FOODS
South Africa’s waste generation continues to increase, and significant volumes of waste are still being 
diverted to landfill rather than being retained in the circular economy. Producers of products can help 
protect natural resources and develop green economies by taking the entire product life cycle into account 
– from raw material extraction through product design and utilisation, and ultimately, recovery and recycling 
or reuse. 
This is the principle behind the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations which extend the 
financial and physical responsibility for a product to the “producer” of that product (such as food companies), 
which importantly includes the post-consumer stage (waste disposal).
OUR WASTE MANAGEMENT APPROACH AND FOCUS AREAS

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OUR SUSTAINABLE IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
Every day tons of plastic waste makes its way into 
the environment where it lives for hundreds of years, 
polluting land and water and threatening all forms of life. 
A large part of this is due to the disposal of single-use 
plastics which make up half of all plastic produced. In 
order to stem the rising tide of plastic and other waste, 
South Africa has introduced mandatory Extended 
Producer Responsibility (EPR) which makes producers 
of food and goods responsible for the treatment and 
disposal of certain waste types. Among other things, this 
means that producers will have to pay EPR levies per ton 
of every type of plastic and packaging material that they 
put into the South African market. Understanding and 
responding to the new regulations requires a whole new 
level of adaptation, innovation and collaboration across 
the food industry – and that is exactly what the last few 
months have been about. 
Since June 2020 RCL FOODS has attended and 
contributed to a plethora of working forums aimed at 
providing constructive feedback to the Department 
of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) on 
revisions required to finalise a realistic set of regulations 
around the management of waste in South Africa. This 
engagement, together with our South African Plastics 
CASE STUDY
SUSTAINING RESOURCES BY  
RELOOKING AT PLASTIC WASTE
Pact membership as an enabling platform, has positioned 
us to respond proactively to the new EPR regulations 
legislated on 5 May 2021, with a view to complying with 
their requirements by 5 November 2021. 
As a business we are now far clearer on the impact of 
our packaging portfolio on the environment. We have 
initiated a number of projects focusing on improving 
recyclability rates, procuring from sustainable sources, 
including post-consumer materials in transit packaging 
like pallets, and on-pack recycle labelling (OPRLs). 
We  have also increased engagement with our waste 
service providers and packaging convertors to support 
us in our efforts. 
The task ahead to reach the EPR Regulation’s collection, 
recycling and PCR inclusion targets in the next five years 
will require robust collaboration between all industry 
stakeholders, as well as internally via our cross-functional 
teams supported by our 12-member Packaging Forum. 
In doing so we will make a positive impact on reducing 
the 111 million tons of plastics, packaging, electrical and 
lighting waste generated in South Africa each year – 
not  to mention further supporting the R24,3 billion 
“waste economy” which provides income for over 
100 000 formal and informal workers.
OUR SUSTAINABLE 
PACKAGING JOURNEY 
OUR APPROACH TO PACKAGING 
Packaging plays a key role in our business – it is used to contain, 
protect, preserve, transport, differentiate and sell our products, 
and it plays a key role in communicating with and educating 
consumers. At the same time, we understand the need to 
reduce the pre- and post-consumer environmental impact of 
our packaging. For this reason, we strive for best-purpose 
packaging that holistically balances food waste versus 
packaging waste, while still providing affordable food 
offerings to our consumers. 
OUR PLASTICS PACKAGING 
SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY  
Our Plastics Packaging Sustainability Strategy to 2025 
is based on the principles of the New Plastics Economy as 
proposed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. These are the 
basis of the global Plastics Pact initiative in which we are 
participating as a signatory of the South African Plastics Pact 
(SAPP). The three pillars of our strategy are directly aligned to 
SAPP, and aim to:
•	 Eliminate the plastics we don’t need – by identifying and 
developing alternatives to problematic items, and reducing 
unnecessary weight where possible while maintaining food 
safety as a priority; 
•	 Innovate to ensure that the plastics we use are reusable or 
100% recyclable, and that 70% of those plastics are actually 
recycled; and
•	 Circulate all the plastic items we use to keep them in the 
economy and out of the environment, which includes an 
average 30% PCR content in all packaging. 
Our Plastics Packaging Roadmap articulates the steps in our 
journey towards these ambitions.
OUR PACKAGING PROGRESS IN 2021
•	 We have completed a company-wide packaging footprint 
calculation tool. This will allow us to review dashboards 
showing the tonnages of each type of packaging material 
we consume, as well as its levels of compliance in terms 
of our ambitions. Being able to measure our packaging 
portfolio will enable us to better manage our progress 
towards achieving the DFFE’s legislated targets for EPR 
collection, recycling and PCR inclusion. 
•	 We engaged with 80 of our packaging convertors 
to share our approach to EPR, identify possible 
collaboration opportunities and facilitate training on the 
new EPR Regulations.
•	 We are engaging with a number of Producer 
Responsibility Organisations (PROs) – including Petco, 
Polyco, Vinyl Loop, the Polystyrene Association of South 
Africa (PASA) and Fibre Circle – with regard to formulating 
EPR schemes that will ensure an increase in collection 
and recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), 
polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene and fibre 
paperboard packaging. 
•	 We have initiated projects in each of the three pillars 
of our Plastics Packaging Sustainability Strategy.  
For example, we are: 
	
– Eliminating certain undesirable materials such as PVC 
and non-recyclable multi-material packaging by using 
other materials like PET and converting multi-materials 
to single materials. This will equate to an annual 
reduction of 60 tons of PVC, 90 tons of plastic laminate 
and six tons of self-adhesive labels.
	
– Innovating to find solutions to replace non-recyclable 
laminate films used to package our Pet Food products, 
as well as trialling compostable meat tray liners 
(potentially reducing the amount of non-biodegradable 
waste sent to landfill by 30 tons).
	
– Circulating the packaging we produce by adding OPRLs, 
responsible disposal instructions and MICs as new 
packaging is introduced; collaborating with our label 
suppliers to reclaim all “backing paper” from self-adhesive 
label rolls; diverting plastic “write-off” materials from 
landfill into end-of-life solutions such as plastic pallets; 
designing for recycling to ensure materials retain 
their value as far as possible for upcycling; and actively 
collaborating with Vinyl Loop to trial new recycling 
technology for current labelled PVC clear overwrap 
that would otherwise go to landfill. All this equates to a 
potential further 172 tons of material diverted from landfill 
per annum. We are also collaborating with shrink sleeve 
suppliers and recyclers to establish solutions to PET 
sleeved PET jars, which are currently not recycled.
We have initiated projects 
in each of the three pillars 
of our Plastics Packaging 
Sustainability Strategy.
SUSTAINING RESOURCES CONTINUED

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49
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR CARBON 
DISCLOSURE
REVIEW
OUR CARBON 
DISCLOSURE REVIEW
50
QUALITY ASSURANCE 
OF OUR CARBON 
FOOTPRINT 
ASSESSMENT
50
OUR 2021 CARBON 
FOOTPRINT
50
CARBON DISCLOSURE 
PROJECT (CDP) 
CLIMATE CHANGE 
SURVEY
50
We maintained our  
CDP score of B for  
Climate Change in 2020.

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51
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
We conducted our 2020 Carbon Disclosure Review internally and our results 
were verified by an external assurance specialist. This was our fifth carbon 
footprint review since our baseline assessment in 2015, which was the first 
full year in which data was available for all our divisions as a single company.
QUALITY ASSURANCE OF OUR CARBON 
FOOTPRINT ASSESSMENT
We reported on our review findings using the standard international methodology for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) corporate 
accounting and reporting, namely the World Business Council for Sustainable Development/World Resources Institute GHG 
Protocol for Corporate Accounting Standards. We then commissioned an independent party to perform a gap analysis of 
our Carbon Footprint Inventory and verify the statements we made about our GHG emissions. This verification process 
assessed the alignment of our procedures and methodologies to the above protocol, as well as the technical correctness of 
the quantification procedures/methodologies of our GHG Inventory.
The GHG Protocol requires businesses to report on both direct emissions and indirect emissions resulting from purchased 
electricity. All other indirect emissions can be reported on a voluntary basis. 
OUR CARBON  
DISCLOSURE REVIEW
OUR 2021 CARBON 
FOOTPRINT
Our 2021 CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) for scope 1 and 
2 emissions was 1 056 000 tons.
•	 Our Scope 1 GHG emissions (direct emissions from 
our operations) were 509 265 tons CO2e.
•	 Our Scope 2 emissions (indirect emissions from use 
of purchased electricity) were 547 122 tons CO2e.
CARBON DISCLOSURE 
PROJECT (CDP) 
CLIMATE CHANGE 
SURVEY 
The CDP runs an annual survey of the world’s leading businesses 
in terms of their management of climate change impacts, water 
security and forests. The South African CDP surveys the top 100 
JSE-listed companies. RCL FOODS maintained its B rating for 
Climate Change in 2020 and scored a B- for Water Security. We 
scored a C for the Forests survey, participating in this section 
for the first time. 
0,0
0,2
0,4
0,6
0,8
1,0
1,2
CARBON FOOTPRINT IN MILLION TONS OF CO2e 
(Scope 1 and 2)
2018
2019
2020
2021
2017
Scope 1
Scope 2

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OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
We need to safeguard our 
environment by using natural 
resources effectively and 
limiting the negative impacts  
of our operations and those 
of our suppliers.
OUR APPROACH  
TO ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
54

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55
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR  
CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR  
BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR APPROACH  
TO ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY 
In order to keep providing More Food to More People, More Often, we know 
we need to safeguard our environment by using natural resources effectively 
and limiting the negative impacts of our operations and those of our 
suppliers. Our efforts in this regard are governed by our Group Environmental 
Policy which promotes shared responsibility and accountability amongst our 
stakeholders, including employees and suppliers. This policy applies across 
all operations and functions linked to our business, including situations 
where employees and contractors work off-site. The environmental policy 
is available to RCL FOODS employees on our intranet.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
When considering potential facility upgrades or new investments, we carry out Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) 
where required by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (DRDLR) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries 
and Environment (DFFE). These enable us to carefully consider the proposed investments’ impact on the local environment 
by including comments and input from affected parties and other interested stakeholders. The construction of such projects 
is conducted according to an Environmental Management Plan which assists in minimising negative environmental impacts.
OUR APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL AIR QUALITY
We have an established protocol in place for managing environmental air quality across our business. This ensures that the 
environment is safeguarded by providing reasonable measures to protect and enhance air quality and prevent air pollution and 
ecological degradation. Given the impact of vehicle emissions on the environment, we maintain and replace all vehicles on a 
regular basis to minimise both emissions and fuel wastage.
GOVERNANCE
ECONOMIC 
DEVELOPMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL 
IMPACT 
ASSESSMENT

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OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
“We need to relook at 
our practices – see things 
differently – to ensure  
that we are not creating  
one-sided value and  
extracting more than we 
put back.” – Miles Dally
OUR  
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL 
AND SOCIAL REVIEW
58
OUR VALUE-ADDED 
SUMMARY
59
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, 
SOCIAL AND 
GOVERNANCE 
(ESG) DATA
60

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59
OUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL  
AND SOCIAL REVIEW
OUR VALUE-ADDED 
SUMMARY
Unit of
 measure
June
2021
June
2020*
Environmental performance indicators
Water consumption (municipal)
Mℓ
5 412
5 490
Energy consumption:
– electricity (Eskom) 
GWh
526
536
– electricity (own-generated consumption)
 GWh
160
159
– coal 
tons
175 533
171 419
– gas 
tons
4 989
5 015
– diesel 
kℓ
27 294
28 548
Recycled waste products:
– cardboard waste (includes paper)
 tons
4 213
5 925
– plastic waste
 tons
617
574
– scrap metal and timber
 tons
663
403
– treated water discharged to municipality 
Mℓ
2 699
2 550
– treated water as a percentage of total water consumption 
%
50
46
Non-compliance, prosecution and fines 
R’000
7 648
824
Social performance indicators
Total employees (permanent and temporary)
21 304
20 823
Net full-time increase/(decrease)
481
(223)
Bargaining unit employees

%
75
75
Training spend: 
– Training budget
 Rm
36
36
– Training spend
 Rm
32,6
31,8
– Total hours of training 
234 670
309 248
– Average hours per employee
25
31
– Number of employees trained
9 251
9 821
– Number of employees on Learnerships 
241
247
– Number of employees on Apprenticeships 
79
96
– Number of Interns
69
39
– Percentage of Learnership, Apprenticeship and Internship candidates that are ACI
%
81
99
Disabling injury frequency rate**:
– Groceries
1.13 
1.11
– Baking
1.06 
1.61
– Sugar
0.68 
1.22
– Chicken
1.55 
1.47
– Vector Logistics
0.99 
0.85
Number of working days lost through strike action or work stoppages
203
0
Corporate Social Investment spend
Rm
7,8
9
*  Certain prior year figures have been restated to align with current year definitions 
** Any injury resulting in lost time of 1 to 14 days
REVENUE (‘000)
R31 687 850
(2020: R27 803 611)
PAID TO  
SUPPLIERS (‘000)
R23 847 243
(2020: R21 067 415)
DIVIDEND  
RECEIVED (‘000)
R96 046
(2020: R69 197)
FINANCE 
INCOME (‘000)
R37 053
(2020: R53 457)
PROVIDERS OF CAPITAL
REINVESTED IN THE BUSINESS
TOTAL VALUE-ADDED (R’000)
R7 973 706
(2020: R6 858 850)
EMPLOYEES 
Salaries, wages & benefits 
R5 279 384
(2020: R4 945 116) 
FUNDERS 
Interest 
R326 161
(2020: R508 186)
GOVERNMENT 
TaxX 
R338 824
(2020: CREDIT  
OF R155 780)
DEPRECIATION,  
AMORTISATION AND 
IMPAIRMENT
R932 330
(2020: R2 441 834)
RETAINED (LOSS)/ 
EARNINGS
R871 691
(2020: R1 012 050)
Value
Allocation
%
66.2%
4.1%
2.8%
4.3%
11.7%
10.9%
ALLOCATED AS FOLLOWS (IN R’000)
SHAREHOLDERS 
Dividend 
R225 316
(2020: R221 751)

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OUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
60
To enhance the comparability and transparency of our reporting, we have included a comprehensive Environmental, Social and 
Governance (ESG) data table.
GOVERNANCE
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Number of Board Members
Number
13
14
13
12
Number of Board Members who are deemed  
non-Executive
Number
11
12
11
10
Number of Board Members who are deemed Executive
Number
2
2
2
2
Number of Prescribed Officers (Note: Persons who are 
not already counted as “Executives”)
Number
0
0
0
0
Number of Board Members who are deemed 
“Independent”
Number
7
8
7
6
Number of Board Members who are African, Coloured  
or Indian (ACI)
Number
5
5
5
4
Number of Board Members who are Women
Number
3
3
3
2
Average Length of Executive Director Service (in years)
Number
17
16
15
14
Average Length of Non-Executive Director Service 
(in years)
Number
9
8
8
7
Average Length of Director (full Board) Service (in years)
Number
10
9
9
9
Average Age of Directors (in years)
Number
56
57
56
55
Overall Board and Committee Meeting attendance
%
97.2
93.8
92.5
97.1
Length of Current Auditor's service (in years)
Number
17
16
15
14
Independence of Board Chairman
Y/N
No
No
No
No
Publicly available policy on Board Conflicts of Interest  
and Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs)
Y/N
In Code of 
Ethics
Yes
Yes
Yes
Public disclosure on any/all Board member  
conflicts of interest
Y/N
No
No
No
No
Public disclosure on any/all Board members  
deemed a PEP
Y/N
No
No
No
No
Signed publicly available Climate Related Financial 
Disclosures, as per TCFD
Y/N
No
No
No
No
Publicly available human rights policy
Y/N
No
No
No
No
ESG included into service level agreements with suppliers
Y/N
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Formal audit of suppliers and contractors for ESG 
compliance (including human rights)
Y/N
No
No
No
No
Shareholders vote (binding) on executive remuneration
Y/N/P
Non-binding
Non-binding
Non-binding
Non-binding
Shareholders vote (binding) on sustainability-related 
resolutions
Y/N
No
No
No
No
Public disclosure of voting record on sustainability-
related resolutions
Y/N
No
No
No
No
LABOUR (RCL FOODS employees only) 
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Number of Permanent Employees
Number
20 547
19 824
20 210
19 858
Number of Temporary Employees
Number
757
999
836
723
Total Employees 
Number
21 304
20 823
21 046
20 581
Percentage of Management (Top and Senior)  
who are ACI
%
26
25
21
15
Percentage of Management (Top and Senior)  
who are women
%
8
8
7
8
Percentage of Employees who are ACI
%
94
94
93
93
Percentage of Employees who are women
%
32
32
32
33
Percentage of Employees who are permanent
%
96
95
96
96
Percentage of Employees who belong to a trade union
%
46
50
52
55
Number of Employee Terminations*
Number
1 958
2 114
2 699
2 964
Employee Turnover Rate
%
10.0
10.0
13.0
15.00
Number of Person Hours Worked**   
– all employees and contractors 
Number
41 710 900
40 903 662
41 341 644
40 220 546
Number of Person Days Lost Due to Absenteeism
Number
40 074
37 498
41 306
53 877
Absenteeism Rate***
%
0.8
0.7
0.8
1.0
Number of Person Days Lost Due to Industrial Action 
(including work stoppages)
Number
203
0
571
4 919
Industrial Action Rate****
%
0.004
0.00
0.01
0.1
Number of Employees Trained
Number
9 251
9 821
10 169
11 792
Percentage of Employees Trained 
%
45
50
50
59
Rand value of Employee Training Spend
Rand
32 595 704
31 807 415
44 398 199
39 945 020
*	
Includes resignation, retirement, retrenchment, dismissal, death, disability or other
**    Total employees X 187 hours X 12 months X 86%
***   Percentage of person days lost due to absenteeism
**** Percentage of person days lost due to industrial action
HEALTH AND SAFETY 
(RCL FOODS employees only)
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
Number of Fatalities (injuries on duty leading to death)
Number
0
1
1
Number of Disabling Injuries (DI)*
Number
370
385
345
Total Number of Reportable Injuries (RI)**
Number
71
91
68
Fatal Injury Frequency Rate (FIFR)
Rate
0
0.003
0.003
Disabling Injury Frequency Rate (DIFR)
Rate
1.14
1.08
1.12
Total Reportable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR)
Rate
0.22
0.25
0.27
DIFR and TRIFR target
Rate
1 and 0.5
1 and 0.5
1 and 0.5
*	 DI: Any injury resulting in lost time of one day to 14 days 
**	 RI: Fatalities, loss of limb, and any injury where employee is unable to work for 14 days
OUR ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL 
AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) DATA

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
62
63
OUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
OUR 
PERFORMANCE 
INDICATORS
OUR 
APPROACH TO 
ENVIRONMENTAL 
SUSTAINABILITY
OUR CARBON 
DISCLOSURE 
REVIEW 
OUR BUSINESS  
AT A GLANCE
OUR  
SUSTAINABLE 
IMPACT UNPACKED
OUR ESG DATA CONTINUED
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Carbon footprint
Scope 1
tCO2e
509 265
500 066
520 795
504 235
Scope 2
tCO2e
547 122
557 724
531 699
499 514
Carbon Emissions – Scope 1 and 2
tCO2e
1 056 388
1 057 790
1 052 494
1 003 749
Carbon Efficiency
tCO2e/PHW
0.025
0.026
0.025
0.025
Note: The 2020 figures have been restated owing to delayed reporting due to COVID-19.
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Water
Total Water Consumption (excluding raw water)
Mℓ
6 072
6 190
6 348
6 854
Total Municipal Water Consumption
Mℓ
5 412
5 490
5 537
5 949
Total Borehole Consumption
Mℓ
661
700
811
905
Total Raw Water Consumption
Mℓ
119 145
129 205
141 424
132 399
Total Volume of Water Discharged
Mℓ
2 721
2 550
2 524
2 683
Water Efficiency
m3/PHW
3.002
3.310
3.574
3.462
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Waste
Total Volume of Non-Hazardous Waste Sent to Landfill
Tons
81 038
75 303
64 624
95 637
Total Volume of Hazardous Waste Sent to Appropriate 
Disposal Sites
Tons
359
863
21
2 123
Total Waste from Poultry Farms
Tons
129 756
118 528
125 066
145 885
Total Waste from Sugarcane Farms
Tons
NA
NA
NA
NA
Total Volume of Waste Recycled
Tons
4 037
3 674
2 643
2 274
Percentage of Waste Converted to Energy,  
Fertiliser or Reused 
%
90
90
92
87
Percentage of Waste Recycled
%
0.5
0.5
0.3
0.3
Percentage of Waste Diverted from Landfill 
%
90.3
90.6
91.9
87.6
Total Volume of Waste
Tons
835 753
799 619
801 226
773 390
Waste Efficiency
Tons/PHW
0.020
0.020
0.019
0.019
ENVIRONMENTAL
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Energy
 
 
 
 
 
Total Petrol Consumption
kilolitres
65 533
56 396
67 191
62 522
Total Diesel Consumption*
kilolitres
27 294
28 548
27 664
26 435
Total Volume of Electricity Purchased
GWh
526
536
511
525
Total Volume of Electricity Self-Generated (produced)
GWh
178
181
203
178
Total Volume of Electricity Self-Generated (consumed)
GWh
160
159
175
158
Total Electricity Consumption  
(purchased and self-generated)
GWh
686
696
686
684
Total Coal Consumption
Tons
175 534
171 419
176 540
173 455
* Historical diesel figures updated to include all diesel consumption (all owned, third party and hired transport and stationary diesel)
CSI/SED EXPENDITURES
Unit of 
Measure
2021
2020
2019
2018
Corporate Social Investment (CSI)/Socioeconomic 
Development (SED) expenditures
Rand
7 808 088
9 000 000
12 300 000
15 400 000
Enterprise Development
Enterprise Development Spend
Rand
15 686 142
9 918 702
8 247 346
8 709 610
Procurement
B-BBEE Compliant Spend
Rand
11 823 635 900
7 212 546 991
6 339 678 202
4 133 907 895

RCL FOODS LIMITED  SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS REPORT 2021
64
NOTES
www.rclfoods.com