OUR SUSTAINABILITY UPDATE - OUR PLANS - OUR FUTURE

SUSTAINABILITY

Working with the fabulous team at Sustainable X we have crafted our progress to date and our plans for continued improvements over the next few years as we head towards net zero. Rondi & Nick have done a great job in supporting my teams in capturing & driving that vision.

Also huge thanks to David at Net Zero International for his super and approachable carbon footprint calculator and his wonderful support in equally our understanding of how to continue to make a positive difference.

Finally nothing would have been achieved nor could our future goals be met without Aleks, Fraser, Mike, Trevor, Lindsey, Stuart, Oliver, Heather and our amazing support office and heroes in our sites - they are a constant inspiration for me.

Communications content

To progress our sustainability, we have completed an impact materiality assessment based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We are now progressing a phased action plan to improve our impacts.?Our approach focuses our resources and effort on four pillars that link our major impact areas:

1.??????Support and develop our great people

2.??????Take positive and proactive sustainability action

3.??????Evolve our products

4.??????Contribute to customers and community initiatives

1.?????Support and develop our people

Our business depends on having great people, so that we can deliver the levels of service our customers expect.

Having an increasingly diverse team as we grow is a key element of sustaining this position.?This gives us insights and perspectives into our diverse customer base.?We also need to keep building our good practice and evidence being an excellent employer.?This will allow us to retain and attract quality people we need to sustainably develop Hana Group.

Continuous Development

At Hana Group we take training and upskilling our people very seriously. We conduct a robust induction program, across all roles within the business. We monitor our training hours on a weekly basis.

We have created a ‘University of Sushi’ in Leadenhall to train core teams on all relevant skills for our businesses to maintain its exceptionally high standards. Every employee received a Training passport to consolidate their learning.

We will continue to add more value-added training to our development program in 2022.

Living Wage employer and Benefits

Our people represent our brand, and we rely on them to maintain our high standards. Therefore, it is only right that they are rewarded for their contribution and their loyalty. We have signed up as a Living Wage employer and have a benefits structure which is progressive and rewards loyalty to the business. ?

As a dynamic business we benchmark our benefits with others and communicate what we offer to our employees on a regular basis. This is important to us to retain the best and the brightest at Hana.

Mental health

Mental health awareness is extremely important to us, and there has never been a more pressing time to focus on this than during the pandemic.

We offer a full suite of support tools and programmes designed to ensure our colleagues take care of their mental wellbeing, which include

-?????????Employee assistance programme that provides direct access to councillors and therapists remotely, for all colleagues and their families

-?????????Occupational Health support for those that are struggling with their mental health in the workplace

-?????????Ongoing wellbeing initiatives that include advice, resources and virtual classes to encourage improved mental health

-?????????UK now has several qualified mental health first aiders with more to follow in 2022

2022 will see us evolve our wellbeing strategy with mental health remaining a key focus.?

Flexibility

As an employer, we believe that our team needs to have the appropriate work life balance as well as work for a company who can provide options as when life throws a curve ball.

Our systems enable us to offer flexible shifts with our team members being able to swap shifts with colleagues without prior management approval.

Giving back

We established a Hana Group Foundation in 2020 to support our dedicated team if they come up against personal challenges.

During 2021 we were able to utilise the foundation for our employees and directly support them financially when they needed it most. We are committed to our foundation and will continue to run our programme into the future.

Team Loyalty

We have a desire to retain our team and build a high level of loyalty and experience in our business. Recent external Economic conditions with the pandemic and the labour market has proven this to be challenging for us.

To address this issue, in 2021 we completed a review of our pay and benefits structure to reward our long-term employees for their commitment as well as financially incentivising employees to stick with us.

Internal Promotions

We pride ourselves on being a progressive employer with clear structures and career progression opportunity for our whole team. In 2021 over 90% of our leadership roles were filled internally.

Diversity of the team

2021 was a challenging year as an employer as many of our diverse team took the opportunity and, in some cases, they had a necessity to travel back to their originating countries. We are proud however to employ predominantly Asian, European, Irish & British workforce.

Gender and the Pay gap

We actively report our gender split and the gender pay gap in our business.

Overall, in our stores we had 29% of male colleagues and 71% of female colleagues as of snapshot April 2021 and in our senior leadership teams in our support office and area teams at same time calculate 13 male and 12 female colleagues with executive team of four all males.

The median pay rates in stores at snapshot in April 2021 for male colleagues was ￡10.69 and female colleagues ￡10.37 offering similar rates. More female colleagues received bonus (74.2% against 69.5% of male colleagues) closing gap on median bonus of 2%, despite the bonus mean is still favourable to our male colleagues.

This is a considerable improvement overall compared to previous year and we continue to focus on this all-important area closing gap across group.

Employee Voice

Communication with our employees is a key pillar in our future success. Our quarterly 360° feedback survey ensures that we are listening to our teams and customers and can align our shared vision. The Hana Yoobic system allows constant communication with our sites and news feeds with good news stories shared between employees.

Engagement survey

In 2020 we commissioned a detailed employee survey with over 90% of employees engaging. We benchmarked ourselves against similar industries and businesses and created actions plan with the results.

As a result of this survey, we now hold an engagement survey on an annual basis and revise of progresses, policies and benefits in line with the results.

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2.?????Take positive and proactive sustainability action

At Hana Group we have been focussed on making positive environmental and social changes for several years.

In 2021 we recognised the urgency of the Climate Emergency and associated ecological limits.?Hana Group invested in professional support to accelerate our progress on creating positive impacts while minimising and offsetting any harm we cause.

It has been pleasing to recognise the achievements and progress we have made to date, while recognising the many challenges and opportunities we face.?Hana Group are focusing on our major impact areas while remaining open to opportunities to progress on all fronts.

Carbon footprint and reduction plan

We are delighted that 2021 will be our baseline year for Carbon footprint. We are partnering with Net Zero International who are supporting us to create science based and credible targets for our path towards net zero.

As a result of our Carbon Footprinting baseline exercise we will undertake a detailed review and focus on what more we can do to reduce our Impact. ?As we grow it is important to measure our Carbon Emissions intensity to ensure we are progressing towards Net Zero.

Consider meaningful Offsetting

As we set out on ambitious Carbon reduction plans during 2022, we also want to consider our offsetting strategy for the emissions we cannot avoid in our business. We will consider offsetting programs which can also deliver:

·??????Benefits to local communities

·??????Support habitat

·??????Align to our Supply Chain

Our partners

By the nature of our business, 100% of our sites are co-located within larger sites which are run independently from us. We often do not have influence over the infrastructure or the Waste streams. What we focus on is the great relationships we have with our partners and how we can support common goals and initiatives. Great examples of projects we have worked together on includes reducing energy use via LED lighting and automatic lights and water reduction via tap levers that shut off supply when not used.

Waste reduction

This is an area which has already had a lot of attention due to the clear commercial benefits of being a low waste operation.?Our goal is to minimise waste so there is an ongoing focus area developing software to reduce waste by product line and extending shelf life to allow product to go through food waste reduction partners such as karma & Too Good To Go.

Another long-term challenge for us is packaging which is part of our product evolution pillar.

Our supply Chain

We are proud to report that 100% of our food suppliers have signed our Supplier Code of Conduct by June 2022. We will continue our sustainability journey by collaborating with them on our collective journey to Net Zero.

Our equipment

In the last 18 months we have been proactively changing and upgrading our refrigeration equipment to be more energy efficient and reflect our commitment to reducing our Carbon Emissions. As at the end of 2021 we have completed this renewal program and have 100% of our equipment now at the highest industry standards.

Cloud based solutions

With a significant investment in digital systems, we recognised that the most efficient way to host these with the levels or redundancy and backups appropriate to our sector is in the cloud.?100% of our IT Infrastructure is now cloud based.

Digitalisation

Due to the dispersed nature of our stores and our people, we have invested heavily in our digital platforms. This ensures we can maximise our productivity as well as our mange our inventory and production levels which ultimately reduces our waste.

Our digital platforms are used heavily to communicate with our employees on company matters and news. This is an interactive system and our staff also engage in the live feeds from each store to share successes and news with their colleagues across Hana Group.

Water footprint

Water is a shared resource within catchment areas, and it is important we all do our bit to conserve where we can. We train our employees on water conservation processes as part of our onboarding process,

As we co-share our sites, we know we make up part of a larger picture. We work with our partners to reduce contamination in our water waste streams. We will continue to work to highest common denominator in the targets set by our individual partners

Commuting Footprint

As transport is a key impact on the global carbon emissions challenge, we want to play our part. In Feb 2022 we have begun to incorporated Electric and hybrid vehicles into our fleet and actively incentivise their use.

We will also launch a cycle to work scheme for out site-based employees.?As part of our Carbon Footprint and Carbon reduction planning, we will assess our commuting footprint and endeavour to support our staff to choose the most efficient and environmentally friendly routes to our sites.

Climate risk assessment

As a business, we know if it important not to rest on our laurels but to also think of the risk we might encounter as the world’s climate changes.

Understanding Climate risk and the implications in the food Chain are very important to us. We are educating ourselves on the implications of temperate changes for our key ingredients such as salmon and the various crops we use.?Our sourcing decisions have already started considering these factors.

Recognition

In 2021 our UK managing director, Jason Danciger won the IOD Director of the Year Award for Sustainability. To be externally recognised for our commitment to the sustainability agenda is a great honour but also ensures we have a public commitment to continue our journey.

3.?????Evolve our products

Our product design and ingredient procurement drive many of our major sustainability impacts.?Coupled with this is changing consumer eating habits and purchasing criteria.

Hana Group is striving to understand and cater for the changing demands, while systematically improving our supply chain impacts.?While we have already made considerable progress, this is an area where we are working to develop supply chain and wider partnerships to accelerate improvements.

Ingredients

There are challenges in the sustainable sourcing of many of our ingredients.?As a minimum fish and seaweed suppliers have to hold Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) accreditation to give assurance of conformity with production and chain of custody standards.

We are working with our wholesale partners to understand and enable the use of sustainably produced and delivered perishable ingredients.?Longer term our menu development is evolving in line with consumer demand to include more vegan and vegetarian options.

Rice sourcing is an area we are looking to collaborate with industry partners on to understand the issues fully before deciding on our long term action plan.

Packaging advances

Since 2019 we have been working to use innovative packaging for our product that avoids the use of Virgin Plastic.?Our partnership with KPFilms has allowed us to advance this program so that in 2021 100% of our retail packaging was made with rPET which is plastic made from recycled plastics that can be recycled again. This means that we have avoided over 200 tonnes of plastic going to landfill, as well as minimising virgin plastic use.

In 2022 we are excited to report that we are taking this even further. We are conducting a trial of use packaging made from coastal plastics – using plastic collected from beaches in UK – so we hope to report further sustainable packaging changes later in the year.

Food Waste measurement

The major drivers for our food waste reduction include:

·??????Menus planned meticulously to consider how we can reduce the amount of waste we create preparing our products, while maintaining our high standards.

·??????Production planning each day, considers complex forecasting algorithms to navigate the fine balance between being able to supply the products that our customers want and not being left with excess stock. Our targets for waste are currently 12% and we are reducing this ambition to 10% for 2022.

·??????We have trailed several initiatives including Food to go as an outlet for any excess food we hold and will continue to look for options for these products in 2022.

Product Labelling

Being clear and authentic in our claims, while enabling customer to make informed choices is something that we consistently aim to achieve. From 2019 ?have reported full Allergen information and advisory notes for new sushi consumers. Going forward we have ambitions to include all health claims and advice as well as a traffic light system of daily nutritional targets.

Protecting our supply chains

We support our Supply chain and work with our key suppliers not only to understand their sustainability initiatives but ensure they can provide us with the highest quality of product when we need it.

For example, we use suppliers like True World Foods ?& Tazaki who prioritise sustainability and health of the oceans when sourcing products. They use MSC and ASC Certified products. They are also members of the Sustainable Seafood Coalition which gives us confidence in our relationship with them.

Reduction of plastic

After undergoing a thorough review of our value chain and the ways in we use plastics in the processes, we have been able to come up with a number of plastic removal and reduction initiatives.

Many of these are in the background, but in 2021, we removed the green plastic grass embellishment from 100% of our Sushi packs with no complaints from our loyal customer base.

Selling quality food that is Healthy

At Hana Group we are passionate about providing a healthy product as well as making it delicious.?We appreciate the importance of providing high quality and well managed ingredients to ensure that nutritional value is maximised.?The balance of ingredients for balanced nutrition is also a key consideration in our menu design.

We are delighted that Sushi provides several nutrient rich ingredients, which links to optimal brain and body function and reduction of risk for heart disease, stroke and certain autoimmune diseases.

4.?????Contribute to customers and community initiatives

Strong local communities benefit our customers and our business.?Our people and wider stakeholders want us to make a positive contribution to the communities we operate in and impact on.

Hana Group wants to be a good corporate citizen, paying all taxes that are due and complying with all relevant legislation.?

We also like to develop and take opportunities to do some good through charitable donations, volunteering and support for causes where our location, skills and experience enable the biggest impacts.

Our Diverse Community

The show cooking approach our customers love means we have to employ and develop people who love making food.?This attracts people with a natural affinity to our products and their production.?This gives us a high proportion of staff with Asian heritage, and our challenge is to broaden this diversity.

We also believe in recruiting local people.?This supports many aspects of sustainability including making flexible shift times easier, reducing commuting impacts in the local community, and contributing to the local economies that enable our business.

Ongoing initiatives include recruiting via communities, social media, onboarding initiatives to our existing teams, dedicated recruitment sites and emails and positive word of mouth.

Education

While we strive to provide ethically sourced food at affordable prices, we are committed to enable our customers to make informed choices.?This is an area we are looking to enhance on 2022 with increased social media coverage and introduction of electronic point of sale to reduce paper.

Food donations during the pandemic

The pandemic was a trying time for our diverse communities. ?We strive to help out where we can and were delighted to support some of our staff with an initiative in London to support NHS workers at the height of the pandemic with free Sushi deliveries.?We will continue to develop or community support with product and time donations.

We target zero food waste, but any excess production will be distributed by our food hero partners of Too Good To Go, Karma, Olio and others.?The local knowledge of our staff helps enable this.

Supporting suppliers in the global community

Our supply chains are complex, and one consideration is local production.?For some key ingredients, such as rice, a local source is not currently feasible.?To maximise our contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals we proactively support suppliers in under developed areas and on key products we visit ourselves and build direct relationships to ensure parties benefit.

Supporting communities important to our business

Closer to home we continued our relationship with the Fisherman’s Mission who do great work to support the UK Fishing Communities.

Thanks to our customers for all their purchases in April 2021 raising money for this cause, which we are committed to support long term.

Cyber Security

Our operation, our partners and supply chain are becoming increasingly digitalised. With this, we know there is an increase in the prevalence of cybercrime. To protect our business and our employees, we aim to have 100% of our senior team cyber security trained by the end 2022.

Compliance

We are members and signatories of the Brand Reputation through compliance Global Standards. BRCGS is a standard created by British retailers to create a framework that covers internationally accepted food safety standards and to help improve food safety.

Customer Satisfaction

Customer feedback drives many aspects of our business.?Delighting customers is key to our long term success so we use multiple channels to do this which we do ourselves with Medialia sotware and customer communication, track contacts and measure CPHT and use third party sites where relevant such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and others.

Digital Inclusion

During 2022, we intend to donate 200 laptops and power banks to donate to the community specifically schools and colleges whilst also reducing the amount of e-waste going to landfill and ensuring all hazardous materials are disposed of properly. The laptops we donated were redundant equipment and we are proud we were able to give something back to the community.

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