Compliance with Directors’ duties
Section 172 statement
Strategy Performance People Governance
At every Board meeting the
Directors review, with the
management team, the progress
against strategic priorities and the
changing shape of the business
portfolio. This collaborative
approach by the Board, together
with the Board’s approval of the
Company strategy, helps it to
promote the long-term success
of the Group. Ultimately Board
decisions are taken against the
backdrop of what it considers
to be in the best interest of the
long-term financial success of
the Company and the Group’s
stakeholders, including investors,
employees, customers and
society. The Company’s
strong underlying financial
position enables us to pursue
new opportunities for the
Group within our disciplined
financial framework.
Carbon emission reduction
targets, to reduce our Scope
1 and 2 carbon emissions by
28% by 2030, were agreed and
accepted as well as published by
the Science Based Target initiative
(SBTi).
The Board regularly reviews and
monitors the Group’s safety,
reliability and environmental
performance, with the aim of
continually making Bodycote
safer for our entire workforce
and minimising our impact on
climate change.
In 2022 a recordable injury
frequency rate of 2.52 was
achieved versus 2.90 in 2021.
The number of recordable injuries
fell 18% versus 2018 and 8%
versus 2021. The safety, health
and wellbeing of our employees
will always be our highest priority.
This is important to our workforce
and local communities, while
strong operational availability and
reliability is crucial to our partners
and customers.
The Board also focuses on
maintaining financial discipline and
delivering strong earnings, cash
flow and returns to shareholders.
A core pillar of the Group’s
strategy is growth via
selected acquisitions.
Bodycote’s workforce is key to
its success. Our people help us
maintain our strong reputation
for high standards of business
conduct, which is fundamental in
delivering our purpose to support
our customers in producing
superior components.
Bodycote operates Employee
Engagement Groups twice a year
which are chaired by a Non-
Executive Director. The feedback
from these forums is reported
to the Board and the Executive
Directors charged with addressing
any particular items that arise.
In 2022 these forums were held
virtually. Feedback was generally
very positive and no material
concerns were expressed by
employees during the year.
The Board believes that strong
governance is essential to
the success of the Company.
The Board regularly commissions
the external evaluation of its
performance, which most
recently took place in 2021.
In 2022 an internal evaluation
took place. The Board discussed
the findings of this review
and recommendations, such
as reviewing the strategy in
depth including climate change,
ESG and focusing on people
and succession, have been
implemented. The governance
framework continues to drive
the highest levels of business
standards and best practices,
aligning these with Bodycote’s
business purpose, values,
strategy and culture. The Board
will continue to assess and
monitor culture and will look to
obtain useful insight through
effective dialogue with our key
stakeholders, taking feedback into
account in the Board’s decision-
making process.
Decision-making Decision-making
Relevant section 172 factors
The Board
(including delegation of authority)
Engagement
Investors Employees Customers Society/Communities
Capital is rewarded through
dividends and share price
increases. Our investment
proposition builds upon our
strengths to create value for
shareholders. We communicate
progress on our financial and non-
financial plans in order to cultivate
the support of our investors,
analysts, banks and proxy
voting agencies.
The knowledge, expertise and
skill of our employees are a major
part of the Group’s intangible
value. We work to attract,
develop and retain the best talent,
equipped with the right skills for
the future. Our people have a
crucial role in delivering against
our strategy and creating value.
Our services are provided to the
aerospace, defence, energy,
automotive and general industrial
markets. We work closely with
our customers to understand
their evolving needs so we can
continually improve and adapt to
meet them.
We are committed to building
positive relationships with the
communities where we operate.
We consult through our plant
network to gain valuable
perspectives on the ways in which
our activities could impact the
local community or environment.
£39m
in dividends
£277m
in staff costs
>40,000
customers worldwide
>16 5
facilities in 22 countries
Strategic report Governance Financial statements Additional information
20
Bodycote plc annual report 2022