About our report

Boundary and scope

This 2019 Sustainable Development Report is focused on the social impacts of our business against our strategic objective to operate as a powerful force for social good.

It represents a transition from our previous to our new sustainable development strategy. The new strategy will include a set of specific metrics to measure our progress over time. As a result, Discovery has decided to de-emphasise reporting against the Sustainable Development Goals and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, but we will retain specific measures that are relevant to our business and Shared-Value business model.

Non-financial information and data included in our Sustainable Development Report relates primarily to South Africa-based business units, which account for the majority of our revenue and employees. We also include commentary on specific initiatives in the United Kingdom through
Vitality UK.

Stakeholders can access additional information about the Group’s strategy, performance and prospects, as well as governance structures, in our 2019 Integrated Annual Report, available as a PDF download.

Reporting for Discovery’s key stakeholder groups

As defined by the material matters, the content in this report considers the views of key stakeholders as outlined in interviews with and questionnaires answered by executives and specialist teams in Discovery. Key stakeholder groups include clients, employees, government, regulatory authorities, business partners, brokers, medical professionals and suppliers, small business, communities and, more broadly, society.

The identification of stakeholders is a dynamic process that takes into account the materiality of the concerns expressed by a particular stakeholder group to the business (their impact and influence on the organisation) as well as the potential for the business to impact or influence the stakeholder group concerned. We regularly review stakeholder engagement practices, including the content and presentation of this report, to ensure that we communicate openly and transparently with stakeholders and adequately address concerns raised.

Board responsibilities

Discovery's Social and Ethics Committee has reviewed and provided input into this online report. To ensure that our disclosure focuses on sustainable development issues that are significant to Discovery's business and stakeholders, the Discovery Board of Directors approves the structure and content of this report and provides input on its content.

The Committee is satisfied that this 2019 Sustainable Development Report, together with the Integrated Annual Report, provides a comprehensive and accurate view of Discovery's sustainable development performance for the past financial year and an outlook for the year ahead.

Discovery remains committed to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative. Discovery signed the UNGC in 2015 and integrates its principles on human rights, labour, anti-corruption and environmental responsibility into the way we do business.

Approval was provided following review by the Board of Directors, assessment of content by Group Internal Audit, and the recommendation of the Discovery Audit Committee.

Frameworks and indices used to guide report preparation

Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Codes of Good Practice:
Level 2

FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment index

MSCI ESG Index:
B rating

Carbon Disclosure Project.

*Note: The difference of the B-BBEE level on the 2019 Integrated Annual Report (IAR), is due to the B-BBEE certificate being re-issued as a B-BBEEE level 2 post the IAR being published.