Materiality assessment

Kesko’s latest materiality assessment was carried out in autumn 2020. Based on megatrends and background surveys, 38 material sustainability topics were identified for Kesko and its stakeholders. At a workshop a list of 24 sustainability topics was compiled out of these and the importance of the topics to Kesko and its stakeholders was evaluated at internal and external stakeholder interviews and online surveys. On the basis of the results, the material sustainability topics were summed up at workshop into 11 topics of the most material importance for Kesko and its stakeholders.

The most significant changes compared with the previous materiality assessment were the increase in the importance of climate change, sustainable products and biodiversity. Responsibility of the purchasing chain and personnel responsibility remained among the most important topics.

Kesko’s materiality assessment was approved by the Group Management Board in January 2021.

In autumn 2021, we began an extensive project to update our sustainability strategy based on the materiality assessment. Our new sustainability strategy was published in March 2022.

Kesko’s material sustainability topics are presented in the matrix below, where the vertical axle shows the level of stakeholder concern regarding the topics and the horizontal axle shows the importance of financial, social and environmental impacts to Kesko and its operating environment.