ACT Sustainability Report 2023
ACT Sustainability Report 2023
ACT Sustainability Report 2023
OWNERSHIP
Sustainability
Report 2023
Table
of Contents
Who We Are 3
A Message from 6
the Chief People Officer
and Leader of Couche-Tard’s
Sustainability Efforts
Performance Highlights 10
Planet 11
People 21
Prosperity 33
Data Table 52
Forward-Looking Statement 54
OUR SITES
from the
truck charging sites in Sweden and fifteen more will
open in the coming year. By March, we had over one
million charging transactions on Circle K chargers in
Executive Europe, double the amount from the same time last
year. We are also making progress on bringing that EV
Chairman of
charging expertise to North America.
Alain Bouchard
Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board
A Message
Ownership, and Play to Win. Our 2022 Sustainability
Report focused on Do the Right Thing — a rallying
cry for how sustainability has become a lens to
from the Chief our business. This year, we are focusing on Take
Ownership, understanding how we, as a convenience
People Officer
and mobility retailer, recognize our role in the problem
and our responsibility to be part of the solution for
and Leader of
a better, more sustainable future.
Couche-Tard’s
within our People sustainability pillar. I am thrilled that
for the second year in a row, we have received the
Gallup Exceptional Workplace Award. According to
Efforts
are resilient and find new ways to get work done and
meet customer needs.” This describes our culture
perfectly. As we dealt with extraordinary economic
and geopolitical conditions, our team continued to
take care of our customers, support our communities,
execute our key sustainability priorities, and deliver
strong results for the business.
When it comes to workplace safety, we are taking Our ambition to create more equitable representation
ownership of reducing robberies and bringing down and opportunities also made notable advancements.
the numbers as we move closer to our 2025 target of We are nearing 40% women in the Executive
50% reduction. In the U.S. and Canada, at hundreds Leadership team and increasing gender parity in our
of stores, we have increased safety signage clearly director and above ranks. We increased dedicated
indicating that the store is covered by cameras, resources for training and advancing leadership
upgraded exterior lighting, and implemented more opportunities for our Black and Hispanic team
rigid site standards, including physical deterrence members including, a new partnership with the
improvements where needed. No doubt, these Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility. We
increased protocols are creating safer work have also proudly added team members from these
environments. underrepresented groups to the regional leadership
and are focused on continuing in this direction.
As protecting and supporting our team members is
our number one priority, we also took great strides To conclude, while this is only our fifth year and
to reduce workplace harassment by implementing we have a long road ahead, we are proudly making
“Kindness Day,” an initiative started this year across progress in creating a more engaging, inclusive,
our European network. Our team members work and safer workplace and taking ownership for a
hard to serve our customers daily and deserve to more sustainable future. I want to thank all our team
do so without the fear of verbal or physical abuse. members, customers, and stakeholders for their
Through Kindness Day, we urged all our customers continued support in this journey.
to treat our staff with respect and kindness and
actively challenged the broader industry to join us in
an enhanced effort against harassment.
Ina Strand
Chief People Officer and Leader
of Couche-Tard’s sustainability efforts
Workplace
Fuel Energy Safety
Packaging Diversity
and Waste and Inclusion
100% EQUITABLE
of our representation,
packaging will opportunities
be recyclable and pay
or reusable
✔ Increasing
biodiversity also continue to be vital challenges. We must each
do our part to embrace new solutions and ways of operating to
safeguard our planet’s health.
our biofuel
blends and
How we can make a difference: renewable
With over 14,400 locations worldwide, we have an opportunity fuel offerings
to make a powerful contribution toward a cleaner future.
Although many of our customers still depend on fossil fuels, we ✔ Expanding
are committed to enabling a low-carbon future by expanding EV charging
our offering of renewable fuels and electric vehicle charging, networks
while reducing our own emissions, energy use, and water
consumption. We continue to introduce more sustainable
packaging for our food items and other products in close
✔ Installing
water
collaboration with our suppliers.
recovery
We are also evolving our work to understand risks and systems in our
opportunities related to climate change, as presented in our car washes
TCFD report on page 43.
✔ Implementing
energy
management
systems
at our sites
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PEOPLE
Our Offering
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PEOPLE
Gothenburg, Sweden—the first
company in the country to do
so. Our plan is to expand to
90 truck chargers in 22 stations
in Sweden in the next year, and
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to increase charging capacity
from 360kW to 1000kW.
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Europe (Ireland): Spent coffee grounds are
We aim to improve our offer of food and beverages
packaged for free for customers to use for
to provide alternatives that support the transition
their gardens. We continue to look for other
toward a more sustainable food chain. This includes
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localized solutions and will be evaluating
working with our suppliers to offer certified and
compost collection services for organic waste
sustainably sourced products. We offer 100%
in partnership with one of our business units.
sustainably sourced or certified coffee in all our stores
through our partnership with Rainforest Alliance in Europe (Estonia): We are introducing a larger
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Canada and Europe and we serve 100% sustainably scale vegan burger and wrapper. Alternative
sourced coffee in the U.S. milk is also available at all stores.
Helena Winberg
In total, we are approaching almost 1 million meals Director of Global Sustainability
redeemed since the initiatives were launched.
Elisa Goria
Global Director of
Sustainability – Packaging
& Waste
Our Sites
Reduce our carbon footprint and improve resource efficiency.
In FY23, we continued rolling out an energy Meanwhile, our One-Touch program, where all energy-
management system in North America, adding reduction initiatives are completed at a store level at
3,000 locations. This system provides the ability once, is approximately 90% complete.
to remotely control exterior lighting and store
temperature. Pilots are in place to extend the system In FY23, we piloted solar panels on the fuel canopy at
to include car wash controls, remote equipment shut- six locations in Florida and one location in Indiana with
off, metering, and demand load management. We are a solar panel bank on the ground. The data gathered
also piloting an energy management system in Europe is currently being analyzed to determine future actions
at 20 sites in Sweden and Ireland. and investments, to help us reduce our load on local
electrical grids by using green energy supplements.
In Europe we saw energy prices explode in the fall of
2022, and a broad energy-saving project was started In Hong Kong, working with experts from a leading
to speed up energy reduction at our sites. So far, in power company, we have an ongoing energy audit
comparable numbers, European business units have program to assess and manage our electricity usage in
reduced electricity consumption by 6%. Poland is in stores through inspections, studies, and analysis.
the lead with 12.5% reduction, Lithuania is second with
10.7% reduction. The program is still ongoing.
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Our collective challenge: Key
This past year brought an extraordinarily tight labour market,
inflationary pressures, supply chain constraints, high fuel and solutions
energy prices, and upheaval in Europe caused by the war in
Ukraine. This meant adapting our business and our culture to the
new reality, and throughout, we sought ways to better support ✔Increase
our team members, our customers, and our communities. representation
from
How we can make a difference: underrepresented
With approximately 128,000 employees around the globe, we groups on
have an important responsibility to ensure their safety, health, our leadership
and well-being. We are committed to providing a workplace teams
where our team members and customers feel safe, secure,
included, engaged, and respected. ✔Measurement
and follow-up
We are continuously improving our programs, procedures, training,
at all levels
and facilities to ensure a safe and healthy working environment.
This includes strategic robbery prevention programs, anti-
harassment programs and enhanced training for team members.
✔Leadership
development
We are also continuing our work to advance equitable program
representation, opportunities and pay across the organization. for Black and
We want all team members to work in an environment where they Hispanic talents
feel respected and able to develop their full potential. Our aim
is to be an inclusive and attractive employer, with an improved ✔Anti-harassment
gender balance at all levels of our organization and an increased campaign
share of underrepresented groups. We have ongoing training and European
and development programs and many initiatives at all levels that Kindness Day
encourage and support underrepresented team members to
progress into roles where their talents shine even brighter.
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PEOPLE
Our People
Foster a safe, diverse, and inclusive culture where our people can
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grow together.
Over the past year, we have continued our global practices for safe work. Each North American business
collaboration around our goal of keeping our unit has a Region Operations Director, several market
people safe. Through ongoing networking between managers, and a team member in each store, all
business units in Canada, the U.S., and Europe, we committed to communicating with each other about
have maintained our commitment to sharing best safe working practices and existing risks.
practices. We have improved our processes for site
Globally, we are governed by the presiding bodies
analysis and will continue to work toward acting on
in each country where we operate, such as OSHA
those learnings. In North America, we created Health,
in the United States, CCOHS in Canada, and others.
Safety and Environment (HSE) networks that focus
We collect data from all company-owned stores
on communication between and among business
into a central case system in three broad categories:
units which closely resemble established processes in
injuries, crime, and property damage. Data in this
Europe.
system is regulated by various privacy laws including,
In this network, team members at multiple levels but not limited, to GDPR. Cases involving injuries to
of operations are empowered to elevate safety- employees are routed and managed by teams not
related concerns in addition to the standard case associated with store operations.
management process, as well as communicate best
Workplace Safety
Our commitment to ensuring a safe and healthy working to be performed. These include standards for enhanced
environment for our team members includes taking exterior lighting, certain CCTV configurations, personal
steps to protect them from harassment and assault. alarm pendants, community engagement, and more.
In Europe, through a survey, our Norwegian diversity
and inclusion team detected that aggressions toward After beginning as a pilot in 2021, the Safety and
our team members were far more common than what Security program progressed rapidly after adoption this
we had anticipated and seen in our HSE reporting. This year. As a result, we spent $9.1 million to ensure that the
situation was brought to managements’ attention and 488 stores categorized as Level 2 and Level 3 can meet
a harassment combat framework was created by our the program standards.
European HSE teams. To make it easier for our teams
to report this behaviour, we have simplified reporting
through QR codes. Our hope is that by making it as North America: Four business units in North
easy as possible to report this type of unacceptable America have already achieved their target of
behaviour, we will have more visibility into a previously a 50% reduction in store robberies since 2020:
untracked issue. The QR code solution will also be Western Canada, Florida, Grand Canyon, and
evaluated for other HSE uses. South East.
100 83
categorized from “License to Operate” (0 robberies 50
61 59
42
28 30
in the lookback) to Levels 1, 2, and 3. There are also
50
20
voluntarily elevate a store into a higher categorization. FY20 Base FY23 FY25 Target
Across Europe, in FY23 we held our first Kindness Day built on best practices from Lithuania to draw attention
to the issue of harassment against employees.
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practices. We still have not realized the full potential & Sharing Best Practices
of the game, unfortunately, as slip/trip/fall-type
injuries were still 34% of our recordable injuries in Our annual Global HSE & Sustainability Award
the U.S. at the end of the year. reinforces the importance of strong HSE performance
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by highlighting notable initiatives within the
We also work to keep our team members healthy company. In 2022, Norway was awarded the HSE &
and ready to provide the best possible customer Sustainability Award in Europe for its anti-harassment
experience. Keeping in mind the differences between work, bringing to light how the behaviour of some
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social benefits generally provided in Europe vs North customers affects our teams’ work environment and
America, we strive to provide needed services to our what can be done to prevent and reduce the impact
team members. Beginning with creating a positive of abuse and harassment.
working environment, we have provided a clearing
house for team members to confidentially submit In North America, the launch of CK Safety Star
complaints of co-worker misbehaviour. We also offer brought with it the Safety Cup, a large silver trophy
an employee assistance program, an on-demand recognizing the business unit with the strongest game
phone-based hotline service which provides crisis play. Eastern Canada won for FY23. At the end of
counseling, as well as other directive services for each subsequent year this award will be given to the
financial or legal help, daycare sourcing, and others. business unit with the best performance on a series of
Lastly, there are multiple levels of health insurance safety-related metrics.
available for employees and their families, including
the use of HSA or FSA funds.
Store Robberies
in North America and Europe
1,200 1,121
1,000
800
663
600
568
424 396
400
212
200
22 33 11
reinforces the importance of strong HSE FY20 Base FY23 FY25 Target
In FY23, we reached a new milestone with 39% female talent as we work toward
representation on our executive leadership team. The
our D&I ambition of equity in
number of female directors and above is now over
30%, with an ambition of 35% by 2025. As well, 71% of opportunities, representation
our store managers are women. and pay. And we will continue to
In the U.S., the first cohort of CALIBR participants gave research further partnerships and
a presentation to the executive leadership team. The growth opportunities for all our
purpose of the meeting was to have open discussions
in order to move our diversity and inclusion journey
underrepresented groups. I have
forward for Black team members. CALIBR is a strategic no doubt that together, as ONE
talent development partner devoted to preparing
TEAM, we are becoming a better,
Black, mid-level and senior talent for leadership roles.
We are launching the second cohort of the CALIBR more inclusive company.”
program this fiscal year.
In FY23, ACT was awarded the Bronze-level Parity in our executive leadership, the majority at store level,
CertificationTM by Women in Governance for its and almost parity with our market managers. We are
progress toward gender parity in the workplace. also working hard to increase representation in middle
This innovative certification evaluates parity at an management and creating pipelines for advancement.
organization’s decision-making level and at every level We have women leadership in once unexpected roles
of the organization. It also assesses an organization’s in the company including our most senior leader in fuel
commitment to implementing processes that enable and mobility, Louise Warner, and we have had an all-
women to achieve career advancement, thus creating a women construction team building stores in Canada.
pipeline of diverse female talent.
Also, in FY23, for the first time at ACT, we embraced equity
It was only four years ago that we first officially celebrated by bringing International Women’s Day celebrations to our
International Women’s Day with the formation of the millions of women customers as well as team members.
ACT Women’s Council to create winning conditions At our nearly 8,000 stores across North America, we
for women in the business. While we are still far from offered “Little Thank Yous,” small redeemable gifts of
our target in gender diversity, we are proud of our appreciation for special women and allies.
progress so far. We have reached nearly 39% women
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As part of our journey toward making our company a more diverse and inclusive organization, over the last two
and half years we have formed several new employee-led Business Resource Groups (BRGs) including ones for
race, LGBTQ+, disabilities, ethnic diversity, and most recently, military veterans and family members. All BRGs
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have members of the leadership team as Executive Sponsors who provide thought leadership, guidance and
support.
These groups play an important role in creating a safe, accessible, and rewarding workplace and showcasing the
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unique contributions of our team members. Below are some of the highlights from FY23.
In honour of Women’s Equality Day, commemorating women’s right to vote in the U.S., the Women’s
Council hosted a panel with a group of trailblazing women who shared their stories and experiences at
ACT and within the industry.
During mental health awareness month, the C.A.R.E. Disability & Inclusion BRG partnered with the non-
profit resource Disability: In to offer an awareness webinar for team members.
For this year’s Pride Month, the ACT Employee Pride Network celebrated acceptance and allyship of the
LGBTQ+ community with our customers and team members. Emphasizing that “Everyone is welcome
here!”, the campaign focused on creating a culture of belonging for all team members—a critical
component of our journey to create a safe and inclusive workplace.
In Canada, the 1 Community Many Cultures (1CMC) BRG honoured the National Day for Truth and
Reconciliation with a luncheon, educational handouts and orange wristbands for team members. This day
commemorates lost Indigenous children and survivors of residential schools as well as their families and
communities. Diwali was also celebrated for the first time in the Circle K offices in India and Canada. 1CMC
also held activities to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day and Canadian Multiculturalism Day.
FY23 saw the formation of BRAVE, a BRG for veterans and their families. Diversity is about individuals
contributing their unique experiences, backgrounds and ideas, and veterans bring valuable skills and
knowledge from their military service to our business. One of BRAVE’s initiatives has been to partner
with K9 for Warriors to sponsor a rescue dog training to be a service animal for a local veteran.
This group aims to build awareness of diversity and inclusion within Circle K Europe and educate
employees and leaders to promote cultural and ethnic diversity. Activities completed in FY23 included
a cultural maturity program with all marketing and executive teams, mandated training sessions as part
of cultural maturity assessments, updating brand guidelines, and a video and story series celebrating
success and profiling different cultures.
The R.E.A.L. BRG in the U.S. brings together team members of diverse ethnicities. On “Juneteenth,” which
commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., members of the REAL BRG hosted a gathering in Charlotte
in North America to discuss strategies and meet the Executive Sponsors from other BRGs who proudly
serve as REAL allies. MLK Day, honouring Martin Luther King Jr., was marked by encouraging teams
to commit time to giving back to their communities. For Black History month, the BRG put together
a collection of videos spotlighting four Black legacy team members with over 150 years of combined
service.
The REAL BRG celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month as well as cultural events in support of Asian
American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Employee Engagement
Listening to Our People
Engaging our team members by listening to their The myVOICE survey shows our team members’
concerns, creating a healthy and stimulating continued pride in working for a company that makes a
environment, and recognizing their contributions to positive impact on their communities (score increased
our business is important to us. We stay committed to from 4.26 to 4.30) and on the planet (up from 4.15
leveraging our people’s voices and working together to 4.19). All teams review and discuss their results as
as ONE TEAM to make a meaningful impact on our well as creating action plans based on what is most
global workforce. important to them. These proactive conversations
and authentic actions will continue to improve our
Our annual Gallup myVOICE employee engagement employees’ engagement, team performance and
survey, which asks team members questions about enhance our award-winning culture at ACT.
their involvement, job satisfaction and work situation,
is a valuable tool that helps us identify opportunities
for continuous improvement and follow up
systematically with action plans across the company. North America (Eastern Canada):
In FY23, we had our best participation rate ever with ACT was named one of Montreal’s
97% of ACT team members responding to the survey. Top Employers for 2023. This
marks the first year that we’ve
Building on the positive trends of previous years,
received this ranking, which recognizes
we proudly recorded further progress in our overall
employers in Greater Montreal who have led
employee engagement score globally, moving from
their industries in offering exceptional places
4.23 in spring 2022 to 4.28 in March 2023 on a 5-point
to work.
scale. This brings us to the 91st percentile in Gallup’s very
competitive company database, where our company
compounds its position as a top quartile company for
employee engagement. We were delighted to receive
the coveted 2023 Gallup Exceptional Workplace
Award for a second consecutive year.
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The development of our people is always a key FY23 saw the introduction of a formal college
priority. Creating a culture that encourages team program, College to Convenience (C2C). This new
members’ development and embraces a warm, program is designed to help newly hired Retail Market
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safe environment for people to grow with us is a Operations Trainees grow into the next steps in their
continuous focus. Across our global network, we are careers while building our U.S. Operations talent
persistently enhancing our onboarding and training pipeline. The 12-month program brings together a
programs, always with our values at the core. group of recent college graduates within the U.S.
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and focuses on making it easy, building successful
In FY23, we launched our formal Store Manager
teams, strategic thinking, and understanding our core
Development Program across all North American
operational business. We look forward to continuing
business units, encompassing approximately
this exciting program in FY24.
7,000 store managers. This program includes
in-person and on-the-job experiences in a Our formal mentorship program benefits career
comprehensive, six-session course designed to growth for team members, including our
address foundational leadership competencies underrepresented groups. Mentorships continue
for our valued store managers who have such a to support mentors, and mentees learn new skills,
critical role in our customer-facing business. We build networks, and grow as professionals. This year
believe this program will reduce turnover and also saw the third cohort of our Global Leadership
further engage our store managers by focusing on Forum. The 18-month program brings together a
leadership competencies, with an emphasis on on- select group of our company leaders representing all
the-job assignments and peer learning. As of March business units and functions. It equips leaders with
2023, the Net Promoter Score (NPS) is 70%, which is the skills and the mindset that will add real value
considered an exceptional score by the e-Learning to their everyday work.
Industry.
Introduction of our formal college program, College to Convenience (C2C). The program is designed to help
newly hired Retail Market Operations Trainees grow while building our U.S. Operations talent pipeline.
Food Safety
Fresh and Healthy Food
With fresh foods expanding across our network,
We aim to meet the evolving demand for fresh, having a robust food safety program has never
healthy, local, and sustainable food options. We are been more important. We’re continuing to explore
constantly improving the range of both our packaged technology that makes it easier for our team members
products and food services. We provide a wide variety to complete critical safety tasks. In our stores, food
of healthy snacks in our fresh food program, including safety is about safe food preparation and handling
fresh fruit, salads, yoghurts, protein drinks, vegetable practices, as well as keeping food within proper
cups, fruit cups, and protein snacks. We also continue holding temperatures. The latest system implemented
to expand our offering of organic, vegetarian, and uses temperature sensors to ensure that cold food
vegan options. stays cold and hot food stays hot, automatically
alerting the store manager if equipment falls out of
its temperature parameters. The system is Installed at
1,893 stores across North America and Europe. The
plan for FY24 is to have an additional 4,000 stores.
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Our collective challenge: Key
We are living in an increasingly interconnected world, where
the relationships between society and business are growing solutions
in importance. One company’s actions can have a significant
impact on many people’s lives. Businesses must recognize
their responsibility to promote and support positive change in ✔ Financing
society. sustainable
initiatives
How we can make a difference:
We are committed to being a responsible retailer, supporting ✔ Sustainability
initiatives in the communities where we operate, and contributing requirements
to the prosperity of all our stakeholders. Through our global for
network of stores, we are deeply rooted in communities both
procurement
large and small: every day, 9 million people visit our sites for
mobility, food, or other convenience store needs. This gives us
the unique opportunity to make a real and meaningful difference ✔ Supporting
in people’s lives. our
communities
The decisions we make have an impact not just on our customers
and communities, but on the entire supply chain. We are
therefore engaging and working with our suppliers to promote
responsible practices in the areas of the environment, safety,
security, governance and ethics.
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PEOPLE
Our Governance
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Governance Structure
Board of Directors
Our sustainability work is headed by our Board of Directors, which oversees
targets, programs, risks, performance, and reporting.
Executive Management
Overall sustainability strategic direction — sustainability governance,
social/people and environmental topics. Audits reporting and risk management.
Executive Sponsors
The sponsors are responsible for the sustainability priority roadmap
and targets and set the direction. Ensure the workstream leads have
access to relevant resources.
Business Units
Execute sustainability roadmaps across functions and business units.
We always strive to conduct our business to the Our success depends on how well we protect our
highest standards of ethics and transparency. This is people and customers, the data we create, and the
anchored in our Code of Conduct; all team members, platforms on which we rely. In Europe in particular, the
partners, and Board members are required to sign war in Ukraine has elevated the cybersecurity threat
and abide by these principles and complete training level. We have a dedicated IT security team, as well
on ethical conduct. In our launch of the Light of Day as systems and programs to ensure security across
policy, we emphasized the value of mutual respect, the organization. All team members must complete
and this is acknowledged each year by all employees. annual cybersecurity training. As well, during our
annual Cybersecurity Awareness campaign, we host
a variety of activities to remind team members of
Sustainability Day
CyberSmart behaviours to keep our data safe.
In FY23, we held our first Sustainability Day for all
European store managers and service office team Recognition
members. It was an action-packed event with high
engagement teams across eight different countries We are proud to be featured as one of Sustainalytics
gathered to share best practices and hear updates on Top-Rated ESG Companies for 2023. This is the
our sustainability ambitions and progress. Following a second year that ACT has received this award, which
90-minute live event, which included the presentation recognizes companies that have demonstrated a
of the Sustainability Day Awards, teams divided into commitment to environmental, social and governance
workshops in their local business units to discuss (ESG) practices.
topics of Environmental Footprint, Fuel and Electric
Vehicles, Diversity and Inclusion. We plan to make In addition, with a new AA rating, ACT has been
this a global event in the future. recognized by MSCI ESG and as a company leading
its industry in managing the most significant ESG risks
and opportunities. MSCI ESG Ratings aim to measure
a company’s management of financially relevant
environmental, social, and corporate governance
risks and opportunities.
Simply put, what matters to our employees, customers, Business-to-Business (B2B) customers, suppliers, non-
governmental organizations (NGOs), and investors, matters to us. Consistent with our aim to be a responsible
retailer, we engage in strong ongoing dialogue with each of our key stakeholders.
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As a leading convenience and mobility provider, our business operations impact and are also influenced by several
key sustainability topics. Our Sustainability Matrix reflects the most material issues for our company and our
stakeholders from a risk perspective. In FY23, we revised and updated our sustainability matrix based on an
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internal Executive Leadership analysis. Following that discussion the “Data and Cybersecurity” increased on the
relevance to our company.
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HIGH
Fuel
Diversity
and inclusion Energy
Workplace
Safety Packaging
and Waste
Employee Safe and Healthy
Engagement Products
Ethics
Talent Data and
and
Development cybersecurity
Integrity
Human
Rights
Governance Structure
Responsible
Procurement
Community
Engagement
Animal Water
Welfare
MEDIUM
Our Suppliers
Collaborate to promote
environmentally and socially
responsible procurement
practices
Responsible Procurement
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Contribute to people’s lives by
investing and engaging in the
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areas where we operate.
We have over 14,400 stores across the world, located
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in the heart of communities where we work and
live. Through our proximity to customers, we have
an opportunity to contribute to people’s lives by
investing and engaging in the neighbourhoods where
we operate. In FY23, our teams supported a variety
of projects and initiatives helping to make a positive
impact on our communities.
With the support of our teams and valued
This year, we made a New Year’s resolution to bring customers, we have raised over $2.6 million
our team members’ stories about the ways in which globally through our “You Give, We’ll Match”
we are connected to and support the communities campaign in aid of Ukrainian relief efforts. The
where we work and live—and how we are making our funds are donated directly to the Red Cross.
customers’ lives a little easier every day. “Kommunity
Connections” is shared with all team members via our Showing Solidarity with Ukraine
in-house platforms. Here are some of the stories that
resonated this past year. As war rages on in Ukraine, our teams in bordering
countries continue to provide support through various
local volunteering, fundraising, and recruitment
initiatives. With the support of our teams and valued
customers, we have raised over $2.7 million globally
through our “You Give, We’ll Match” campaign in aid of
Ukrainian relief efforts. The funds are donated directly
to the Red Cross to provide lifesaving aid to those in
need including food, shelter, critical care items, and
first aid.
business unit activated emergency protocols, Europe closed out the year with a community
focusing on keeping team members safe. engagement Christmas challenge, under the theme
“Meaningful, Memorable Meetings,” encouraging
Braving Hurricane Ian our teams to give back to those who struggle and/
or heroes working to help in their communities. This
On September 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian made landfall year, all European business units participated, and
as one of the largest hurricanes ever in the U.S. It $52,000 in prize money were shared between Latvia’s
slammed into South West Florida, Fort Myers, moved ‘Dod Pieci!’ (Give Five) project, a charity supporting
up through the state and toward the east coast, Ukrainian children in Latvia who have fled the war;
impacting our business units across Florida, South Norway, to support their work with Youth Mental
Atlantic and Coastal Carolinas. Ahead of hurricane Ian’s Health, and their online chat service for young people;
arrival, our coastal business units activated emergency and Business Centre Warsaw’s “Dreammakers,” who
protocols, focusing on keeping team members safe provide Christmas gifts and will put the prize money
and accounted for while securing facilities, fuel and toward summer holidays for children living in the
supplies. Stores in low-lying areas closed, to reopen nearby orphanage.
when safe. Afterward, our members pulled together as
ONE TEAM, working relentlessly to get the business In Hong Kong, team members participated in the “Walk
back on track and help customers in need. ACT also set for Millions” organized by a public welfare fund to raise
up an employee assistance fund to aid our own team money for people in need. Circle K also donated to
members impacted by the devastating storm. and participated in the Community Chest’s “Sports
for Millions,” which aims to promote a healthy lifestyle
by featuring sports competitions and team-building
Emergency Response
games for corporate sports lovers to exercise for a
In 2021, we decided to implement a common model good cause.
for emergency response across our global network.
Following several successful pilots, we are continuing
to educate and train team members on this new
emergency framework, extending it to more and
more business units. In FY23, the pro-active model
was implemented at the executive team level, in
all Canadian business units, and in three more U.S.
business units. Europe has already been using the
model for several years and continues to carry out
exercises on a yearly basis.
Around the globe, many of our business units and stores participate in programs to give leftover food to charities
that serve people in need. In Hong Kong, to help reduce food waste and turn surplus food into social good,
several of our stores donate baked goods to Feeding Hong Kong, an organization that collects surplus stock
from food companies and redistributes it to charities across the city. Similarly, our “Too Good To Go” program,
currently available in more than 400 of our stores in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Canada and the U.S.,
offers discount bags with food items that are about to expire. This helps families battle rising food prices, as each
bag costs significantly less than the normal retail price of the items inside. In the U.S., our Gulf Coast business
unit supports “No Kid Hungry,” an organization working to end childhood hunger by investing in school meal
programs. During the holiday season, our local team sold holiday pin-ups at the register for $1 or $5 donations,
raising $60,000 for these children.
Europe (Norway): Of Youth Mental Health’s (YMH) North America (West Coast): Our West Coast
100 volunteers, 16 of them are from Circle K; they business unit’s Community Outreach council
donate two evenings per month to chat with youth coordinates a quarterly blood drive in collaboration
who struggle with mental health challenges. Last with the American Red Cross.
year, YMH hosted 4,000 chat dialogues, each
between a volunteer and struggling youth or young
adults aged 18 to 35 years old.
The content of this report covers our corporate functions and those parts of the business that we directly manage
in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and other regions. It does not include the activities of licensees, dealers, franchisees,
and joint ventures where we do not have operational control, or a direct management responsibility.
Standards
We developed the content of the report in reference with the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Standards
and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. An index of our alignment with the GRI and SASB Standards
is available at: corpo.couche-tard.com/en/sustainability.
The data provided in this report has not been third party verified. We will be considering third party assurance in
future years in order to continuously strengthen our approach. For our fifth report, we have aligned with industry
practices to comprehensively disclose both qualitative and quantitative data.
We recognize that climate change presents a series Over the course of the coming year, we will be seeking
of physical and transition risks that pose various to further integrate findings from our qualitative
challenges to our business strategy and continuity. scenario analysis exercise into our strategic planning
However, we also understand that with these risks processes to enhance our climate strategy. We also
come new opportunities to innovate and do things intend to deepen our understanding of the financial
differently. That is why, this past year, we embarked on impacts of our most material climate-related physical
a more formal journey to comprehensively assess our and transition risks and opportunities through a
climate-related risks and opportunities using climate quantitative climate scenario analysis.
scenario analysis as a tool, as recommended by the
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Key Learnings from Our First Climate
(TCFD). Following this exercise, we also updated our
Scenario Analysis Exercise
enterprise risk management processes and response
plans to account for physical and transition risk We believe that road transportation fuel will be
drivers. required for some time as our economy moves toward
lower carbon emissions. This is further supported by
We have chosen to implement the TCFD
the three scenarios explored as part of our climate
recommendations to enhance our disclosures and to
scenario analysis, with the pace and scale of the
strengthen our business strategy. In this year’s report,
energy transition differing by scenario. We know
we build on last year’s foundation and describe our
that demand for our fuel products will be affected
qualitative climate scenario analysis process along
as Electric Vehicles (EVs) become more widespread,
with steps taken to enhance our understanding of
while demand for EV charging will increase. We have
and response to identified climate-related risks and
been exploring various business opportunities to
opportunities. Findings from our ongoing scenario
navigate this transition period, including an increased
analysis have provided us with insights and a robust
offering of lower-carbon fuels, and a diversification
foundation from which we can address climate-
of our service offerings to attract EV and other non-
related risks and opportunities across our operations
fuel customers. On the one hand, we are building out
while supporting the transition to a lower carbon
our network of EV chargers and quick chargers for
economy.
From a physical climate perspective, the scenarios Forged in Fire Stated Policies
SSP5-8.5
suggest a sharp increase in acute extreme weather (high emissions) Scenario (STEPS)
events (e.g., hurricanes, wildfires, heatwaves) and
more severe sea level rise under increased levels of
warming. When it comes to extreme weather events, Through a series of workshops with cross-
it is common for our stores to experience a surge representation from our organization, we sought
in traffic both before and after the actual event has to understand how climate risks and opportunities
occurred. Given our worldwide geographical footprint might evolve over time (i.e., 2030 and 2050), and
and our total number of assets, as well as the strategic the resulting implications for business planning and
positioning of those assets, we believe we are well risk management. This qualitative process provided
equipped to navigate and respond to increases in reflection, discussions , and analysis regarding existing
physical impacts at our locations, even under a high and future-looking climate risks and opportunities,
emissions scenario. within the boundaries of each scenario. Our qualitative
analysis was based on current, publicly available
Diving into Our Climate Scenarios information, as described below, and is expected to
evolve over time to capture relevant, up-to-date data.
For our first climate scenario analysis, we selected
six contrasting scenarios informed by distinct and
relevant global trajectories prepared by international
Key Insights from Our Risk & Opportunity
agencies, including the International Energy Agency
Analysis
(IEA) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate The charts below outline the key findings from our
Change (IPCC). In crafting our climate scenarios, we risk and opportunity scenario analysis. This includes
considered several factors such as demographics, the potentially material risks and opportunities for
economics, geopolitics, environmental, legal, social, our business, as well as how they may impact us in
and innovation and technology. Specifically, we used the future. The strategy section outlines how we
the IEA scenarios to assess transition risks specific are responding to these risks and opportunities. We
to the energy sector and the IPCC scenarios to will continue to plan and strengthen this strategic
assess physical risks at regional and global scales. It response over the coming year, supplemented by our
was decided to use different scenarios to inform on forthcoming quantitative scenario analysis exercise.
our physical and transition risk analysis to capture
best and worst-case scenarios, as presented by the
IEA and IPCC, with different modelling inputs and
assumptions leading to slightly different outcomes.
Global demand for road transportation fuel could Revenue from declining fuel sales and
decline, driven by emerging regulations (e.g., ICE vehicle increased competition between fuel
bans, mandatory carbon pricing schemes, vehicle peers in a constricting market
energy efficiency standards), an uptake in passenger
Reduced EVs, and changing consumer behaviours (i.e., driven by
demand for fears over rising gas prices, road pricing mechanisms, Foot traffic in stores resulting in lower
and hybrid working models). merchandise sales
liquid fuel
Physical Risks
Chronic Physical Risks
More frequent and severe extreme high-water-level Revenue from potential store closures
Costly cleanups events from storm surges, waves, and high tides, for the duration of repairs
and equipment/ superimposed onto rising sea levels, may inundate
coastlines, cause coastal erosion, and create an
infrastructure
accumulation of debris, further weakening soil Revenue from permanent store
repairs, and structures and building foundations. closures
revenue loss
from potential
store closures
Capital investments for relocation
Increased extreme heatwaves may reduce supplier Revenue if ACT is unable to secure
production efficiencies through labour shortages and/or sufficient volumes to meet demand
additional wear and tear on supply lines.
Supply chain
delays,
shortages, More frequent and severe acute events may cause road
Operating costs due to road closures,
and railway washouts, damage bridges, and increase
disruptions, transport detours, or port relocations
debris accumulation, making transportation routes
and/or pricing impassable.
volatility
Increased frequency and severity of wildfires may
threaten road and rail transportation networks directly
or cause road closures due to fire threat and/or reduced Revenue if shipments are delayed
visibility.
300,000
Energy 200,000
100,000
• Reduce electricity consumption by an average of
0
20% per site by 2025 compared to FY20 baseline FY22 Addition Favourable Decrease in FY23
of internal impact of comparable
logistic changes in emissions
• Achieve carbon neutrality at 30% of our sites fleet and emission
by 2030 terminals factors
emissions
This past summer, we partnered with a leading In the unfortunate event that our stores are located
EV charging infrastructure technology company, along the destructive path of an acute climatic event,
to test a mobile charging solution in Norway. This we have well-defined safety protocols and procedures
modular and mobile charging solution provides a in place to get us back up and running in the shortest
flexible solution to right-size each charging station amount of time possible to meet urgent customer
to meet customer demand as chargers are rolled out needs. In the event of an environmental release or
across Norway and beyond. We also partnered with a spill, we have structured incident response plans to
global leader in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, to help remediate the situation.
bring a variety of grid services, including frequency
regulation, to a number of our fast charging and
stationary storage sites across Norway and Denmark.
This smart charging technology will enable us to
better respond to market signals in real time and
improve the energy generation and consumption
balance through immediate micro-adjustments in
electricity flow.
While our overarching 5-step Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework has not changed this year, we’ve
continued to evolve in identifying and integrating climate risk at all stages of our ERM process, supported by
findings from our inaugural climate scenario analysis. Sustainability, including climate change, continues to be
a priority risk following the latest iteration of our ERM process. As of late 2022, our top 10 business risks were
updated to include physical and transition climate change elements as potential contributing risk factors/drivers,
where relevant, and our risk response plans were modified to reflect these changes.
Our 5-step ERM process, which is supported by Internal Audit, is pictured below.
Our Executive Leadership Team and the Board are When assessing business risks and opportunities, we
both involved in identifying and assessing risks consider short- (0-1 year), medium- (1-4 years), and
through this ERM process and framework. This annual long-term (5+ years) time horizons aligned with our
process, which begins with researching industry ERM program. Keeping in mind that climate-related
benchmarks and trends to capture emerging risks, risks will materialize over longer time scales, our
is used to identify, evaluate, and prioritize key risks first climate scenario analysis exercise, completed in
with the potential to have the greatest impact on our FY23, extended significantly beyond this 5-year time
business and financial outlook. horizon to look at risks and opportunities in 2030 and
2050. As an operator in the fuel retail space, having
Each year, the Board holds a special meeting with a longer-term view on physical and transition climate
Management to review and discuss the company’s risks and opportunities is instrumental to our long-
annual and long-term strategic plans. These term strategic and financial planning since it influences
discussions include reviewing and analyzing priority decision making and helps increase preparedness and
business risks, including climate risks, overall industry build resilience over time.
trends and developments, and important strategic
opportunities. In terms of risk, the Board is responsible
for overseeing the material risks of our business,
and for ensuring that Management has effective risk
management processes and mitigation strategies
in place. Risks are also addressed as part of our
discussion and approval of the Annual Information
Form and in our quarterly and annually Management
Discussion & Analysis reports.
We recognize that climate change is a global issue Our Human Resources and Governance Committee
which presents both a risk and an opportunity for our (HRGC) helps the Board fulfill its responsibilities
business. Given that our operations are in the fuel retail related to the company’s sustainability strategy and
space, we believe it is critical to capture and manage climate-related issues. As part of this mandate, the
climate-related risks and opportunities to support the HRGC reviews and advises the Board on key items for
achievement of our short-, medium-, and long-term approval. The HRGC also informs the Board of ACT’s
strategic priorities, as well as to meet shareholder and progress on any externally facing sustainability-
stakeholder expectations. We regularly assess Board related commitments and/or targets, including those
composition to ensure that our Board of Directors are related to climate change.
well-equipped to understand and oversee climate-
related matters, including the transition to a lower Climate-related data used in external reporting,
carbon economy. for example, follow the same review and approval
process as our financial statements, which includes a
The Board oversees the planning, progress against, review by the Audit Committee, as recommended by
and achievement of the company’s strategic the TCFD and the IFRS S2 proposed climate-related
objectives, and meets quarterly to discuss and disclosure standards
monitor progress. As currently structured, ACT’s
Board has the ultimate responsibility for the oversight
of sustainability-related issues, including climate
change. Specifically, it is responsible for overseeing
all risks material to the business and ensuring that
effective mitigation strategies are in place. The Board
also approves the company’s environmental goals/
commitments, policies, management systems, and
external disclosures.
In previous years, our executive team made the Our executive compensation program includes base
decision to integrate sustainability within our business pay and variable pay, comprised of a Short-Term
strategy as a critical lens rather than pursue this Incentive Program (STIP) and Long-Term Incentive
initiative separately as a stand-alone program. Our Program (LTIP). Our Executive Leadership Team’s
Executive Leadership Team, which is comprised of STIP compensation is linked to the achievement of
executives and senior VPs, is collectively responsible our business goals and priorities. In recent years, we
for assessing corporate performance against our have been working to strengthen the link between the
sustainability priorities, which include climate risks compensation of our executives and our sustainability
and opportunities, and their integration within our performance. To ensure that sustainability remains
over-arching business strategy. The team meets on a key focus for our leadership team, we have
a quarterly basis to discuss emerging risks, monitor included ESG and, more specifically, climate goals
known risks, and determine whether action plans need in the determination of short-term compensation
to be modified. Starting last year, climate change is awards. More specifically, our executives’ variable
overseen by the Executive Leadership Team, ensuring STIP compensation is linked to ESG factors and the
all efforts are coordinated, communicated, and achievement of their personal ESG goals. By linking
considered during strategic discussions. short-term executive compensation to climate-
related goals, we are reinforcing ACT’s commitment
Our Chief Executive Officer (CEO) acts as a conduit to supporting its customers and communities in the
of information between our Executive Leadership transition toward a lower carbon economy.
Team and the Board and holds ultimate responsibility
for the implementation of Board-approved climate For details on our climate-related goals and priorities,
change strategies and commitments. Our CEO is please refer to our metrics and targets on page 37.
responsible for appointing a Chief People Officer
(CPO), whose role is to lead our sustainability strategy,
ensure our climate-related commitments and goals
are met, and provide oversight on sustainability-
related disclosures, including climate disclosures.
Furthermore, when our Executive Leadership Team
identifies a strategic objective, our CEO may appoint
an Executive Sponsor to champion relevant priority
roadmaps and targets across the entire enterprise.
GRI
STANDARDS TOPIC METRIC FY23 (a) FY22 (a) FY21 (a)
ECONOMIC
In millions of
201-1 Total revenue 71,857 62,810 45,760
U.S. dollars
In millions of
201-1 Operating expenses (b) 7,820 7,326 6,440
U.S. dollars
In millions of
201-4 Taxes paid to governments 794 715 670
U.S. dollars
OUR SITES
2-6 Total sites (c) Number 9,983 9,808 9,976
2-6 Total U.S. sites Number 5,717 5,646 5,828
2-6 Total Canada sites Number 1,831 1,772 1,787
2-6 Total Europe and other regions sites Number 2,435 2,390 2,361
PLANET (d)
ENERGY AND CARBON FOOTPRINT
305 Total GHG emissions (e) Metric tons (t) CO2e 765,486 851,491 827,011
305-1 Direct GHG emissions Scope 1 (f) Metric tons (t) CO2e 121,557 31,548 25,697
305-2 Indirect GHG emissions Scope 2 (g) Metric tons (t) CO2e 643,930 819,943 801,314
305 GHG emissions comparable basis (i) Metric tons (t) CO2e 843,664 851,491 N/A
305-4 GHG emission intensity by site (h) TCO2e per site 68.5 81.0 90.3
305-4 GHG reduction performance by site Percentage -15.9% -9.8% -1.0%
302-1 Energy consumed within the organization MWh 2,648,834 2,348,682 2,266,360
Direct energy natural gas and fuel
302-1 MWh 496,524 166,085 141,422
from in-house fleet (f)
302-1 Indirect energy electricity (g) MWh 2,152,310 2,182,596 2,124,937
302-3 Energy intensity by site (h) MWh per site 235 225 247
302-3 Energy reduction performance by site Percentage 4.6% -9.2% -2.2%
WATER CONSUMPTION (j)
303-3 Water withdrawn Megalitres 10,287 10,471 10,422
303-3 Water intensity by site (j) Megalitres per site 1.6 1.5 1.5
303-3 Water reduction performance by site Percentage 9.7% -3.5% -9.1%
PEOPLE
2-7 Total employees (k) Number 96,566 96,418 92,319
2-7 Total full-time employees Number 61,148 57,525 53,105
2-7 Total part-time employees Number 35,418 38,893 39,214
2-7 Total employees U.S. Number 65,939 66,497 67,422
2-7 Total employees Canada Number 11,399 11,080 10,716
2-7 Total employees Europe and other regions Number 19,228 18,841 14,181
WORKPLACE SAFETY (l)
403-9 Fatalities Number 0 1 3
403-9 Rate of fatalities as result of work-related injury Rate 0 0.0014 0.0045
403-9 High consequence work-related injuries Number 77 54 53
403-9 Rate of high consequence work-related injuries Rate 0.12 0.07 0.08
403-9 Recordable work-related injuries Number 1,906 1,811 1,587
403-9 Rate of recordable work-related injuries Rate 2.8 2.5 2.4
NA Robberies Number 1,092 1,322 1,248
a. Our reported data covers our latest fiscal year - April 25, 2022, to April 30, 2023 h. The GHG emission intensity by site is based on the average U.S., Canada,
(referred to as FY23). Please note that Fiscal 2023 includes 53 weeks while Europe and other regions retail sites for which energy data is collected. An
Fiscal 2021 and Fiscal 2022 included 52 weeks. average of 9,842 sites were covered in FY23, 10,454 in FY22 and 9,161 sites
in FY21. In FY23, we changed our calculation methodology to determine the
b. Operating expenses include operating, selling, administrative and general
average number of sites. Using the FY23 average number of site to calculate
expenses, gain on disposal of property and equipment and other assets, as well
the FY22 intensity would have led to a reduction of 20.9% of GHG emissions
as depreciation, amortization and impairment.
performance and of 1.5% of energy performance by site. Emissions from our
c. Our reported sites cover the U.S., Canada, Europe and other regions where we terminals and internal logistic fleet are not included in our intensity by site
have operational control with the authority to introduce and implement our calculation.
operating policies. For more information, please refer to our Annual Information
i. In order to show comparable data across the periods, we excluded the
Forms located on our Corporate website for our total sites. Following our
emissions associated with internal logistic fleet and terminals that were outside
assessment of control performed during the year, we removed the metrics
of the reporting boundary in FY22 as well as the impact of the change in the
from our Joint Ventures.
emission factors.
d. Our environmental management data covering GHG emissions, energy and
j. Water data only covers various sites in North America and Hong Kong. A total
water are reported based on an operational control consolidation approach
of 6,301 sites were covered in FY23, 7,035 sites in FY22 and 6,756 sites in FY21.
of the sites where we have the authority to introduce and implement our
In FY23, we changed our calculation methodology to determine the average
operating policies. Following our assessment of control performed during the
number of sites. Using the FY23 average number of sites to calculate the FY22
year, we removed the metrics from our Joint Ventures, which are included in
intensity would have led to a reduction of 1.8% of water performance by site.
Fiscal 2021 and Fiscal 2022.
k. Employee numbers represent the U.S., Canada and, Europe and other regions.
e. Our GHG emissions were calculated using the GHG Protocol, covering scope
1 and 2 emissions only. We measured carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous l. The rate of high consequence and recordable work-related injuries is based on
oxide using emission factors from the Climate Registry Default Emission 200,000 hours worked.
Factors and the European Environmental Agency. We applied Global Warming
m. In a few instances (less than 0.5%), gender information was not available in our
Potentials from the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report.
systems and therefore estimations were made.
f. Direct GHG emissions and energy include natural gas in North America and,
n. For more information on governance data, please refer to our Management
starting in FY23, fuel used in our logistic internal fleet.
Proxy Circulars located on our Corporate website.
g. Indirect GHG emissions and energy include electricity covering both renewable
and non-renewable energy sources in North America and Europe and other
regions.
The statements set forth in this report, which describes Couche-Tard’s objectives, projections, estimates,
expectations, or forecasts, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation.
Positive or negative verbs such as “believe”, “can”, “shall”, “intend”, “expect”, “estimate”, “assume”, and other
related expressions are used to identify such statements. Couche-Tard would like to point out that, by their very
nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties such that its results, or the measures it adopts,
could differ materially from those indicated in or underlying these statements, or could have an impact on the
degree of realization of a particular projection. Major factors that may lead to a material difference between
Couche-Tard’s actual results and the projections or expectations set forth in the forward-looking statements
include the effects of the integration of acquired businesses and the ability to achieve projected synergies,
uncertainty related to the duration and severity of the current COVID-19 pandemic, fluctuations in margins on
motor fuel sales, competition in the convenience store and retail motor fuel industries, exchange rate variations,
and such other risks as described in detail from time to time in the reports filed by Couche-Tard with securities
authorities in Canada and the United States.
Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Couche-Tard disclaims any intention or obligation
to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
The forward-looking information in this report is based on information available as of the date of the release.