Author: Paige Davies, SHEQ Sustainability Specialist, HAYLEY DEXIS
If you talk to anyone passionate about the environment, you’ll often hear about huge goals with dates that can feel too far in the future to be exciting or get behind. That’s why we’ve taken the step at HAYLEY DEXIS to voluntarily conduct a Double Materiality Assessment. It ensures our Sustainability Strategy is deeply integrated into our core operations by looking inside-out, and outside-in – utilising not only our supplier and customer relationships, but also taking our people on the journey so they can share in the excitement.
Having spearheaded the project for over six months, it’s shown how Double Materiality can build a bridge between high-level strategy and real-world operational realities across all levels of the business. But it does so much more than that; it shows that at HAYLEY DEXIS we care deeply about our people and our environment, and we’re here not only to stay but to continue growing sustainably.
What is Double Materiality?
Double Materiality uses two perspectives:
– Outside-In (Financial Materiality) examines how the external environment, social, and regulatory factors, such as climate change, shifting legislation, and market dynamics, could impact HAYLEY DEXIS’s operations, reputation, and financial performance.
– Inside-Out (Impact Materiality) examines how HAYLEY DEXIS’business operations, supply chain, and employees impact the wider community, stakeholders, and the environment.
We gathered structured data through surveys, targeted interviews, operational reviews, and legislative mapping to capture a 360-degree view of what truly matters to our customers, suppliers, leadership, and team members.
Core Themes Revealed
The surveys and interviews revealed 7 key material topics that stakeholders cared deeply about, which we have used to inform our Sustainability Strategy: Supply Chain Sustainability, Climate Change Mitigation, Carbon Footprint Reduction, Regulatory Compliance, Ethical Business Practice, Certification and Standards, and Government and Risk Management.
From these core themes, explicit short-, medium-, and long-term objectives were mapped out through an Impact, Risk, and Opportunities (IRO) assessment and aligned directly with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Progress against these objectives will be reviewed annually to maintain accountability and continuous improvement.
In total, 16 objectives were developed. From reducing carbon emissions, securing ISO certifications, improving warehouse efficiencies, and establishing branch-level sustainability champions. These comprehensive objectives drive continuous improvement across environmental, social, and governance operations.
At branch level, projects like the launch of electric vans, which is part of the Climate Change Mitigation and Carbon Footprint Reduction topic demonstrate tangible action our teams are making today. Although the goals may be in the future, they anchor our people in the present by showing what we can all do to make small changes that have a big impact.
Using Industry-Leading Methodology
It’s always helpful to have a gold standard for assessments, so it was more than handy that there are existing European frameworks. The EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) were used throughout the HAYLEY DEXIS Double Materiality Assessment.
The comprehensive process took us about six months to complete and was finalised in January this year. We carefully mapped each ESG theme against risk ratings, opportunities for innovation, and competitive advantages, ensuring the process was grounded in technical rigour and real-world evidence.
Inclusive Consultation
Sustainability cannot be achieved in isolation by a single department; it requires a collective cultural shift across the entire business. To ensure the strategy reflected practical reality, consultation extended far beyond senior management to include our team members across over 50 branches and operational departments.
We looked to obtain operational insight by talking directly to departments like logistics, who provided crucial context on operational constraints, preventing well-meaning but impractical policies from being implemented.
We empowered our branch teams to tell us what was important to them personally and for the business to ensure they felt heard, valued, and connected to our broader strategic vision. We listened, which revealed varying perspectives, so we could ensure our communications reflected why these policies really matter.
Connecting Sustainability to the Core Business Case
A key takeaway from the assessment was the clear alignment between sustainability and commercial resilience. By evaluating physical climate risks (such as extreme weather events), legislative shifts, and customer expectations, the assessment highlighted that proactive sustainability management directly protects revenue, secures contracts, and mitigates operational risks. By using the lens of financial stability and long-term viability, it was possible to bring everyone on the journey, from leadership to the branch network, recognising that sustainability is not a nice-to-have, but a long-term business strength and competitive advantage.