REA Group Ltd Annual Report 2021

Directors’ Report continued REA Group Ltd | Annual Report 2021 Sustainability REA Group is committed to responsible and sustainable business practices. This is reflected in our values and underpins everything we do. Our Sustainability program incorporates community investment, community programs (internally “Because We Care”) and our commitment to the environment. REA’s community investment and community programs are focused on our belief that everyone deserves a safe place to sleep, every night. This is aligned to delivering on REA’s purpose to change the way the world experiences property. We have well established partnerships with charities that address the issue of homelessness and have extended our relationships with Launch Housing, Orange Sky Australia and The Big Issue through to 30 June 2022. The Because We Care program supports and empowers employees to give back to causes that are important to them. They can do this through matched payroll giving, volunteer leave, employee community grants, our community café in Melbourne and the Hack it Forward Award as part of REAio Hack Days. FY21 was the second year of REA’s environment program, and we made progress towards understanding and reducing the company’s impact on the environment. The FY21 Sustainability Report will be published on the company’s corporate website in October 2021. Highlights from REA’s sustainability program in FY21: – Published REA Group’s first Climate Change Policy in October 2020 outlining our commitment to address climate change in three broad ways: understanding climate risk, reducing and offsetting our emissions and supporting our customers and consumers to reduce their impact. This policy includes science based aligned targets for carbon emission reduction by 2030. – REA Group was certified carbon neutral by the Australian Government’s Climate Active program in March 2021. This was the culmination of long-term efforts to measure the company’s carbon footprint for the first time and form working groups focused on emissions reduction. – Commenced a program of work to understand and report on REA Group’s climate risk aligned to the Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures. – MSCI ESG rating for REA Group improved to an A in FY21 from BBB in FY20. MSCI ESG Ratings are designed to measure a company’s resilience to long-term, industry material environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks. – Continued financial and in-kind support of Launch Housing, including funding of the National Rapid Rehousing Fund, supporting women and children escaping family violence to prevent homelessness. Since commencement of the Fund in February 2015, the Rapid rehousing program has assisted 4,771 women and children. Free advertising and listings are also provided to Launch Housing’s social enterprise real estate agency, HomeGround Real Estate. REA Group also supported Launch Housing’s tender for the Hotels to Homes (H2H) grant to support private rental accommodation for homeless people moved to temporary hotel accommodation during the pandemic. – Continued financial and in-kind support of Orange Sky Australia, including supporting the operating costs for mobile washing and shower services across Australia, and connecting volunteers with vulnerable and disadvantaged community members since 2017. REA Group employees formed a team to support Orange Sky’s national fundraising campaign ‘The Sudsy Challenge’ and finished as the Top Fundraising Team and Top Fundraising Workplace, raising over $16,000. – Continued financial and in-kind support of The Big Issue Australia since 2014, including support of the Women’s Subscription Enterprise, which employs vulnerable and disadvantaged women to pack copies of The Big Issue for subscribers. REA Group supported The Big Issue 25th birthday celebration in June 2021. – Smartline has donated $10 from every loan they facilitate towards a community fund for the last 20 years. To date, Smartline has donated over $2.5 million to charities around Australia including Cancer Council, Lifeline and Kickstart for Kids. – REA continues not to charge Australian real estate agencies which have been endorsed as Deductible Gift Recipients, for subscriptions. – realestate.com.au’ s Advantage Program, provided individual community grants to Australian residential customers helping them improve their local communities. – In response to the devastating COVID-19 crisis in India, REA Group supported Elara employees with increased health measures including setting up a makeshift clinic and support centre, immunity kits and a donation to UNICEF India’s COVID-19 Crisis appeal. 40 Directors’ Report