Tony Rice

Non-Executive Chairman

The true strength of the Group's Culture and Values have come to the fore during the pandemic


Welcome to the 2020 Annual Report in which you will read about the strong performance in a year impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The true strength of the Group's Culture and Values have come to the fore during the pandemic and have been demonstrated by the response from our employees.

Employees

I would like to express the thanks of myself and the Board to each and every one of our employees for their continued hard work and dedication throughout the year, especially during the lockdown period. I have been extremely impressed by the versatility of all our teams in adapting to new ways of working and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in such a positive manner. I would, in particular, like to thank our front line workers in manufacturing, laboratories and logistics who have continued to work on-site throughout the period with dedication and professionalism. Our employees' actions during this period have demonstrated to the Board how our Values underpin everything we do at Dechra. They outline the type of people we are, the services we provide and the way we aim to conduct business.

Environmental, Social and Governance

During the year we have seen an increased interest from investors in our Environmental, Social and Governance framework. On analysing this interest we have realised that although our Culture and business practices are very strong in this critical area, our disclosures could be vastly improved. We have made concerted efforts in this Annual Report and on our website to publish more detailed information. Dechra's purpose is the sustainable improvement of global animal health and welfare and this is intrinsic in our Values, the way we do business and in the decisions we make when developing and implementing our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) framework.

We look forward to keeping you and the market updated on the delivery of our strategy throughout the coming year.


Our Purpose

is the sustainable improvement of global animal health and welfare


Our ESG Strategy

Our new ESG strategy is based on our Purpose and Values

We have chosen to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Three SDGs have been identified as being most material to our business operations and the products we sell. They are Quality Education, Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Responsible Consumption and Production.