DIVERSITY,

Being inclusive of individuals with different backgrounds, views, experience and capability working together makes us stronger and better as an organisation. We are committed to recruiting and retaining people who respect each other, our customers, our stakeholders and our partners and have a broad range of skills, experiences and frames of reference to drive innovation, deliver improved financial performance and help us to achieve our ambition.

Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion starts with our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policy and framework. A copy of this policy is available in the Corporate Governance section of our website Our approach takes a strategic view that to build diversity, equity and inclusion at Mercury, we must align a variety of initiatives that enable and involve our people, build external partnerships, grow capability, and ensure our work environment and structure support a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture. The activity we undertake across these areas of focus is aligned to the following principles:

• pursue diversity of our people at all levels,

• create a flexible and inclusive work environment that values difference and enhances business outcomes,

• harness diversity of thought and capitalise on individual differences,

• embrace leadership behaviours that reflect our belief in the value of diversity, equity and inclusion,

• attract and retain a talented workforce through increasing the diversity of the candidate pool and maintaining a recruitment strategy that is attractive to all candidates, and

• recognise the importance of investing in creating a greater sense of belonging for our people. This approach will be practically achieved across our business by:

• providing learning opportunities that raise awareness of the benefits of diversity, equity and inclusion, improve understanding of the biases that hinder progress, and support leaders to create safe, supportive, and equitable spaces where team members of all backgrounds and experiences belong,

• ensuring our recruitment and selection, development and talent management approaches are equitable and enable inclusion and diversity at all levels,

• regularly reviewing and enhancing processes and policies to encourage greater flexibility and diversity and enable an inclusive and equitable environment where everyone can belong,

• embedding diversity, equity and inclusion in our culture through engaging internal communications and events, active employee led network groups that promote awareness, and seeking diverse perspectives on issues that matter to our people,

• regularly tracking progress towards a diverse workforce at all levels against specific targets,

• engaging with educational institutions and partners in our communities to address inequity and promote and encourage wide talent pools for the industry.

In addition to the actions we undertake, we also support a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace through not permitting or condoning any harassment, discrimination or victimisation. Our Anti Bullying, Harassment and Discrimination Policy outlines our approach to this.

Our progress against diversity and inclusion goals is measured against objectives set by the Board. These objectives are made up of a mixture of targets and benchmarks. Generally, targets exist where we believe that achieving diversity in that area is aided by us working towards a specific measure. In other areas, we use benchmarks where comparison against those identified data points will help inform our view of how our work towards diversity in that area is progressing. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is also covered in the Ngā Tāngata/ People section in our FY23 Integrated Report with details of specific initiatives underway.