Environmental Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 15

Our product ingredients are mainly agricultural commodities — grain, grapes, agave, etc. Our agricultural supply chain has impacts on water, land use, biodiversity, soil quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and more.
Product lifecycle assessments have shown us that most of the emissions, waste, and water associated with our products occur in our supply chain. These impacts, which fall outside of our direct control, are harder to mitigate than our own operations.

Our procurement teams consider sustainability when they source raw materials to make our products. We are part of the supply chain for our biggest customers — distributors. Since 2011, we have responded to the CDP Supply Chain disclosure questionnaire.

In Fiscal 2017 we acquired The Benriach Distillery Company.

In Fiscal 2016 we purchased Slane Castle Irish Whiskey Limited and will build a new distillery and consumer experience on the historic Slane Castle Estate in County Meath, Ireland.

In Fiscal 2016 we sold the Southern Comfort and Tuaca trademarks.

Alcohol Responsibility, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 6

• Has positions in governance bodies
• Participates in projects or committees
• Provides substantive funding beyond routine membership dues
• Views membership as strategic.

Community Relations, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 26
Alcohol Responsibility, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 7

We work closely with the 11 industry leaders that signed the Beer, Wine, and Spirits Producers’ Commitments to Reduce Harmful Drinking. Globally, we work with a variety of organizations to address alcohol responsibility issues. In Mexico, we belong to the Foundation of Social Investigations (FISAC), an organization that promotes responsible alcohol consumption through education and public policy. In Australia, we support DrinkWise, a non-profit that promotes behavior change through informational and educational campaigns.

About This Report, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 30

Process for defining report content/material aspects:
To help us prioritize the corporate responsibility issues that matter most to our business, we conducted an assessment of the areas of significant impacts on our business. The assessment helped us better understand the importance of these issues to our stakeholders and to the success of our business. To define the content and scope of this report, we carried out a series of activities to develop our list of material issues:

• We assessed the current relevance of material topics identified in external and internal stakeholder workshops conducted in 2011, 2012, and 2014. We also conducted a formal assessment with our stakeholders in 2015 to identify our most pressing corporate responsibility issues.
• Based on our findings we refined and developed a topic list for additional testing, reviewing this against relevant Global Reporting Initiative aspects and definitions for completeness.
• We tested a long list of issues internally, conducting a workshop that included employees from across a range of business areas to assess the importance of and impact to the business of the identified topics.
• We supplemented our understanding and prioritization of the issues through a series of external interviews with subject matter experts in the areas of alcohol responsibility, alcohol distribution and marketing, industry ethics, agriculture, water, and other environmental concerns, as well as with Brown family representatives and investors. We worked with an independent consultant to conduct these interviews to help further guide our understanding of stakeholder perspectives on these issues.
• Taking into account the feedback from internal and external stakeholders, and through conversations involving senior leadership, we arrived at our current list of significant issues.

Our Passion for Responsibility, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 2

Material Aspects:
Responsible Marketing Practices, Reducing Alcohol-Related Harms, Public Policy Influence, Promoting Responsible Drinking, Energy & Climate Stewardship, Raw Materials Sourcing, Water Use in Operations, Waste Generation & Management, Packaging & Recyclability, Community Investment & Volunteerism, Employee Health Safety & Wellness, Supply Chain, Labor & Human Rights, Diversity & Inclusion

Our engagement with stakeholders and partners is an ongoing process, and we invite them to share feedback and ideas with us. We seek targeted feedback on our corporate responsibility performance and communications through periodic formal stakeholder sessions that we have conducted since 2008.

Internal stakeholders also provide valuable direction for our Corporate Responsibility strategy. Our employee engagement survey (see Our People) includes questions about Brown-Forman’s commitment to corporate responsibility, which helps us measure what matters to employees and evaluate how we are meeting their expectations.

• Executive or non-executive
• Independence
• Tenure on the governance body
• Number of each individual’s other significant positions and commitments, and the nature of the commitments
• Gender
• Membership of under-represented social groups
• Competences relating to economic, environmental and social impacts
• Stakeholder representation

The Brown-Forman Board of Directors has ultimate responsibility for the overall performance of the company and oversight of the executive leadership team. In Fiscal 2017, the Board of Directors comprised 13 directors, six of whom were independent.

Our expectations for the ethical behavior of all Brown-Forman employees are laid out in the Code of Conduct. The guidelines defined in the Code of Conduct reflect our core values and follow the simple premise that our business is only as ethical as our people.

Each year, all salaried employees are required to read and certify compliance with our Code of Conduct.

The Code of Conduct is available in 14 local languages, to reflect our diverse employee population and facilitate understanding by all employees.

Code of Conduct

In the marketplace, we focus on promoting fair and ethical business practices. We remain committed to the guidelines set forth in our Global Human Rights Statement, defining our commitment to respecting the fundamental rights inherent to all human beings. We share our human rights policies and practices with our suppliers through our Supplier Guiding Principles on Human Rights.

Global Human Rights Statement

Ethical Business Behavior:
Our expectations for the ethical behavior of all Brown-Forman employees are laid out in the Code of Conduct. The guidelines defined in the Code of Conduct reflect our core values and follow the simple premise that our business is only as ethical as our people. The Code of Conduct is the foundation for our integrity and ensures that we uphold our values consistently as we grow in new markets. The Code of Conduct is available in 14 local languages, to reflect our diverse employee population and facilitate understanding by all employees.

Code of Conduct Training:
Each year, all salaried employees are required to read and certify compliance with our Code of Conduct. The Code is written in simple, self-explanatory language and reinforced through a global training program. We also provide supplemental training for new employees and business partners through online and in-person training.

Anti-Corruption:
We are committed to avoiding corruption, or even the appearance of corruption, in all transactions with customers, suppliers, and others. Our anti-corruption guidelines (Section 3 of the Code of Conduct) prohibit bribery and improper payments, mandate accurate bookkeeping, and require that all employees know and comply with all local laws and regulations.

Responsible Packaging, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 15

We believe that packaging can account for nearly 70% of the waste generated across our product lifecycle and are researching innovations to reduce the waste impact of packaging at end-of-life.

Brown-Forman 2017 Scorecard, Environmental Sustainability
2017 CDP Climate Disclosure

In 2010, Brown-Forman conducted a global water scarcity assessment of our production operations and key co-packers (within our supply chain) using various water tools. Some of the assessment tools used give water risk projections for the next 50+ years. Brown-Forman typically considers water risk assessments evaluated over the next 5 years. Our business strategy is implemented to address the risks identified, including when assessing an expansion of company operations at existing or proposed locations. Our water risk assessments include the WRI Aqueduct tool, the Global Water Tool from the WBCSD, and the Water Risk Filter from the World Wide Fund for Nature, which has allowed us to identify our operations and co-packers that are located in high-risk or water stressed areas. Globally, our company faces some direct risk associated with water scarcity because of the location of our operations and the requirements for water in our production processes and finished products. This risk stems from constraints on the available quantity, and quality of water supplies across our enterprise but especially from a minority of our operations located in certain sensitive areas.

Environmental Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 15

As part of its construction plan, Slane Distillery restored a section of Harlinstown Stream, a tributary to the Boyne River, including the construction of a salmon ladder. The salmon ladder allows salmon and other fish to bypass the mill pond (used for fire suppression water) and travel upstream during spawning season. The salmon ladder was designed and constructed to mimic a natural stream environment as much as possible, and improve the biodiversity of this section of the water on site.

Understanding Sustainable Agriculture, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 15
Supporting Sustainable Forestry, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 15

Our product ingredients are mainly agricultural commodities — grain, grapes, agave, etc. Our agricultural supply chain has impacts on water, land use, biodiversity, soil quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and more.

Product lifecycle assessments have shown us that most of the emissions, waste, and water associated with our products occur in our supply chain. These impacts, which fall outside of our direct control, are harder to mitigate than our own operations.

Our procurement teams consider sustainability when they source raw materials to make our products. We are part of the supply chain for our biggest customers — distributors. Since 2011, we have responded to the CDP Supply Chain disclosure questionnaire.

A Building Trust through Responsible Marketing, Corporate Responsibility Report 2017, pg. 9

We follow all labeling requirements as governed by law, including the Surgeon General's warning in the U.S. and responsible drinking messages where applicable. The Producers' Commitments are also being implemented to add symbols and/or language to our packaging, and website links provide more information where applicable and allowed by law.