Environmental report

Overview

As a responsible business, we recognise our duty to safeguard the planet for future generations. With this in mind, we advocate for our customers' right to a beautiful home - whether in their living spaces or within the communities and natural landscapes of which we are a part.

Retail and supply chain operations

Manufacturing operations

Ceramic Industries

Ezee Tile

Carbon footprint report

Overview of FY2025 results

Overall, the carbon footprint for the Manufacturing and Retail businesses for the 2025 financial year showed a 5% and 8% reduction, respectively, in total emissions compared to the previous financial year. Ezee Tile experienced a 19% increase in its carbon footprint due to the full inclusion of Silica Quartz mines. The main driver behind the overall footprint reduction was a decrease in emissions linked to lower emissions for stationary combustion (scope 1 emissions) and upstream logistics (scope 3 emissions) on the back of lower production volumes. A reduction in electricity (scope 2 emissions) was influenced by the increased electricity generated from solar power at all three entities. This report presents an overview of the Group’s footprint with selective detailed analyses focused on explaining significant year-on-year changes.

Carbon footprint context

The FY2025 carbon footprint analysis focused on the main emitters within the Group. These emitters are the Manufacturing entities (Sphinx, Ceramics and Ezee Tile) and the Retail entities (Italtile, TopT, CTM and additional properties owned by the Group).

The reported footprint results consist of the following emissions:

• Direct emissions from fossil fuels and manufacturing processes (scope 1).
• Indirect emissions from purchased electricity (scope 2); and
• Indirect emissions associated with activities supporting the business entities (scope 3), which include contractor logistics, business travel, water and paper usage.

The emissions associated with the Group’s activities were calculated to align with South African legislative requirements. Scope 1 emissions are determined according to the National GHG Emissions Reporting Regulations as issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (“DFFE”) and the Carbon Tax Act. Scope 2 emissions are based on Eskom’s latest grid emission factor. Scope 3 emissions are determined in accordance with the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (“DEFRA”) guidelines. All calculations align with The Greenhouse Gas Protocol and ISO 14064 standards.

Overview of the FY2025 carbon footprint results and observations

The carbon footprint assessment grouped results into three main entities: Ceramics, Ezee Tile and Retail. The diagram alongside illustrates each entity’s contribution to the overall footprint of 361 657 tCO₂e, which consists of scope 1, scope 2 and selected scope 3 emissions.

The different classes of emissions are presented in the table below. The areas making a significant contribution to overall movements will be discussed in more detail.

Classification	Description			FY2025  (tCO2e)			FY2024  (tCO2e)	FY2024 to  FY2025	% contribution to carbon footprint
Scope 1	Mobile			2 942			2 859	2,91%	0,81
	Stationary			155 655			164 587	(5,43%)	43,04
	Process			8 565			6 271	36,59%	2,37
Scope 2	Electricity			124 409			127 890	(2,60%)	34,40
Scope 3	Upstream logistics			17 020			20 985	(18,89%)	4,71
	Downstream logistics			49 619			44 679	11,06%	13,72
	Business travel			1 574			2 424	(35,08%)	0,44
	Paper and water			1 874			2 081	(9,95%)	0,52
	Total			361 657			371 775	(2,7%)	100

Discussion of significant movements

Electricity (scope 2)

Emissions from electricity consumption represent 34% of the Group’s overall footprint. Specific year-on-year changes in emissions associated with electricity consumption contributed to a reduction of 2,6% toward the overall movement in the Group’s carbon footprint. A decrease in electricity consumption is attributed to an increase in solar generation and a decrease in overall production.
The most significant contributing items were:

• the Group increased its use of solar generated electricity by 10,8%, thereby reducing its reliance on Eskom electricity supply and reducing carbon emissions; and
• this increase in electricity from solar generation per site is illustrated in the graph below.

Onsite diesel consumption (scope 1)

• onsite diesel consumption by Retail decreased due to the lower generator capacity needed at the sites based on lower loadshedding;
• a decrease in manufacturing diesel is attributed to lower usage at Gryphon and SAMCA wall for Ceramics while lower usage was also noted for Silica Quartz mines at Ezee Tile, coupled with lower production; and
• the decrease in onsite consumption of diesel by the Group is illustrated in the graph alongside.

Upstream logistics (scope 3)

The emissions associated with this activity contributed 4,7% to the overall footprint. An 18,9% decrease was noted for overall upstream logistics based on a reduction in imports, production and destocking.

Downstream logistics (scope 3)

The emissions associated with this activity contributed 13,7% to the overall footprint. The biggest contributor to downstream logistics linked emissions was Ezee Tile, based on updated routes supplied and distance calculated between routes (up by 11,4%). An increase was also noted for Ceramics (up by 3,5%) in FY2025 based on an additional route added (Garden Route). A reduction of 3,8% was evident for Retail downstream logistics due to the implementation of a transport management system optimising transportation activity.

Performance assessment of specific entities

Ceramics and Sphinx

The scope 1 and 2 emissions associated with the Ceramics and Sphinx factories were responsible for 73,8% of the Group’s overall footprint. Independent assessment has enabled the Group to claim income tax deductions under the Section 12L tax incentive with the following savings to date:

Facility	kWh savings	Tax certificate value R	After tax benefit R
Vitro	8 072 310	7 668 694,50	2 070 548
Samca+	13 242 304	12 580 188,80	3 396 651
Pegasus	11 496 880	10 922 036,00	2 948 950

A detailed assessment of Ceramics showed a 15% decrease in production combined with a decrease in facility-level electricity and natural gas consumption (combined energy consumption decreased by 6,7%). The production at Sphinx increased by 16,3%, whereas energy decreased by 1,2% due to the increase in solar use. In both cases, the in-production vs energy indicates a slight increase in overall manufacturing efficiency of 0,7%. The figures below show the year-on-year performance intensity. In total the factories generated 5,51 GWh of electricity from solar.

Retail stores

The scope 1 and 2 emissions associated with the Italtile, CTM, TopT and additional sites, are responsible for 3,5% of the Group’s overall footprint. All these emissions are linked to electricity consumption with backup generators, forklifts and fleet vehicles adding to the overall emissions. Comparing the emissions intensity of FY2024 to FY2025 shows a decrease of 15,4% in tCO₂e/m² gross leasable area which can be linked to reduced electricity consumption, and the closure of certain sites. In total, the stores generated 2,4 GWh of electricity from solar.

Ezee Tile

The scope 1 and 2 emissions associated with the Ezee Tile factories are responsible for 3,4% of the Group’s overall footprint. In FY2025, Ezee Tile’s GHG emissions rose 19% due to the acquisition of Silica Quartz. Excluding these mines there was a 0,3% reduction in emissions. The overall production intensity changed from 23,6 to 39,9 based on increased emissions versus a decrease in production in FY2025. The increase can be attributed to the additional site (Silica Quartz mine), which increased the total energy-related emissions due to the nature of the operations. Silica Quartz is a sand mine and operates a sand drying operation, which is energy intensive. In total, the factories generated 1,02 GWh of electricity from solar.

Assessment of year-on-year changes based on normalised emissions intensities (averages of FY2024 used for sales and turnover)

The previous sections demonstrated the performance of different parts of the Group using metrics that are appropriate for the specific activities. The results below present an additional view of emissions intensity based on more generalised metrics: employment, retail sales and Group turnover. Overall, there was an increase in employment for Ezee Tile, while a decrease for Ceramics. It is noted that there was a decrease in emissions per employee for Ezee Tile with an increase in emissions per sales. It was noted that for Ceramics the emissions per employee and sales increased while a reduction in emissions per sales for Retail decreased. Lastly, a reduction in emissions per turnover is noted.

The impact of carbon tax

The 2024 carbon tax payments (due annually in July) made to SARS cover the emissions from 1 January 2024 to 31 December 2024. The carbon tax applies to selected activities covering scope 1 emissions and only affects the Group’s manufacturing entities. The carbon tax amounts per company for the 2024 tax period were Sphinx: R632 682, Ceramics: R4 232 372 and Ezee Tile: R333 590. An increase in carbon tax was noted for Ezee Tile with the addition of Silica Quartz to the entity, while carbon credits were allocated to Ceramics, leading to reduced carbon tax payment in 2024.

Carbon tax also presents an indirect exposure risk through increasing the costs of purchased fuels, electricity and general services. Currently, the carbon tax rate is R190/tCO₂e, while the headline rate of carbon tax is set to increase to R462/tCO₂e by 2030.

Climate Change Act

In July 2024, the Climate Change Act of 2024 came into effect, introducing the mandatory carbon budgets. This Act sets the legally binding emission reduction targets to limit overall GHG emissions. Companies have to adhere to their allocated carbon budget, which will be an assigned amount of GHG emissions allocated to the Company over a period, with the inclusion of potential penalties for exceeding given budgets. These increased costs associated with fossil fuel use continue to motivate the uptake of energy efficiency and alternative energy projects.

Closing remarks

During FY2025, the Group's overall footprint decreased. The largest contributors were stationary combustion (43%), electricity (34,4%) and downstream logistics (13,7%). The largest contributors to the stationary combustion were the manufacturing entities for the use of natural gas, burner fuel and diesel.

Electricity consumption decreased slightly across the Group, due to the increase in solar usage. Performance of manufacturing facilities was mixed with Ceramics decreasing its emissions while Ezee Tile increased its overall emissions with the addition of Silica Quartz. Retail stores showed an overall improvement in reduced emissions.

As part of our ongoing effort to reduce our annual carbon footprint, the Group will continue to consider and incorporate the latest guidelines of the newly implemented Climate Change Act of 2024.

		2025					2024	2023	2022
Carbon footprint analysis		Ceramics	Ezee Tile	Retail	Total		Total	Total	Total
Total direct energy consumption (gigajoules, GJ) – non‑renewables		2 678 081	107 976	11 896	2 797 953		2 952 974	3 282 344	3 100 000
Total direct energy consumption (gigajoules, GJ) – renewables		1 530,88	282,82	660,18	2 474		2 233	1 850	1 194
Total direct energy consumption (gigajoules, GJ) – all fuels – reported		2 679 612	108 259	12 556	2 800 427		2 955 207	3 284 194	3 101 194
Total direct energy consumption (gigajoules, GJ) – all fuels – calculated		2 679 612	108 259	12 556	2 800 427		2 955 207	3 282 344	#
Percentage of direct energy consumption from renewable fuels		0,0%	0,0%	0,0%	0,0883%		0,0756%	0,0563%	0,0385%
Direct energy efficiency: total direct energy consumed per person hour worked (kJ/PHW)		1 113	231	4	464		605	564	641
Total volume of electricity purchased (MWh) – excluding self-generated from solar, wind or other sources		104 279	4 243	11 102	119 624		126 623	133 156	132 502
Total volume of electricity self-generated (MWh) – i.e. from solar, wind or other sources		5 511	1 018	2 377	8 906		8 038	6 660	2 536
Total volume of electricity consumed (MWh) – purchased + self-generated – calculated		109 790	5 261	13 478	128 530		134 661	139 817	135 038
Percentage of electricity consumed that was self-generated		5,02%	19,35%	17,63%	6,93%		5,97%	4,76%	1,88%
Electricity efficiency: average electricity consumed per person hour worked (kWh/PHW)		45,62	11,22	4,27	21,31		27,57	24,03	27,92
Total indirect energy consumption (i.e. electricity) in gigajoules – calculated		395 245	18 940	48 523	462 707		448 478	503 340	477 007
Total direct and indirect (i.e. electricity) energy consumption in gigajoules – calculated		3 074 857	127 199	61 079	3 263 134		3 439 987	3 787 534	3 578 201
Total energy efficiency: total direct energy and indirect energy consumed per person hour worked (kJ/PHW)		1 278	271	19	541		704	651	740
Total carbon emissions (tonnes CO2e) – Scope 1		158 295	7 947	919	167 162		173 717	192 339	193 658
Carbon emissions (tonnes CO2e) – Scope 2		108 450	4 413	11 546	124 409		127 889	138 482	138 112
Carbon emissions (tonnes CO2e) – Scope 3		11 412	35 636	23 039	70 087		70 168	74 927	118 684
Total carbon emissions (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, CO2e)		278 157	47 996	35 504	361 657		371 776	405 749	450 453
Carbon intensity: average volume of carbon emissions per person hour worked (tonnes CO2e/PHW)		0,12	0,10	0,01	0,06		0,08	0,07	0,09
Total volume of water consumed (kilolitres, or kl) – new purchases and/or abstractions (excluding recycled water used)		369 573	165 122	86 338	621 033		594 722	514 287	1 723 192
Water efficiency: average volume of water (litres) consumed per person hour worked (l/PHW)		153,57	352,18	27,35	102,95		121,76	114,81	362,33

#	Not measured.