Events that may trigger the risk • Lack of leadership development. • Lack of managed succession planning and opportunity for career advancement. • Ad hoc/ uncoordinated training plans. • Lack of or poor performance management. • An insufficient pool of diverse and capable people. • Cost of living crisis driving wage inflation, inhibiting recruitment and staff wellbeing impacts. • Changes to legislation surrounding diversity and inclusion. Potential impact • Inability to deliver Unite Student’s strategy. • Reduced employee engagement. • High attrition rates, increasing costs. • Increased recruitment and wage costs. • Reputational impact of not meeting diversity and inclusion targets. • Loss of capability and knowledge from the business impacting on service levels. How we monitor and mitigate • Highly skilled and experienced people leadership team. • Academy providing; training coordination and centralised tracking to ensure consistency. • Performance framework refreshed and relaunched. • Culture Matters engagement forum providing direct feedback from employees. • Talent review process for succession planning for key roles. • Biannual employee engagement survey and action plans. • My Impact one-to-one feedback sessions with all colleagues. OBJECTIVE: Retain a high performing workforce with suitable succession plans and a focus upon diversity, equality, inclusivity, belonging and wellbeing goals. RISK: Loss of talent and capability, lack of strategic leadership capability and meeting changing diversity and inclusion requirements. PRINCIPAL RISK People Events that may trigger the risk • Lack of understanding of the commitment made and the component parts. • Lack of awareness or understanding of regulatory requirements. • No clear plan to deliver the required outputs. • Lack of engagement from stakeholders on delivery of the commitments. • Extreme weather events (flooding, high wind, heat waves). • Increasing legislative burden. • Further reporting requirements leading to an increasing reporting burden. • Increasing, volatile and unpredictable energy, carbon and water costs. Potential impact • Non-compliance with regulations – regulatory action or fines/penalties may follow. • Reputational damage with resultant loss of revenue. • Loss of investor confidence/trust. • Potential reduction in Group credit ratings. • Damage to property. • Injury to people. • Disruption to supply chain. • Increased capital and insurance costs. • Potential for compensation payments to students. • Regulatory action or fines/penalties. • Asset stranding or value write-downs; inability to dispose of assets that do not meet regulatory compliance standards. How we monitor and mitigate • Formal business policies in place and updated regularly. • Effective communication and reporting internally to increase engagement and track progress, and externally to keep stakeholders appraised of ambition and progress. • Ongoing stakeholder consultation and dialogue to ensure strategy and reporting are aligned. • Well-established sustainability strategy and Group Sustainability Committee. • Governance structure in place with clear Board oversight for climate-related issues. • Monitor performance against key ESG frameworks (GRESB, TCFD). • Procurement decisions consider environmental and climate change performance. • Utilities purchasing strategy to purchase only 100% REGO-backed renewable electricity. • Incident management plan in place to react to extreme weather incidents efficiently and effectively. • Active horizon scanning for updates and changes to legislation. • Governance structure in place with clear Board oversight for climate-related issues. OBJECTIVE: To meet external public commitments and regulatory requirements and to prepare for the impact of climate-related physical and transition risks. RISK: Failure to deliver on our sustainability commitments and to effectively mitigate or adapt to the impacts of climate change, resulting in non-compliance with regulatory requirements, reputational damage, and reduced long-term resilience. PRINCIPAL RISK Sustainability (more information about our Climate and Sustainability risks is included in on page 63) 5 6 THE UNITE GROUP PLC Annual Report and Accounts 2025 59