Serving the nation’s dreams

In a challenging year for Camelot, we made good progress in some important areas - but we face some tough challenges in 2008/09, particularly as we enter the new Licence period.

Achievements

• The third Licence: We secured the next 10-year Licence to operate The National Lottery, starting in February 2009
• Growing sales: We succeeded in growing National Lottery sales to £4,966.3m, a rise of £54.9m (1.1%) on last year’s £4,911.4m – boosting the cumulative total raised for Good Causes since The National Lottery began to over £21bn
• Responsible business practice: We received a 'Big Tick' and were named 'Highly Commended' for our approach to Responsible Marketing by Business in the Community (BITC) in July 2008
• Preventing underage play: 93% of retailers refused to sell to test purchasers on a first visit in our Operation Child programme
• Good employer: We were placed third in The Guardian’s book on Britain’s Top Employers. 90% of our staff are proud to work for us, according to a Sunday Times survey
• Reducing our environmental impact: We reduced our carbon emissions by 36% and the waste we sent to landfill by 28%.

Challenges

• Introduce new third Licence systems and games in a socially responsible way without damaging the flow of returns to Good Causes
• Embed Corporate Responsibility processes in the new systems and games to be introduced as part of the new lottery Licence
• Maintain the high level of public trust in the operation of The National Lottery, particularly during the transition to the next Licence
• Ensure that the transition to the third Licence is as smooth a process as possible for our staff, retail partners and all stakeholders
• Maintain our environmental achievements with a change in technology during transition and a shortage of supply of paper from sustainable sources and renewable electricity
• Motivate employees to take pride in working for Camelot and feel involved in our future, particularly as we make the transition to the next Licence.

What we are doing to address these challenges

• Undertake a strategic review of employee engagement and communication channels, including our approach to gathering staff feedback
• Focus on the recommendations made by our assurance providers and the Advisory Panel for Corporate Responsibility
• Review our existing stakeholder engagement mechanisms to increase the number of groups we consult with and widen engagement opportunities
• Assess the effectiveness of our player protection measures with the help of independent experts
• Introduce new mechanisms to engage players and the general public
• Review environmental management structures and work to achieve company-wide ISO14001 accreditation by 2011.