Ethics & Environmental Information

As a responsible company we have adopted strict buying agreements and rigorous supply chain management processes to oversee our suppliers and help them to achieve higher ethical standards.

We work closely with over 500 suppliers from around the world to ensure that guidelines addressing employment practices, health and safety, quality of product and environmental performance are properly applied.

As part of this programme, and in recognition of the fact we have a large, complex supply chain, we use SEDEX - a web-based system that enables the exchange of ethical and environmental factory data across supply chains. SEDEX holds information about workplaces in multiple supply chains that is provided by the factories themselves and the auditors that assess them. The system then allows buying companies to extract and report on that information to target follow up on those sites that need the most support. Our membership of SEDEX provides us with greater visibility at all levels of our supply chain. It also leads to a reduction in the number of audits a production site may face as SEDEX shares high quality audit information with multiple buying companies at the same time.

We’re working with our verified sellers to ensure that all of them are working towards compliance with the Kingfisher Forest Positive Policy and Ethical Sourcing standards. We’re using our commercial relationships as a force for good to encourage improvements in standards, and we’re asking all of the sellers who sell wood and paper products to comply with our requirements within 5 years of joining the platform. As we progress we’re hoping we can show our customers which products meet our standards and make it even easier for them to make more sustainable choices for their homes.

You can visit www.recycle-more.co.uk and enter your postcode to find your nearest recycling point, you can text ELEC and your postcode to 60060 or you can call the recycle help line on 08450 682 572.

Read more about the WEEE scheme and our commitment to recycling old electrical goods.

Every B&Q store has battery recycling point located near to the front of the store. We're able to accept all portable batteries including AA, AAA and D size batteries as well as power tools batteries (we can't accept car batteries).

Over 50% of B&Q’s sales are from products that meet Kingfisher's Sustainable Home Product Guidelines. This means that they have at least one feature that make them more sustainable or can help our customers to enjoy more sustainable homes. For example, loft insulation and LED light bulbs help to keep carbon emissions down in the home, as well as helping to keep energy bills under control. Over 95% of the wood and paper products that we sell have been responsibly sourced through applying the Kingfisher Forest Positive policy, and we’re aiming to reach 100% soon.

Read more about our Forest Positive Policy.

Chain of Custody is the unbroken path which products take from the forest to the consumer, including all stages of manufacturing, transportation, and distribution.

B&Q maintains a certified chain of custody for both FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification) making us one of the largest certified companies in the UK. Chain of Custody proves that our certified wood and paper products come from either proven, well-managed forest or recycled material according to the requirements of the FSC or PEFC schemes.

Chain of Custody means customers can be assured that we are committed to sourcing timber from only proven, well-managed forests and to improving our proportion of certified products within the business and can be illustrated by our securing of the largest supply of FSC hardwood plywood in the world by volume in September 2009.

Every time you buy a product containing FSC or PEFC you will find B&Q's unique Chain of Custody number on your till receipt.

The FSC® label provides a credible link between responsible production and consumption of forest products, enabling consumers and businesses to make purchasing decisions that benefit people and the environment as well as providing ongoing business value.

FSC® is nationally represented in more than 50 countries around the world. B&Q is proud to be a founding partner of the FSC® and to have full chain of custody status.

Find out more at www.fsc-uk.org.