Kingfisher : Report - PDF

Our Home, Our World

Responsible Business Report 2020/21

1	Kingfisher Responsible Business Report 2020/21	Introduction	Colleagues	Planet	Customers	Communities	Fundamentals	Assurance

At Kingfisher, we are committed to doing everything we can to make a positive impact for society so that all our homes - including our communities, our forests and our planet - can flourish.

Our Responsible Business Report provides highlights of our progress from across our retail banners and key data for

1 February 2020-31 January 2021. It summarises performance against some of our targets, highlights key actions during the year and explains our response to the challenging circumstances created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

We also publish a detailed performance data appendix with further information on our performance and progress against targets. Our appendix includes details of how our reporting aligns with external frameworks such as the United Nations Global Compact, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). See performance data appendix 2020/21.

1. Introduction
2. About Kingfisher
3. From our Chief Executive Officer
4. Responding to the Covid-19 pandemic

1. Celebrating 30 years of Responsible Business
2. Our Responsible Business strategy
3. Four key priorities
4. Colleagues
5. Our People and Culture plan
6. Launching our Inclusion and Diversity strategy

1. Planet
2. Becoming Forest Positive

1. Engaging suppliers in the leather supply chain
2. Committed to ambitious climate change targets

1. Towards peat-free gardening
2. Customers
3. Our Sustainable Home Products
4. Our Sustainable Home Products principles
5. Our sustainable products

1. Removing harmful chemicals
2. Reducing impacts from plastic
3. Designing more sustainable packaging
4. Communities
5. Our network of local foundations

1. Partnering to increase our impact
2. Getting our colleagues involved

1. If Walls Could Talk
2. Our Responsible Business Fundamentals

1. Assurance statement

2	Kingfisher Responsible Business Report 2020/21	Introduction	Colleagues	Planet	Customers	Communities	Fundamentals	Assurance

About Kingfisher

Kingfisher plc is an international home improvement company with over 1,380 stores in eight countries across Europe. We employ 80,000 people. At Kingfisher, our purpose is to make better homes accessible for everyone.

80,000†*

colleagues

1,386‡*

stores

Our markets and our stores

(at 31 January 2021)

We have ten distinct retail banners which address diverse customer needs. They are powered by Kingfisher which provides key benefits such as group sourcing, own exclusive brands, technology and partnerships.

2,990

suppliers from over 80 countries

UK & Ireland		France	UK & Ireland		France
46%		35%	68%		18%
£5,743m		£4,309m	£681m		£181m

UK &
Ireland1	Poland
1,023	83

Total sales*	Retail profit
£12,343m	£1,003m	214⁜	35
		France2	Romania

		Portugal
		3
Other international	Other international	Spain
19%	14%	28
£2,291m	£141m

Turkey*

140

1. B&Q UK & Ireland 301, Screwfix UK & Ireland 722.
2. Castorama 93, Brico Dépôt 121.

* Turkey joint venture not consolidated.

† Total, not full-time equivalent.

• The sale of our business in Russia was completed on 30 September 2020.

3	Kingfisher Responsible Business Report 2020/21	Introduction	Colleagues	Planet	Customers	Communities	Fundamentals	Assurance

From our Chief Executive Officer

2020/21 was an unprecedented year, one in which almost every aspect of our personal and professional lives was disrupted.

I would like to express my thanks to all colleagues for their extraordinary achievements during this time. They have kept our businesses running efficiently, approaching the many challenges with grit, determination, sensitivity and commitment. As a result of their efforts, we made substantial strategic, operational and financial progress, and we're coming out of the Covid crisis a stronger business. It is both humbling and inspiring to be part of this team.

Responsible Business - a strategic priority

It is sobering to consider that despite the enormity of the Covid crisis, it is just one among many social, economic and environmental challenges.

Issues such as climate change, inequality, mental health and housing standards - to name a few - all require urgent action. We are committed to playing our part, and at the heart of our strategic plan, Powered by Kingfisher, there is a commitment

to lead the industry in Responsible Business practices. This is prioritised at the highest levels of our business, with our Board-level Responsible Business Committee and our Group Executive Committee (GE) overseeing our efforts.

Despite the upheaval of last year, we have made strong progress across our Responsible

Business priorities, applying our experience, the strength of our teams, and our scale to achieve a positive impact.

Becoming a more inclusive company

Our ambition is to create an inclusive and diverse environment across Kingfisher. We truly believe that being diverse and having differences, enriches our company and makes us better. We know how important this is to colleagues and to our stakeholders.

We have more to do to become truly representative of the communities in which we operate, and to help us get there, our Board approved our 'Inclusion and Diversity' strategy in 2020. Each of our retail banners has now developed an inclusivity action plan, setting out the steps we'll take.

Helping tackle climate change

The urgency of the environmental crisis continues to intensify. We have already cut operational carbon emissions by 27% since 2016/17. As a result, we've reviewed our science- based carbon reduction target, and have committed to make the investments needed to align it with the 1.5°C scenario set out in the Paris Climate Agreement.

We've been committed to responsible sourcing of wood and paper for 30 years. Now, we are going further, aiming to be 'Forest Positive' by 2025. Through our new partnership with

the Rainforest Alliance we will be investing in projects to protect, restore and enable the responsible management of tropical forests in some of the countries at most risk of deforestation.

Making greener, healthier homes affordable

When customers shop in one of our stores, we want them to have certainty that they are getting great products at competitive prices which have been responsibly sourced and have a low or positive environmental impact. So I'm pleased to report that 42% of our sales this year came from products that help create a more sustainable home - from LED lighting and chemical-free gardening products, to water- efficient taps and energy-efficient power tools.

Fixing unfit housing in our communities

Our recent research report, 'If Walls Could Talk', shows that millions of people across Europe are living in unfit housing, and this has been made worse by the pandemic. To fulfil our purpose to make better homes accessible for everyone, we need to help change this.

We are committed to make better homes accessible for everyone. Since 2016/17, we have supported 791,000 people whose housing needs are greatest, to help them have a home that they can feel proud of. Our charity partnerships and the launch of our network of charitable foundations will help us further accelerate our

progress. We expect to exceed our target to reach one million people by 2025, and have now increased our ambition to two million.

During 2021/22, we expect to make further progress on our Responsible Business priorities and I look forward to updating you on the results of our efforts next year.

Thierry Garnier

Chief Executive Officer

Thierry Garnier,

Chief Executive Officer,

Kingfisher plc

4	Kingfisher Responsible Business Report 2020/21	Introduction	Colleagues	Planet	Customers	Communities	Fundamentals	Assurance

Responding to the

Covid-19 pandemic

During the pandemic, we have been focused on serving our customers' essential needs as effectively as possible, while protecting the safety of our customers, colleagues and suppliers, and supporting communities and governments.

Operating safely for colleagues and customers

When the pandemic struck, we voluntarily closed our stores in the UK and France for several weeks to protect colleagues and customers and limit the spread of the virus. This was despite our businesses in these markets holding 'essential retailer' status.

As we reopened our stores and logistics centres, we implemented stringent safety measures including: use of PPE for colleagues, limiting customer numbers, increased hygiene and measures to enable social distancing.

We engaged with governments throughout the pandemic, including sharing best practice examples of our health and safety measures in our stores. Our approach was recognised by the UK Government, with B&Q used as a case study on the Coronavirus Business Support blog www.gov.uk.

We also engaged with suppliers to encourage the adoption of Covid-secure working practices by the factories in our supply chain. This included carrying out online checks in some locations to make sure their workers' health was being protected.

Supporting our communities

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is critical for frontline healthcare workers but during the Covid-19 crisis supplies often did not meet the unprecedented levels of demand. In 2020, we ringfenced our stock of PPE for several weeks, worth over £2.5 million, reserving it for donation to frontline healthcare organisations across our markets.

We also supported local charities who work with communities affected by the pandemic through donations worth over £1 million. An additional £1.5 million was raised by our colleagues and customers.

Supporting colleague wellbeing

During the pandemic we have also taken action to help colleagues look after their wellbeing and mental health, whether they were working from home or from one of our stores or distribution centres. This has included: providing a range of resources and information with partners such as the Retail Trust in the UK and Alterhego in France; delivering mental health training; and our Wellness Wednesdays which encouraged colleagues to dedicate time to their wellbeing.