B&Q honoured with Queen's Award

B&Q has been honoured with the UK’s most prestigious business award, The Queen’s Award, for its work in creating a sustainable business and helping people improve the sustainability of their homes. The UK’s largest home improvement retailer, which has already been named Retail Week’s Responsible Retailer of the Year this year, will be presented with their Sustainable Development Award later this year. It demonstrates that corporate social responsibility is intrinsically linked to business success, not at odds with it.

Whilst the retailer proved it has made significant progress by; reducing its own emissions; investing in green technologies; educating its employees; and helping people make their homes more sustainable - the award was, in no small part, made as a result of B&Q 20 year journey to become the first major UK retailer to only buy timber products from proven responsibly-managed sources.

As well as now stocking more than 15,000 Forest Friendly products, B&Q also provides a range of over 3,500 independently accredited One Planet Home eco products, designed to reduce levels of environmental impact or help people get greener homes. Currently 5.6 per cent of product sales are from the eco-brand. Already looking ahead to the launch of the Green Deal later this year, B&Q is researching and developing new products and advice to ensure it can offer people the help and advice they need to take advantage of the Government’s Green Deal offer to ecovate their homes.

Matt Sexton, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at B&Q said:“This award is a huge honour and confirms B&Q as one of the UKs leaders in more sustainable retailing.

"Our sustainability journey started over twenty years ago when we were challenged about where the timber in our garden furniture came from. Today we monitor over 15,000 timber and paper lines specifying that they come only from proven responsible sources. This has meant making some hard commercial choices along the way but we believe it is the only way to operate.

"We have made good progress against other One Planet Home goals with substantial cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, solvent levels in paint and the amount of waste we send to landfill. This is thanks to teams throughout our business, who constantly work to support our One Planet Home goals. We always strive to do the right thing and if we don’t always get it right we work hard to put it right.

"We are delighted to have been recognised with this prestigious award which will spur us on in pursuit of our goal of becoming a truly sustainable business.”

Source : Garden & Hardware News
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