Kingfisher’s Castorama and Brico Dépôt top WWF France’s 2012 ‘Wood Barometer’

Castorama and Brico Dépôt in France have come top of WWF France's 2012 'Wood Barometer'.

•Castorama came top of the Furnishing, Decoration and House Fitting sector with a score of 66.79 out of 100, beating Ikea and Leroy Merlin to the top spot. Castorama were rated as the best overall French retailer across all categories.

•Brico-Dépôt obtained the best performance in the DIY sector with a score of 59.24 out of 100, ahead of Monsieur Bricolage and Bricomarché.

The WWF France Wood Barometer aims to evaluate the timber purchasing practices of major brands in the mass-market retail, furnishing and decoration, and DIY sectors in France. It evaluates company procurement policies as well as the purchase and sale of products which contain wood.

Timber constitutes a major resource for Castorama and Brico Dépôt and both companies, involved in the conservation of forests through responsible sourcing practices for a number of years, have reaffirmed their aim to source 100% of timber products from independently proven well managed forests by 2015.

Of the total volume of timber products sold by the two companies combined in 2011, 80%, was independently certified (FSC, PEFC, TFT) as being from proven well managed or recycled sources.

In 2003 Castorama France became the first French member of the Tropical Forest Trust (TFT), which aims to provide solutions to the issue of tropical deforestation. In 2005, it was the first company to offer a range of wooden garden furniture using 100% wood from sustainably managed forests. In 2006, Castorama signed a partnership with WWF and in 2008 became a member of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in France.

Notes to editors:
WWF France evaluated the timber policies and relevant in-store information of 35 companies, which were selected for their size within the market in terms of turnover and volume of timber purchased.

Timber policies were evaluated against criteria such as the scope of the policy; the existence of forestry development strategies; partner organisations; traceability systems; supplier requirements. In-store information was collected by volunteers and included the presence or not of a certification (e.g. FSC, PEFC) and country of origin of the wood among other criteria.

Source : 4-Traders
www.4-traders.com/KINGFISHER-PLC-9590115/news/KINGFISHER-PLC-Castorama-and-Brico-Depot-come-top-of-WWF-France-2012-Wood-Barometer-and-reaffirm-14258065/