Kingfisher Makes Further Progress on Carbon Emissions Reduction and Wider Responsible Business Priorities
Kingfisher plc, the international home improvement retailer, has made further progress against its responsible business priorities, including reducing its scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 52.6% since 2016/7, exceeding its 2025/26 science-based target.
The details are published in Kingfisher’s annual Responsible Business Report, ‘Better Homes for Everyone 2022/23’, which shows that the business has made strong progress with its responsible business priorities during the financial year.
Key 2022/23 achievements:
- Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions across the Group reduced by 52.6% since 2016/17
- Over £6.2bn (46.8%) of Group sales* were from products that help create more sustainable homes
- 2.1m people reached through community projects since 2016/17, surpassing 2025/26 target of 2m ahead of schedule
Thierry Garnier, CEO of Kingfisher, said: “Leading the industry in responsible business and energy efficiency is a key part of our ‘Powered by Kingfisher’ strategy. Our purpose is to ‘make better homes accessible for everyone’ and we aim to do that in a way that serves the current and future needs of our communities, customers, colleagues and planet.
“Over the last year, we made strong progress across many of our targets. We have made a very good start towards our new ambition to reach net zero operational emissions by 2040, as well as further reducing our Scope 3 emissions, which are particularly challenging for retailers to address. Our colleagues are what make our business and we are proud that this year we delivered 2.6 million hours of skills for life learning to help our people reach their full potential.
“We have a great opportunity to help create more sustainable homes through our products and services, and to contribute to a more sustainable future through our business. We look forward to making further progress on our goals this year.”
Highlights from the report include:
Progress on carbon emissions reduction
Kingfisher has exceeded its 2025/26 1.5°C-aligned science-based target to reduce the emissions from its operations (scope 1 and 2). In 2022/23, carbon emissions were 52.6% lower than its 2016/17 baseline. The Group remains committed to becoming net zero across its operations by 2040/41.
Kingfisher has also reduced emissions from its supply chain and customer use of products (scope 3) by 34.1% per £million of turnover since 2017/18, remaining on track to achieve its target of 40% by 2025.
Responsibly sourced wood and paper
Continued progress towards a target of 100% responsibly sourced wood and paper in its products and catalogues by 2025/26. This year, 94.5% of wood and paper in products were responsibly sourced as well as 100% of catalogue paper.
As a founding member of the Rainforest Alliance Forest Allies initiative, Kingfisher continued to invest in six forest projects in key tropical sourcing regions. In addition, four local projects in the UK, France and Poland launched this year to support forest protection and restoration efforts.
Helping customers live in more sustainable homes
In 2021/22 46.8% (£6.2 billion) of total Group sales came from Sustainable Home Products (SHPs), including 10.6% derived from energy and water-saving products.
Gender diversity is improving
Kingfisher is working towards achieving 35% women in senior leadership and 40% in management by 2025. This year, 25.8% of senior leaders and 38.9% of managers were women.
Kingfisher provided 2.6 million hours of skills for life learning for its colleagues and 6.6 million since 2019/20, surpassing the Group’s target of five million learning hours by 2025/26.
Supporting communities and fixing bad housing
In 2022/23, a total of £8.2m was invested in community projects through fundraising, products and contributions. Since 2016/16, Kingfisher has reached 2.1 million people, surpassing its target of 2 million ahead of schedule.
About Kingfisher
Kingfisher plc is an international home improvement company with over 1,900 stores, supported by a team of over 80,000 colleagues. We operate in eight countries across Europe under retail banners including Screwfix, B&Q, Castorama, Brico Dépôt, TradePoint and Koçtaş. We offer home improvement products and services to consumers and trade professionals who shop in our stores and via our e-commerce channels. At Kingfisher, our purpose is to help make better homes accessible for everyone. www.kingfisher.com
*Total sales for year ending 31st January 2023 were £13,059m.
