fWith its long-running "One Planet Home" programme B&Q remains committed to its goal of helping millions of customers green their gardens.
B&Q works to reduce its upstream impact and the direct footprint of the business. "We are working hard to inspire, motivate and help our customers to make their gardens greener," says a spokesperson.
All B&Q products that contain or are made from wood are responsibly sourced. B&Q does not premium price peat-free compost because it wants to encourage more customers to make the switch. It labels the peat content of all products and has stopped selling 100-litre bales of 100% peat. The retailer also ensures that suppliers are transparent in their sourcing.
B&Q decided to stop selling patio heaters in 2008 and has maintained that position ever since. It also decided to stop selling products containing the most harmful neonicotinoids before anyone else.
It stocks a full range of products to help customers green their gardens and recently researched the importance of gardens in providing habitats for increasingly vulnerable native species, creating more advice for customers and colleagues on how they can help.
B&Q won an Ethical Corporation Award for B2B partnership for its green pallet scheme and an Edie Onsite Waste & Resource Management Award, again for green pallets. On carbon, it has seen a 4% improvement this year, taking it to an overall reduction of 33%.
Its recycling rate has increased to 84% from 77% the year before, while its transport footprint has been cut by changing how it manages distribution centres and increasing rail use. The proportion of sales from sustainable products has increased to 37%, up from 34% the previous year.
B&Q has also rolled out its groundbreaking easyGrow concept into autumn as well as summer bedding, meaning that it no longer sells plants in expanded polystyrene trays, and has got out of peat in its bedding plants.
