Performance against objectives
Management
For 2007/08 we set 19 corporate responsibility objectives. Here is a summary of our performance.
| Objective | Progress | Comments |
| Carry out strategic review of corporate responsibility following first year since demerger | Completed | Full strategic review of corporate responsibility strategy completed in 2007/08. Output used to set the tone for this report. |
"we see no conflict between responsible management and business as usual"
Terry Duddy, Chief Executive
Environment
| Objective | Progress | Comments |
| Attain recycling rate of 50% across the Group | Completed | Achieved 53%, up from 40% last year |
| Reduce plastic bag consumption by 25% by end of 2008 | Ongoing | Achieved reductions of 18% by the end of 2007, ahead of the sector average |
| Attain ISO14001 status for five distribution centres | Completed | Barton and Faverdale Distribution Centres achieved ISO14001 status, making a total of five for the Group |
| Achieve energy accreditation for Homebase and Argos from the Carbon Trust | Ongoing | Argos has been re-accredited; Homebase has applied for accreditation |
| Reduce energy consumption by 2% per kWh/sq ft | Completed | Achieved 7% reduction in energy consumption per sq ft |
| Purchase at least 30% green power | Completed | The Group purchased 49% of its electricity from renewable sources |
19%
Reduction in CO2 emissions.
18%
Reduction in plastic bag consumption (compared to 2005 data).
53%
Recycling rate across the Group.
Customers
| Objective | Progress | Comments |
| Increase levels of customer satisfaction | Ongoing | We have seen an improvement across most parts of the business |
TrustMark Award
Homebase is the first national DIY retailer to achieve the Government TrustMark Award.
Sourcing and supply chain
| Objective | Progress | Comments |
| Attain accreditation for sustainable paper sourcing | Completed | Argos has received FSC chain of custody for the Group’s printed materials |
| Review current policy guidelines for product selection | Ongoing | These will be reviewed annually |
| Maintain existing recycled paper content of catalogue at 13% | Completed | The recycled paper content of the catalogue was 12% but the total recycled content of all publications was 17% |
Sourcing policies
Our people
| Objective | Progress | Comments |
| Reduce average absence per employee | Ongoing | Continued efforts are being made to reduce employee absence by investment in systems and processes and through management training |
| Reduce RIDDORS by 10% | Missed | Work is ongoing to reduce the risk of incidents to colleagues and improve recording and monitoring of incident data |
| Improve take up of sharesave schemes | Ongoing | 21% of colleagues participated in the latest sharesave scheme |
| Improve employee engagement scores | Ongoing | Good progress is being made with an average improvement of 5% across the Group |
5%
The average improvement in employee engagment scores.
Communities
| Objective | Progress | Comments |
| Raise at least £1.6m for charity partnerships | Completed | Raised £1.6m through Group fundraising activities |
| Achieve gold status for payroll giving (at least 10% of workforce) | Completed | 12% of colleagues give in this way |
| Establish arrangements for community investment | Completed | This has been achieved through the formation of the Home Retail Partnership Fund |
| Establish Group volunteering policy | Ongoing | A new Group-wide employee volunteering programme was researched during 2007/08 and will be piloted in 2008/09 |
Charity
£3m raised by the Group through the enthusiasm of colleagues and the generosity of our customers.
