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Responsible Business

Responsible Business

We are building a business we are proud of

We have set ourselves targets to improve our environmental and social performance in the areas that are most important to our customers, colleagues, communities and investors.

By delivering these, we will help to deliver our purpose of helping the nation feel house proud.

For more details on our approach to being a responsible business, please visit our corporate website.

Homes

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Environment

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People

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Products that support sustainability

We are increasing the number of products that help make your home more energy efficient, whilst continuing to provide great value and brilliant customer service. We already sell products like insulation and energy-efficient light bulbs that help people to save energy. We have recently launched new product ranges for solar power panels, air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging accessories.

We have an interactive guide on our website to help you create an Energy Efficient Home. We also provide information to help you save money by saving energy, which is independently verified by the Energy Saving Trust.

To help you when you are deciding what to buy, our website highlights additional credentials for our Wickes-branded products that support sustainability. You can then find further information on each of these in the product details section of each page.

Responsible sourcing

As a retailer, we have a bigger impact on the environment through the sourcing, manufacture and transport of the products we sell, than from our own operations. We are committed to upholding human rights, promoting positive working conditions and making positive choices that will reduce our impact on the environment throughout our supply chain.

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99.8% of all the timber we sell is certified as responsibly sourced by either the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).

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We have stopped sourcing bagged compost containing peat, and we offer peat-free alternatives that perform well at great value. We also do not use peat in the compost used for the plants we sell.

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Climate change

We are cutting carbon from our stores, transport, and supply chain, to do our bit in the fight against climate change. We have set targets to reduce our carbon emissions and take us on our journey to achieve net zero. We have solar PV panels on the roofs of seven stores. We have plans to fit more, as well as switching from gas boilers to air source heat pumps.

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Packaging

Packaging plays a critical role in looking after products so that they reach you in a safe and good condition. We are working to reduce the amount of packaging we use while ensuring your products are protected.

First, we are focussing on our own brand products by doing away with all unnecessary packaging and ensuring that all our packaging is easy to reuse or recycle. We are also increasing the amount of recycled material in the packaging that remains.

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Waste and recycling

We produce a lot of waste from our activities - managing this is a huge area of focus for us. During kitchen and bathroom installation projects, our waste partners collect the waste from our customers' homes and take it for sorting into waste that can be recycled and waste that can’t. And from our stores, we also collect a lot of packaging waste which we send for recycling.

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It is important to us to also look at how we can reduce waste being produced in the first place. We are phasing out single-use plastic bags. We give the money we raise from the plastic bag charge to our charity partner, The Brain Tumour Charity.

Recycle your old electricals and batteries in store

How can I tell if the new products I buy can be recycled?

Electrical equipment and batteries are marked with a crossed-out wheelie bin symbol. This means these should not be thrown away with your household waste. But old electrical equipment and batteries can be recycled. This includes virtually anything with a plug, battery or bulb.

A wheelie bin with a black cross over it, depicting the symbol that means you should not throw out the item with household waste

How can I recycle my old electrical and electronic products?

If you are buying a new electrical item from us, you can return your old one to any of our stores for free. We can help recycle them responsibly if you’ve bought a like-for-like product from Wickes in the last 28 days. This includes virtually anything with a plug, battery or bulb. Simply speak to one of our in-store Wickes colleagues to find out more.

What is a like-for-like product?

This is a product that is replacing something that is the same. For example, an electric drill that is replacing another electric drill is a like-for-like product. Therefore, we would only be able to take-back your existing electrical drill if you'd bought a new electric drill from Wickes in the last 28 days.

How can I recycle my old batteries?

We take back waste household batteries in our stores for free whether you have brought something from us or not. We accept AA, AAA and any other batteries used in the products we sell. But sorry, we cannot accept industrial or vehicle batteries. Simply speak to one of our in-store Wickes colleagues to find out more.

Where else can I recycle electricals and batteries?

You can find the location of your nearest Civic Amenity electrical waste recycling site at:

www.recyclenow.co.uk

http://www.recycle-more.co.uk

http://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk

Tips for removing personal data from smart devices

If you are looking to recycle a smart electronic device, you should erase all personal or confidential data before recycling it. You can do this by restoring the device to its factory settings, which is normally done in your device’s settings menu. Also, you should delete any personal or confidential data on any internal storage device such as a memory or SIM card.

Before resetting your device, you should always:

  • If possible restore the device to its factory settings.
  • Sign out of any accounts you’re signed into such as Cloud storage, social media, and messaging apps.

Wickes is not liable for any data on your device that you return.

Why is it important to recycle electricals and batteries?

WEEE is the term for any electrical and electronic equipment that has reached the end of its life (i.e. it is waste). It includes virtually everything with a plug, battery or lamp. Unwanted electrical equipment is the UK's fastest growing type of waste.

Many electrical items can be repaired or recycled, saving natural resources and the environment. If you do not recycle your old electrical equipment, it could end up in landfill where hazardous substances may leak out and cause soil and water contamination – harming wildlife and human health.

Why are we involved?

In the UK, the Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations require all distributors of electrical equipment (including retailers) to provide a system which allows all customers buying new electrical items the opportunity to recycle their old electrical items free of charge.

Also in the UK, the Waste Batteries & Accumulators Regulations require all businesses that sell over 32kg of portable batteries per year to take back customer portable batteries free of charge.

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Community and charity

We are incredibly proud of our support for charities and local community projects. We encourage colleagues to get involved with our local communities through fundraising and volunteering. Through our Wickes Community programme, our colleagues can support local community projects by providing product donations. We are also raising £2 million for the Brain Tumour Charity between 2023 and 2025.

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Health, safety and wellbeing

We make it our priority to ensure that everyone who works and shops with us goes home safe and well every single day. We also want our colleagues to thrive at work and in their daily lives and we are working hard to create an environment that helps protect our teams’ physical and mental health.

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Diversity and inclusion

At Wickes, we’re building a space where anyone - no matter who they are or where they’re from - can feel at home. We believe that creating a more inclusive and diverse place to work benefits all parts of our business, including attracting and retaining great people to work with us.

For more information on our approach and current vacancies, please go to our careers website.

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Career development

We are passionate about creating a great place to work and committed to building skills in our local communities and providing development opportunities for upskilling our workforce to best serve our customers. We currently offer a range of Apprenticeships from Levels 2 to 7 and we were the first national retailer to launch an Installation Apprenticeship scheme in response to the identification of a skills gap of kitchen installers and strong demand for skilled tradespeople.