Forest positive: Kingfisher pledges to plant more trees than it consumes
The new target builds on commitments laid out in the firm's 2018 Sustainable Growth Plan
Home improvement giant Kingfisher yesterday pledged to create more forest that it consumes by 2025, as part of a beefed up sustainability strategy designed to reduce the environmental impact of its supply chain and support the development of greener homes.
The firm said it is aiming to cut back its impact on the world's forests by using 100 per cent responsibly sourced wood and paper in all the products it sells and by investing in new reforestation projects from 2021 onwards.
The forest-focused target accompanies three further 'responsible business priorities' to increase inclusivity across the business, work to improve "bad" housing, and support efforts to "make greener, healthier homes affordable".
"As a home improvement business, we know that too many families across Europe are living in homes that are unfit - too small, too dark, too cold and too damp - issues that Covid has made even worse," said Thierry Garnier, chief executive at Kingfisher.
"At the same time, climate change and biodiversity loss remain urgent, global threats. Our new priorities focus our efforts on the four areas where we believe we can have the biggest impact."
To support delivery of the new targets the company said it has created a Responsible Business Committee which will report to the Board.
The new commitments build on a raft of sustainability initiatives adopted by Kingfisher in recent years, which were first outlined in its 2018 Sustainable Growth Plan.
Since then, the business has boosted the proportion of its sales from products that help make customers' homes greener - such as LED lighting and low-flow taps - to 37 per cent of all sales, it said.
It has also cut the greenhouse gas emissions of its operations and energy use by 18 per cent, as it works towards its 2025 carbon reduction target of 22 per cent reduction against a 2016 baseline, which was approved last year by the Science Based Targets Initiative.
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