INTRODUCTION
The ESG strategy was refreshed in FY23 and reviewed in the last year for progress against various goals and objectives.
We consider a robust ESG strategy to be essential. We want to grow sustainably by doing the right thing, which means caring for our staff, customers, communities, and environment.
Ramsdens has always embraced its corporate social responsibilities because we believe it is the right thing to do, and it fundamentally aligns with our values. By doing this we believe we will create long term value for all stakeholders.
A significant part of the Group’s operations is to recycle unwanted jewellery it buys from customers or recycle jewellery that was security for loans which have not been repaid.
Our research indicates that recycling gold results in a 99% reduction in greenhouse gases compared to mining gold. As Ramsdens recycles approximately one tonne of pure gold, this delivers a significant environmental benefit.
Our approach is to be good citizens and do the right thing and Ramsdens continues to strive to reduce its energy use and recycle or reuse where it can.
APPROACH
Following the establishment of an ESG committee in FY23, the committee took responsibility for implementing the action plan throughout FY24. We continued to integrate ESG into our operations, building on the solid foundation laid in previous years. Our focus in FY24 has been on further enhancing our environmental initiatives, supporting our people and ensuring governance practices align with evolving regulatory standards.
Some highlights from FY24 include;
In March 2024, we implemented a new green energy electricity supply contract. This ensured that 100% of our electrical energy is supplied from renewable sources. This significant step aligns with our goal of reducing our carbon emissions.
Our efforts to reduce carbon emissions further has been to accelerate the roll out of LED lighting to our older stores in FY24 which will continue into FY25. This will reduce our overall energy consumption.
The project to measure electric, gas and water usage at all Ramsdens locations continues. While progress is being made, there is a challenge of obtaining accurate data from our supply companies even with a wider roll out of smart meters. We have though identified the higher usage locations to start managing a reduction in their energy consumption.
We have expanded our recycling initiatives to include a uniform recycling scheme.
We are fully committed to the wellbeing of our employees. In addition to retaining the Real Living Wage as our entry level pay, we have ensured that our Employee Assistance Programme is well publicised to maximise take up for those seeking information or assistance to improve their wellbeing. During FY24 there was a full review of all medical information held on our employees and this was updated and where necessary appropriate risk assessments and management plans were put in place.
Following a review of our recruitment process, our diversity and inclusion training was modified. This will continue to ensure that we recruit the best person for the role while building a more inclusive workforce.
We undertook a pilot project for employee volunteering with Teesside Hospice. This was successful and will be repeated in 2025 and expanded into other geographic regions across the store estate. In addition, our charitable giving was over £46,000.
As announced in May 2024, our Chair, Andy Meehan, will retire in March 2025 after more than 10 years of service. Simon Herrick, current Senior Independent Director will take over the Chair role following Andy’s retirement, and we have recruited a new Non-Executive Director, Chris Muir to join the Board. These changes reflect our commitment to strong governance and responsible leadership.
We completed our first consumer duty annual report in 2024 confirming compliance with the FCA regulations. As part of compiling that report, the Board identified areas where we could potentially do more to ensure good outcomes for customers and these initiatives are being implemented.
The Group obtained FCA approval to be an Authorised Payments Institution. During this process the Company reviewed its governance and communication activities in great detail to ensure we had an appropriate governance framework.
Given the significant number of new projects launched in the year, our focus is on deepening and expanding these initiatives rather than introducing new ones. This approach ensures meaningful progress and impact before conducting an interim strategic review in 2025 with Mark Topley FICRS, from Purpose Driven Business, our retained ESG specialist consultant.
The priorities for FY25 are;
- Environmental initiatives: Expand the LED lighting roll out; improve energy and water usage data collection; and continuing efforts in recycling and waste reduction
- Social initiatives: Scale up our employee volunteering scheme; and widen the training initiatives across the business
- Governance: Ensure a smooth leadership transition with the appointment of a new Chair and to continue to enhance our compliance with regulations across the business
ENVIRONMENT
Our aim is to build a culture where individuals actively make a difference. We will not only support these efforts but also ensure that our strategic decisions demonstrate that profitability and environmental stewardship can coexist.
Energy use
Our energy use is primarily related to controlling the temperature in our locations, operating store equipment and providing lighting. Water use facilitates staff personal needs as opposed to an operational requirement.
Our gas energy supply cannot be switched to a green energy contract. Given the efficiency of the gas central heating in six stores there are no plans to change the supply.
The rest of the estate is heated and cooled using electrical energy and all stores use electricity for lighting. The electrical supply contract now guarantees that our electricity is 100% supplied from renewable sources.
Our focus is now on reducing energy use be that gas, electric or water. Guidance has been given to our teams on using energy responsibly and setting temperatures accordingly. We have started to measure, where possible, the energy use and have identified high energy users in an effort to reduce our consumption. This program is ongoing and will improve as more smart meters are fitted and more accurate data collected. Our methodology in calculating GHG emissions therefore relies on estimated bill readings.
New stores opened in the last seven years have been fitted with LED lighting and motion sensor detectors. Our roll out of LED lights into older stores continues and this program is accelerating.
We have continued to make greater use of video conferencing thereby reducing business travel but face to face meetings, especially for training purposes, are still required.
We use couriers to transport our goods to and from stores and share the transportation energy use with other businesses. We try to minimise the number of deliveries we make while also managing the security aspects of transferring high value parcels.
With the purchase of a second head office building we have initiated a project to review installation of solar panels. If implemented, it is hoped that each building can be self-sufficient in energy use.
We work with landlords on the energy performance ratings of our stores. Following our shop fits, energy performance certificates are often B rated. If a rating is less than B it is usually due to additional works being required by landlords on the older high street properties we occupy.
Packaging and waste
We work with our waste management company and shopping centres to recycle our waste and all staff are encouraged to recycle and reuse where possible. Our confidential waste paperwork is shredded and recycled. None of the waste we manage for disposal is sent to landfill.
We utilise paper wallets for our FX cash, paper bags and cardboard or polished wood jewellery boxes for our retail jewellery items and are using up legacy plastic bags or boxes still within the business as a preference to disposing through landfill.
Our staff forum ‘Think Green’ initiative continues to make all staff more conscious of energy use. By influencing staff to be more personally responsible, and to create new behaviours towards energy use and waste at work and at home, we are confident that collectively the Ramsdens team can play its part in improving our environmental footprint.
ESOS Audits and data collection
We have complied with our ESOS audit requirements with the phase 3 audit being completed in July 2024. Our audits have been undertaken by Green Team Consulting. The recommendations within the audit are all activities that we have in motion as part of our ESG action plan.
SOCIAL
Our social responsibility extends to our People and our Communities, including customers.
People
Our aim is to cultivate an environment of well-being where every member feels valued, nurtured, and inspired to grow. We believe our people are our greatest asset. When our people flourish, so does our business.
The Group can only enjoy success if its people are engaged. At Ramsdens we are grateful for our people living our values and being guided by our culture to do the right thing. This is a fundamental platform on which Ramsdens needs to achieve its strategic ambitions and it is important that we look after and care for our staff.
We believe that our people should be paid fairly and will continue to pay the Real Living Wage (RLW) as our entry level pay. The RLW has been increased by 5% to £12.60 per hour and this will be effective within Ramsdens from April 2025. Once staff have had a period of induction and are contributing more to the business, their pay is increased. This is usually after six months. Following this, each employee has an opportunity to earn more as they contribute further and take on more responsibility and through the bonus schemes available to them. We appreciate that increasing the pay by 5% at the lower end of our pay scale puts pressure on all pay scales to retain a material difference. We are also intent on maintaining that philosophy and our overall pay review will be ahead of inflation, which is expected to be c2.5% throughout 2025.
The Group has a philosophy of wanting to share the financial success of the business with staff. The Group has various bonus schemes; cross selling success, branch manager and branch staff performance bonus and a head office bonus scheme.
We are also keen to recognise and reward great behaviours for going over and beyond for our customers. This is not related to sales activity but through demonstrating our culture and doing the right thing. Over 3,000 awards were made in FY24. These awards recognise the individual staff member’s passion and contributes to a working environment of infectious enthusiasm to deliver the Group’s mission statement, namely to provide a great customer offering and give such fantastic service that our customers become ambassadors for Ramsdens.
The Group recognises and values long service. Each staff member receives an additional day of holiday entitlement for their first five years’ service and upon reaching their fifth anniversary they receive company-wide recognition and a monetary award. Further recognition happens at every five-year milestone thereafter with additional holidays and financial rewards at those milestones. We were pleased to recognise 111 members of staff who celebrated a long service award milestone in FY24 and four people who achieved a 20-year service milestone.
In addition, all staff benefited from their birthday being an additional day’s holiday during the year.
Our philosophy with the Group’s long-term remuneration incentives is to have wider participation across various senior managers, currently 25 participants. The Group offers a Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) which is awarded according to performance against targets for EPS growth and total shareholder return, and a Company Share Option Plan scheme (CSOP).
The remuneration of the two Executive Directors is not currently specifically linked to ESG objectives. The Senior Bonus Scheme has various clauses that enables the Remuneration Committee to have discretionary powers over any bonus amounts considering all aspects of the business including ESG. All bonus schemes including LTIPs have malus and clawback provisions.
The Group is keen to communicate and engage with our people and does this in a variety of ways.
Ramsdens undertakes regular anonymous employee engagement surveys. The last survey, undertaken in June 2024, saw 85% of staff members complete the survey. The Board is grateful for the high level of participation and feedback. The results of the survey are transparently shared with all staff and an action plan created for the Group to raise the bar where possible as part of its continuous improvement ethos.
The key findings were very similar to previous surveys. In 2024;
- 91% of employees say their branch / department is a happy place to work
- 95% of employees believe they have job security
- 85% of the employees said they look forward to coming to work and are enthusiastic about the job they do
The Group operates a staff suggestion scheme and a department feedback scheme. Engagement in the scheme has grown and we currently receive approximately 70 suggestions / feedback comments per month. Our people using our systems are best placed to evolve and improve our products or processes. Suggestions which have been implemented include changes to the Group’s core IT system which have improved the customer experience, the available data on which business decisions are made, as well as suggested changes to the Group’s marketing initiatives, environmental initiatives and staff reward schemes.
The Group has an Employee Forum which met three times in FY24. The Forum comprises staff in a variety of roles from head office and branches. The Employee Forum has a remit of discussing general matters that affect the business and has included alternative staff benefits and how best to reduce its environment impact.
We remain focused on how we communicate and engage with all our staff members. We have weekly and monthly companywide communications. The newsletter format is a mix of written word, presenter led videos and interview videos. We believe this level of communication is important so that all staff are part of the Ramsdens family. Annually we have a senior manager meeting to communicate our forward-looking strategy and celebrate all the achievements across the business. This is then followed by regional roadshows attended by branch managers to cascade the messages on how the Group is doing and what its plans are for future growth and opportunities for people to progress their careers.
The Group could not have a continuous improvement ethos without developing its people. All employees have a face-to-face discussion with their line managers dedicated to their development twice a year. These meetings focus on happiness, wellbeing, how supported the individual feels and development activity, in order that the staff member can be more successful in their career. A bespoke training and development plan is then created for that individual.
The Group has comprehensive training programmes. New to Ramsdens employees will, depending upon their circumstances, go through an induction programme in their local store which is part e-learning, part face to face training and mentoring. As experience is gained, new starters receive on-going product mentoring, additional e-learning courses, remote training e.g. virtual video classroom and face to face training sessions. While the business has complexities, the excellent training support that exists, coupled with an intuitive IT system, enables new starters to serve customers quite quickly in their Ramsdens career.
Certain training courses are mandatory and must be completed on an annual basis e.g. health and safety, data protection, FCA conduct rules, cyber risks and anti-money laundering.
While we have other courses that take focus on the development of an individual’s skills, the ESG review identified a need for various other structured programmes that can be applied across the business to take a branch assistant to an Area Manager and beyond. These are in development for release in 2025.
The Group also offers knowledge skills training in jewellery, diamonds and premium watches to improve how we can best help customers find the jewellery item they want, or the best value if they wish to pledge or sell an item. This is complemented with training in the softer selling skills.
We also appreciate the wellbeing needs of our staff. We offer hybrid working across our head office departments where possible and while hybrid working is not possible in stores, we do look to assist in all flexible working requests so that our staff can continue their careers at Ramsdens and have a healthy work life balance. We appreciate the hard work of our staff and have consciously made the decision that we will close all locations on Boxing Day in addition to Christmas Day to ensure all staff get two days break to spend with their family and friends. Throughout FY24 we have heavily promoted the Employee Assistance Program provided by Health Assured to ensure our people have access to any assistance they may need for the four pillars of wellbeing. This program provides hints and tips to manage and improve a staff member’s health and wellbeing but also includes confidential expert advice and support when needed. In addition, as part of the wellbeing focus each staff member is encouraged to drink more water in their Ramsdens branded drinks bottle.
The Group is an equal opportunities employer and we believe in appointing the best person based purely on merit to any role within the business. The Group is committed to ensuring that people undertaking the same or similar work are paid equally and have an equal opportunity to progress.
At Ramsdens we believe that being a diverse organisation allows us to grow and become the business we aspire to be. The head office departments are led by eight senior male and four senior female key influencers. All department heads have been with Ramsdens at least five years providing great stability as the business continues to grow.
The store network is led by four regional managers who manage 16 area managers. Each regional manager has been an area manager with Ramsdens prior to their current role. We strongly believe, where possible, on promoting from within. Nine of the 16 area managers are female and five were promoted from within the business. Our other key influencers are our field audit team. Three of the six auditors are female and five of the team were promoted from branch roles. 74% of the branch managers are female and 80% of the staff are female.
This focus on our people has improved staff retention with staff turnover reducing to 24% as at September 2024 (FY23: 28%). Similarly, staff with more than one year service improved to 82% of all staff (FY23: 76%). These metrics also include the fact we have grown the store base. 42% of all staff (FY23: 40%) now have over five years’ service which is significantly beneficial in achieving our long-term objectives.
Community
Goal: Deepen community roots, leverage business success for local benefit.
Our aim is to intertwine our success with the well-being of our neighbourhoods. We believe a thriving community relationship supports a thriving business. We are not just in our communities; we are part of them.
Ramsdens’ responsible lending
Ramsdens is FCA authorised for its consumer credit activities of Pawnbroking and Credit Broking. As such, it is highly regulated and follows the FCA’s 12 principles, adheres to the Senior Manager and Certification Regime, Conduct Rules and the Consumer Duty.
Ramsdens considers itself a responsible lender, offering transparent straightforward loans which are easily understood by customers.
Access to credit can be a lifeline to some and offering pawnbroking loans can be an essential service to our local communities. Unlike other forms of credit, pawnbrokers can assess creditworthiness based on the value of the goods, negating the need for affordability assessments which would exclude many from obtaining mainstream credit.
Pawnbroking loans are typically small sum and are served face to face which results in a high cost to deliver with interest rates varying from 1.99% - 9.90% per month depending on the loan value. As at 30 September 2024 our mean average loan was £347 and our median average loan was £187. Interest is charged daily so the quicker a customer can repay the less interest is paid. Part of our loan issuing process is to ensure customers understand the payment options available to them and how best they can save money which includes using our online facility to repay their loans when convenient for them and then collecting the pledged goods later.
We believe that our policies for pawnbroking and looking out for vulnerable customers are industry-leading in seeking good outcomes for customers. The Group understands that circumstances change for customers and offers both automatic forbearance interventions, where interest rates are systematically reduced, alongside offering tailored financial solutions to customers with a full remit of support options. We have increased our focus, training and customer education processes should a customer want more time to pay and seek a new loan. Part of that process includes signposting debt advice should a customer need to consider this. If a renewal is in the best interests of the customer, we strongly encourage customers to reduce the loan capital borrowed. We believe in time this will improve customer repayment outcomes.
One year on from the implementation of the Consumer Duty, the Group has undertaken a comprehensive review to ensure we remain focused on good customer outcomes.
Some customer’s pledged items need to be sold to repay the loan. If the item sells for more than the amount owed, the surplus monies are returned to the customer together with all part payments made towards that loan. If the item sells for less than the amount is owed, the shortfall is written off by the Group and there are no ongoing debt consequences for the customer. The Group actively tries contacting the customer to ensure surpluses are repaid to customers and has flagged all customer accounts where we owe the customer money so if they appear in a Ramsdens in the future, the money owed can be returned to the customer. We believe that our approach maximises paying surpluses back to customers.
Customer service levels
The Group prides itself on its high repeat customer rates and the low number of complaints it receives.
The Group is committed to offering the highest standards of customer service and appreciates that at times things go wrong. The Ramsdens philosophy is to see every complaint from the customer’s perspective and use a root cause analysis approach to put things right as quickly as possible and learn from any mistakes.
The Group uses Trustpilot for customer feedback on its retail jewellery and foreign currency offerings. Both services currently enjoy excellent 5-star ratings. All customer feedback is used to improve the Group’s communication strategies.
Charitable endeavours
The Group believes it has an obligation to give back where it can and in FY24, the Group has directly contributed over £46,000 to various charities with a commitment that 0.5% of Group’s prior year post tax profit is used to benefit good causes.
The Group has an inclusive approach with its staff to the charities it contributes to. Each store team chooses the charity, local or national, to collect coins for, mainly foreign coins. All staff then choose four national charity events that the Company joins in with, e.g. Christmas Jumper Day for the benefit of Save the Children which the Group donates to. Should an individual staff member wish to support a particular good cause close to them, the Group will contribute to their fund-raising efforts.
Centrally close to our head office in Middlesbrough, we support Teesside Hospice as our primary charity. We have donated funds, raffle prizes, sponsored events and in FY24 further embraced our employee volunteering scheme to benefit the hospice.
In addition, we respond to various ad hoc requests for support smaller charities where our involvement can make a real difference to that organisation, e.g. give a duck foundation.
In FY25 we are committed to expanding our employee volunteering program.
All of the co-ordinated efforts of the Group were recognised by the National Pawnbrokers Association when it was awarded with the Community Contribution award for 2024.
Supplier relationships including franchisees
The Group has a limited number of key trade suppliers and over the years has established strong relationships, where working together has benefited both parties. Ramsdens reports on its supplier payment practices and believes in paying all suppliers as and when payments are due.
The Group undertakes a periodic review of all material suppliers to seek assurance that they have no modern slavery practices within their supply chains, are managing their cyber risks and more generally have the same ethos as Ramsdens on sustainability and the environment. The Group's statement on its compliance with the Modern Slavery Act is available at www.ramsdensplc.com.
The Group now only has one franchisee who operates in Whitby. The franchisee operates his business to the standards that we require and this is evidenced by half yearly audits.
GOVERNANCE
The Group has always prided itself on acting responsibly in every aspect of the business. Our aim is to be open and accountable - an industry leader in all that we do. We put ESG at the centre of our plans and ensure our results are clear. For Ramsdens, it is about doing the right thing for all our stakeholders, and doing it well.
We have a substantial suite of policies that include data security, customer privacy, anti-bribery, combatting modern slavery, whistleblowing, staff welfare, anti-money laundering, as well as adhering to all aspects of the FCA’s Senior Manager Regime, Conduct Rules and the Consumer Duty.
The Group is a member of the QCA and adopts its code of conduct as detailed in our Corporate Governance section.
The Nominations Committee undertakes a board effectiveness review every year and as part of that review discusses diversity, equality and independence. Further details are included in the Nominations Committee report. In 2025, our Chair Andy Meehan will step down and will be replaced by Simon Herrick the current Senior Independent Director and Chris Muir has joined Karen Ingham as a Non-Executive Director bringing a new perspective and independence.
The Audit and Risk Committee have clear terms of reference on the oversight of managing risk within the Group. Further details are included in the Audit and Risk Committee report.
The reports of the committees can be found in the FY24 Annual Report.
The ESG management committee has met during the year to progress our ESG strategy and good progress has been made. ESG has been a standing agenda item on the monthly Board papers for many years.
In addition to our top-down approach, bottom-up engagement is essential for the successful integration of ESG principles. Our staff roadshows, staff forum, and staff feedback channels are all open channels for our people, at all levels, to contribute ideas, feedback, and solutions related to ESG initiatives. We also encourage the flow of ideas to identify and act on local opportunities for improvement. This dual approach ensures that ESG is a shared responsibility and passion.
Our focus in FY25 is to deepen the initiatives launched, doing more of what we are doing and doing it better where we can.
Non-Financial and Sustainability Information
We welcome the new mandatory Climate-related Financial Disclosures (‘CFD’) which align with the Task Force on Climate related Financial Disclosures (‘TCFD’) framework and the importance of adopting its recommendations in line with AIM listed entities with over 500 employees.
Everyday sustainability
The services offered by Ramsdens have a sustainability theme. Recycling unwanted jewellery embraces the ethos of a circular economy.
While we expect pawnbroking customers to repay their loans allowing them to borrow again when needed, if they do not repay the asset pledged is either refurbished and recycled by being sold to a retail jewellery customer or the item is melted for its intrinsic value with the precious metal content reused in the manufacturing of new jewellery or other manufacturing processes. The reclaimed precious stones are reused to manufacture new jewellery either directly by Ramsdens or through our trade contacts.
The same is true for our purchase of precious metals service. We buy from customers unwanted, damaged or un-hallmarked jewellery items. Those items are assessed for retail potential and refurbished, recycled and hallmarked accordingly or melted for their intrinsic value.
Recycling, repairing or refurbishing jewellery limits the need to mine new gold, diamonds or other precious stones and thereby reduces the environmental impact.
Our retail jewellery offering is a mix of second-hand stock and new stock with a good proportion of the new stock containing diamonds and semi-precious stones which have been recycled.
Framework
The Board has overall responsibility for overseeing the climate related risks and opportunities but the Group has within its governance framework, an ESG committee, with representatives from across the business to manage and take forward its ESG priorities.
Risk
Our detailed understanding of climate related risks and opportunities continues to develop. The Group maintains a business risk register which is regularly reviewed in line with the Group’s compliance monitoring plan and risk appetite statement. Within that overall risk identification and management framework, we have reviewed both physical and transitional climate related risks. The business risk register is reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee twice per annum. The Board believes, having assessed the risks and mitigation activity undertaken by the Group, that the climate related risks are minimal during the timeframe of our current strategic plan. We have therefore not undertaken any modelling of the identified risks nor set any specific key performance indicators at this time. In addition, we have excluded climate change risk from our Principal Risks and Uncertainties section of this Annual Report.
The ESG Management Committee has identified the following risks and opportunities for the Business.
PHYSICAL RISKS
Our review of physical climate hazards, such as coastal or other flooding, extreme heat or other weather events has identified minimal risk to our branch or head office locations, nor our key supplier locations.
Our risk assessment identified the following;
Buildings and Personnel: Risk to physical assets and employee safety due to extreme weather events.
Operational Disruptions: Risk of interrupted operations due to severe weather conditions.
Impact on Footfall: Risk of reduced customer presence due to extreme weather conditions like wind, heat, and rain.
TRANSITION RISKS
We identified minimum transition risks within a medium-term horizon in our FY24 review.
Our risk assessment identified the following;
Reduced Air Travel: Risk of revenue loss due to regulatory or behavioural shifts away from air travel.
Import of goods from overseas: Risk of increased operational costs from increased use of tariffs and other regulatory changes.
Infrastructure Upgrades: Capital risk associated with the need to upgrade infrastructure for sustainability as a result of changes in legislation e.g. the energy performance of buildings.
Regulatory Changes: Risk of increased operational costs due to evolving environmental regulations.
Increased Reporting Requirements: Risk of administrative burden and potential non-compliance.
Carbon Taxes: Financial risk associated with potential or existing carbon pricing mechanisms.
Lagging Industry Standards: Risk of reputational impairment due to failure to align with prevailing sustainability benchmarks within the industry.
Opportunity Cost of Delayed Sustainability Integration: Risk of forfeiting market share and competitive advantage owing to tardy adoption of sustainable practices.
OPPORTUNITIES
Our review of climate related opportunities did not present any material opportunities above our current operations and activities. We are encouraged by growing consumer awareness of choosing sustainable products which may help grow our jewellery retail operations.
We identified the following climate related opportunities:
Energy generation: Opportunity for revenue generation or cost saving through renewable energy projects, including solar panels on Company owned buildings.
Operational efficiency: Opportunity for cost savings and revenue generation through waste reduction and material reuse.
Sustainable product offering: Opportunity to attract and retain customers and staff by aligning with their sustainability expectations.
Improved ESG ratings: Opportunity for enhanced market reputation due to wider recognition and greater disclosure of improving ESG activities.
Strategic Priorities
TCFD Objective 1 - Carbon Footprint
Notwithstanding the positive impact recycling jewellery has, we now have a 100% renewable electricity supply contract which started in March 2024. We continue to invest in energy-efficient technologies particularly in our new store openings as well as encourage good behaviours from our people in using energy responsibly. As we own our head office buildings, we are able to invest for the long-term in renewable energy. We are investigating the viability of fitting solar panels with the hope that these buildings can be self-sufficient in energy use.
We continue to ensure that our waste collection from high street stores and head office locations does not go to landfill. For stores located in shopping centres, the waste services are supplied by centre and in these instances, we have encouraged the centre to take the same approach with a target of 0% waste to landfill.
TCFD Objective 2 - Climate Change Governance
Our formal risk management process includes a review of the emerging risks from the impact of climate change on business operations and sustainability. This risk review as part of our compliance monitoring program considers climate-related risks such as physical risks (e.g., extreme weather events) and transition risks (e.g., regulatory changes). Where appropriate we will seek expert advice so that our business strategies are resilient to the evolving landscape of climate-related challenges.
TCFD Objective 3 - Partner with Responsible Suppliers
As part of our supplier assessment at onboarding a new supplier or periodic review of existing suppliers we seek assurances that our suppliers can demonstrate proactive and responsible business practices, including but not limited to environmental stewardship, fair labour practices, and ethical governance.
Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting
Energy & water usage including greenhouse gas emissions
The Group’s methodology involves the initial collection of energy use data in respect of Electricity and Gas from suppliers, business mileage data for transport and the subsequent use of UK Government Conversion Factors to calculate emissions. The emission data set out below is for the year ended 30 September 2024 and is compiled in accordance with the Companies (Directors’ Report) and Limited Liability Partnerships (Energy and Carbon Report) regulations 2018, which implement the Government’s policy on Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR).
Methodology
In line with SECR requirements we have reported on the underlying energy used to calculate Group Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. All our GHG emissions relate to the UK. BEIS 2023 and 2024 emission factors have been used for all emission sources. The gas and electricity data has been obtained from our energy suppliers which is mainly SSE. The data provided includes estimated usage where smart meters are not installed. The Full Time Employees number has been estimated using the full time equivalent as at the year-end.
Summary
The reduction in Direct Transport emissions is consequence of a change in approach in providing company cars. The Group has phased out use of company cars during FY23 and now only operates vans for the property maintenance team. The travel of those previously using company cars has transferred into scope 3 emissions given they are using their own personal vehicles. In the future we will investigate our scope 3 emissions in more detail and consider how we better report our impact in this area.
While the store estate has increased during the year, the headline energy consumption has reduced. We believe this is a result of continued improvements in data accuracy during 2024, supported by smart meter roll out, combined with incremental improvements in usage through education, as opposed to a significant change in operations.
Market based carbon emissions have reduced significantly following the renewal of our electricity contract in March 2024 which has seen the Group transition to 100% renewable energy sources.
Targets
Our commitment is to manage our business operations in an environmentally responsible manner. This involves minimising waste, maximising our recycling efforts, and actively working to lessen our impact on the climate. The new energy contract which commenced in March 2024 for 100% renewable electricity is a big step forward. We will continue to roll out smart meters and ensure our data accuracy improves further in the upcoming year. We will continue to use motion sensors and LED lighting for all new stores and where we refurbish existing stores.
Employee travel is an inevitable requirement in our business but we strive to minimise this by ensuring people consider public transport and car sharing.
We have targeted to deliver more training in FY25 using video conferencing.
We have an ongoing communication plan to encourage all staff to minimise their personal energy consumption.