Sourcing and supply chain

This year we have stepped up our audit programme significantly and have met our target of ensuring that, over the last two years, 100% of our direct source factories and 50% of our direct import factories have been audited – a total of 856 factories.

We have joined the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex) which allows us to share ethical data with global suppliers as well as other businesses, enabling us to work together to achieve continuous improvement.

We have engaged separately with selected groups of suppliers to define and implement our policies on timber sourcing, peat, quarried materials, jewellery and chemicals. For example, our Group policy is to source timber and wood-based products from verified, known and legal, non-controversial forest sources. In 2008, 81% of timber based products are either Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified (35%) or from other certified or known and legal sources (46%).

We are members of the Responsible Jewellery Council. This year we have focused on encouraging our jewellery suppliers to join – therefore influencing practices further up the supply chain.

We have significantly increased the volume of catalogue paper which is either recycled or certified. Across all publications, this total has reached 67%, of which 19% is recycled. By making recognised certification a pre-requisite of supply in 2009/10, we are confident that by the end of the year we will have achieved either fully certified or recycled content for all publications, including, for the first time, the main UK catalogue. All our paper publications are 100% recyclable.

Our product and supply chain group meets quarterly to focus on sourcing from a social, ethical and environmental perspective. This group reports into the waste, energy, products and supply chain management group, which is chaired by the Group commercial director.