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B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher brings forward net zero target to 2040 

Image courtesy of B&Q

Image courtesy of B&Q

B&Q and Screwfix owner Kingfisher today says it is bringing forward its net zero target to 2040, after a year in which it reduced its carbon emissions in its own operations by almost a quarter.

Kingfisher’s four responsible business priorities are tackling climate change and creating forests, making greener, healthier homes affordable, tackling bad housing and becoming a more inclusive company. 

The home improvement retailer says that in its 2021/22 financial year, it cut its scope one and two carbon emissions – those in its own operations – by 24.5%. At the same time, 44.1% of its annual sales – or £5.8bn of £13.2bn sales made in the year to January 31 – were from sustainable home products – a figure that the retail group now aims to raise to 60% by 2025. The group says that 87.2% of the wood and paper in its products, and in all of its catalogues, are now being responsibly sourced and will be Forest Positive by 2025/26.

Reducing emissions

Kingfisher reduced its emissions this year by moving to 100% renewable energy, investing in energy efficiency measures and starting to use alternative fuels in its delivery fleets. The group now aims to cuts its operational emissions by 37.8% by 2025/26 and to reduce its scope three emissions – from the use of its products once sold, as well as from the goods and services that it buys – by 40% per £m of its turnover by 2025/26. 

The retail group is also on course to reach its target of helping more than 2m people with the greatest housing needs by 2024. In 2021/22 it invested £4m in community projects that helped 800,000 people across Europe with unsafe housing. That, it says, takes the number of people helped to more 1.5m since 2016/17. Kingfisher also says that it is on track to have 35% of women in senior leadership and 40% in management roles by 2025, while its board membership is now 50% female – up from 44% in 2021. 

Thierry Garnier, chief executive of Kingfisher, says: “We are committed to helping tackle climate change by setting targets both in the short and in the long-term. In the short term, we are on track to reduce our carbon emissions in line with global efforts to limit warming to below 1.5°C by 2025. In the long term, we are now committed to reach net zero emissions by the end of 2040.

“Helping our customers to live in more sustainable homes is another of our key priorities. We think everyone deserves a greener, healthier home – that’s comfortable to live in but uses fewer resources and costs less to run. With rising energy prices, home energy efficiency has never been more important.

“There is more to do, but we have made good progress since last year, not only with our progress on carbon reduction but also with our work to become a more inclusive company, and our commitment to help people living in unfit housing.”

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