Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental Sustainability
• Social Responsibility
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Opened a purpose-built refurbishment centre increasing capacity to extend the life of equipment by 50%
• Opened 50 new low energy local branches
• Introduced energy harvest units in generator fleets, reducing fuel usage and CO2 by up to 50%
• Introduced Lithium Ion Hybrid Lighting Towers, reducing fuel consumption by 90%
• Introduced 5000 LED lights reducing energy consumption by up to 94%
• Reduced miles driven as a ratio of business size

Social Achievements

• Formalized CR governance structure with a steering committee and executive sponsorship
• Increased colleague training days by 45%
• Extended Training Academy to a regional model
• Launched transactional e-commerce platform
• Improved Net Promoter Score to highest level yet
• Increased number of women employed in branch sales by 15%

Governance Achievements

• More rigorous governance of CR program ensuring integration with business operations
• All executives received training in the Bribery Act
• Took guidance on the Modern Slavery Act

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reducing energy consumption in distribution centers (LED lighting not sufficiently developed)
• Increasing miles travelled due to new National Distribution and Engineering Centre in the short term
• Improving diversity ratios at Board and senior management levels
• Minor increase in head injuries and eye injuries in 2015

Mitigation Strategies

• Goal to reduce energy consumption in local branches by 5% per annum by 2018
• Confident that 2018 goal of reducing miles per job and miles travelled will be achieved
• Program focused on recruiting, training, and developing women in branch network to increase female representation in management
• Addressing head and eye injuries with improved PPE options

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Implemented for top ten suppliers (80% of equipment by value)

Responsible Procurement

• Sustainability hard-wired into Supplier Terms and Conditions
• Supplier self-auditing

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, Carbon Disclosure Protocols (Level 3 in 2016)

Certifications: SafeHire accredited, Investors in People, FORS Gold accreditation, Working towards ISO 45001, ISO 14001, ISO 9001, and ISO 50001

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Energy Harvest units
• Lithium Ion Hybrid Lighting Towers
• LED lighting

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Safety
• Colleague Engagement
• Environmental Responsibility

Environmental Achievements

• 11.7% reduction in relative Greenhouse Gas Emissions (TCO2e/£m Turnover), to 49.1 (2018: 55.6)
• 85% of waste diverted from landfill through recycling and treatment processes
• 59% of hazardous waste repurposed to create Processed Fuel Oil (PFO)

Social Achievements

• Improved colleague engagement score to 72.4% (2018: 71.6%)
• 41% reduction in RIDDOR accident frequency rate
• 22 ex-offenders and ROTL colleagues recruited

Governance Achievements

• Continued reduction in leverage from 3.3x to 2.8x
• Implementation of new company values: Make it Safe, Happen, Better, and Together
• Strengthened management capability with new appointments

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Challenging market created by Brexit and political uncertainty
• Little seasonal benefit due to mild winters and short-lived hot spell
• Highly competitive industry with potential for price pressure

Mitigation Strategies

• Enhanced management control, improving agility and resilience
• Growth in capital-light Services business
• Investment in technology and development of expertise

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Extensive compliance and technical questionnaires for OneCall suppliers
• HSEQ analysis and site visits for OneCall suppliers
• Focus on responsible consumption and production

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: UN Sustainable Development Goals (Goals 3, 9, and 12)

Certifications: ISO 14001

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
• Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
• Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Initiatives aligned with these goals to improve colleague wellbeing, foster innovation through digital tools, and promote responsible resource management.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• LED lighting (making up over 60% of lighting stock)

Awards & Recognition

• Best Use of Recruitment Award at the Employers’ Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR)

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environmental
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced energy carbon emissions per m2 (kgCO2e/m2) year on year. Specific figures are shown in a chart on page 4 of the report.
• Diverted 90% of waste from landfill (increase from 85% in 2019).
• Implemented a new recycling scheme for plastic barriers, diverting 1.55 tonnes of plastic from landfill.
• Switched to a 100% green and renewable electricity provider.
• Changed lighting to LED alternatives.

Social Achievements

• Implemented a new, easy-to-use web-based portal for safety incident reporting, resulting in a significant reduction in RIDDOR events.
• Increased colleague engagement survey completion rate to 84% (from 74% in 2019) with improvements in emotional, motivational, and rational engagement scores.
• Contributed £756,079 in social value through a procurement partnership.
• Raised £7,131.33 for charities through the Pennies from Heaven scheme.
• Created eight virtual training courses to reduce unnecessary travel.

Governance Achievements

• Successfully completed a capital raise, raising net proceeds of £50.8m.
• Held a virtual AGM with audio link and question submission for investors.
• Amendments to the Remuneration Policy and related LTIP Rules were made with shareholder consultation.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• COVID-19 pandemic impacting operations and requiring rapid adaptation.
• Branch network restructuring leading to branch closures and colleague redundancies.
• Complex incident reporting process.
• Pandemic-related delays in planned site audits.

Mitigation Strategies

• Implemented a Click-and-Collect model to prioritize safety and reduce deliveries.
• Developed a new, easy-to-use web-based portal for safety incident reporting.
• Accelerated communication and engagement strategies, including daily updates to colleagues.
• Provided wellbeing support to colleagues through various channels.
• Implemented a formal consultation process for colleagues impacted by branch closures.
• Enhanced monitoring standards for energy and emissions usage.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Robust kit selection for longevity.
• High maintenance standards.
• Responsible disposal.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Health and Safety
• Colleague Engagement
• Waste Management
• Energy and Emissions
• Community Investment
• Diversity and Inclusion

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced building energy carbon emissions by 91% versus FY20
• 97% reduction in building energy carbon emissions since 2016
• Achieved 57% Waste to Energy, 1% Reuse, 2% Processed Fuel Oil and 30% Recycling.
• 100% sourced renewable electricity at all sites in England, Wales and Scotland

Social Achievements

• Colleague engagement score continuously improving (76% engagement)
• Accident frequency rate remains low despite return to post-COVID-19 activity (0.11 RIDDOR rate)
• Implemented a variety of measures to support colleagues’ mental health and wellbeing
• Received an IPAF Rental+ silver safety award

Governance Achievements

• Conducted a comprehensive review of sustainability strategy and developed a roadmap of related activities for 2022
• Engaged specialist sustainability advisors Sustainable Advantage to review progress and help accelerate ESG strategy
• Carried out a materiality assessment, seeking stakeholders’ views on all matters ESG
• Successfully refinanced the business, significantly reducing annual interest costs

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Ongoing COVID-19 impacts, such as supply chain and labour supply
• Cost inflation and supply chain disruptions due to the Ukraine conflict
• Cyber security and business continuity
• Macroeconomic conditions

Mitigation Strategies

• Early ordering of hire fleet requirements
• Diverse Services business supply chain of 600+ partners
• Targeted selling price increases
• Maintaining COVID-19 protocols
• Flexible working for colleagues
• Click-and-collect capability
• Third party specialists used to assess IT controls
• Firewalls, antivirus software, endpoint detection and clean up tools
• Regular disaster recovery tests
• Working capital management
• Extensive credit checking
• Credit insurance
• Market rates benchmarked to ensure competitive pay and benefits packages
• Robust governance
• Training and awareness programmes
• Whistleblowing process
• Comprehensive procedures to minimise adverse environmental impact

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Rigorous onboarding processes for third-party rehire suppliers
• Demanding service level agreements
• Extensive commercial and risk assessment process for builders merchants
• Consultation with key suppliers during sustainability review

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: GRI, TCFD

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 45001, ISO 9001

Third-party Assurance: Sustainable Advantage

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 3
• SDG 7
• SDG 8
• SDG 9
• SDG 12
• SDG 13

Initiatives contribute to these goals through various environmental and social programs.

Awards & Recognition

• IPAF Rental+ silver safety award

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate change
• Health, safety and well-being
• Customer satisfaction
• Ethics in business
• Digital security

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced Scope 1 transport emissions by 24% from 2019 baseline.
• Achieved 100% renewable electricity for over 99% of locations.
• Reduced carbon emissions from waste through initiatives like waste reduction and increased recycling.
• Avoided over 1,575 tCO2e through the sale of HVO as an alternative to diesel.
• 90% landfill diversion rate.

Social Achievements

• Industry-leading colleague engagement (74%, 89% response rate).
• Established an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) committee and colleague ambassador group.
• Continued to target a zero RIDDOR environment (though the number increased slightly in 2023).
• Reduced serious accident Lost Time rates by 26%.

Governance Achievements

• Established ESG governance structure via ESG Committee and ESG Forum.
• Developed and disseminated ESG Policies.
• Achieved ISO 27001:2013 certification.
• Tracked ESG credentials for top 50% of supply chain partners by value.
• 100% of all products ECO classified and labelled.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Limited range of currently available electric commercial vehicles.
• Obtaining landlord agreement for solar panel installations.
• Supply chain challenges in providing LCA reports and ESG data.
• Increased severity of weather events.
• Increased stakeholder interest in ESG data.

Mitigation Strategies

• Converted MG electric estate cars to vans to overcome range limitations.
• Working closely with fuel card suppliers to improve EV charging access.
• Developed an in-house hybrid reporting methodology for carbon footprint.
• Conducting risk assessments around physical risks to operations.
• Deploying and developing in-house carbon reporting data & tools.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: 250 audits/year

Responsible Procurement

• Supplier Code of Ethics and Conduct Policy
• ESG criteria in supplier selection
• ESG product assessments

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Increased flooding risk
• Increasing weather extremes

Transition Risks

• Regulatory changes
• Market shifts
• Reputational risks

Opportunities

• Increased demand for climate change-related infrastructure equipment
• Opportunity to become a market leader in low-emission technology

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Climate-related Financial Disclosures (CFD), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

Certifications: ISO 14001, ISO 27001

Third-party Assurance: Sustainable Advantage

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 3
• Goal 7
• Goal 8
• Goal 9
• Goal 12
• Goal 13
• Goal 15

HSS initiatives contribute to these goals through various environmental, social, and governance programs.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Hybrid generators
• Electric vehicles

Awards & Recognition

• EcoVadis Gold award