read our FAQs

A. FSC is the Forest Stewardship Council's trademark label on timber and wood products that indicates its timber content comes from well-managed forests. The FSC Trademark enables customers to buy timber and other wood products, such as paper, with the confidence that they are not contributing to the destruction of the world's forests.

We are proud to be a founder member of FSC since its creation in 1993.

A. Chain of custody is the unbroken path which products take from the forest to the consumer, including all stages of manufacturing, transportation, and distribution.

B&Q maintains a certified chain of custody for both FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) making us one of the largest certified companies in the UK. Chain of custody proves that our certified wood and paper products come from either proven, well-managed forest or recycled material according to the requirements of the FSC or PEFC schemes.

Chain of custody means customers can be assured that we are committed to sourcing timber fro only proven, well-managed forests and to improving our proportion of certified products within the business and can be illustrated by our securing the largest supply of FSC hardwood plywood in the world by volume in September 2009.

Every time you buy a product containing FSC or PEFC you will find B&Q's unique chain of custody number on your till receipt.

A. As well as our timber policies B&Q identified paint as an area of importance as early as 1995 when we introduced a new VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) labelling system, which was subsequently adopted by others in the industry and is now the industry standard to identify the VOC content of paint. Many of our own brand paints have minimal VOCs – lower than most of our competitors. We have also been working with suppliers on a number of initiatives – carbon footprinting our own brand paint, working with paint manufacturers and retailers on minimising the impacts of post consumer paint waste and partnering with a paint recycling company – we are now trialling recycled paint in some of our stores.

B&Q has a sustainable materials policy – we encourage suppliers to reduce the impacts of their products through the use of recycled and/or renewable materials. Suppliers & products that really show the way in this area can achieve 'One Planet Home' accreditation.

We are also working with the Ellen Macarthur Foundation to assist in their mission to close the loop and move towards a circular economy

In 2001 we introduced a peat policy and, as a result, have reduced our reliance on peat for our growing media. B&Q shares a desire to see a reduction in peat use and has already increased its dilution rates in growing media products. To date in 2009 we reduced our peat use by 5%, which means our dilution rate is currently at 58% versus 52% last year. Having reached a dilution rate of more than 55% in 2010 we will become eligible for full GMI membership (this is subject to GMI approval).

A. We have more than 16,000 products containing wood or paper, of which more than 90% come from either FSC or PEFC full chain of custody certified sources. We continue to work to improve this percentage and in September (2009) we became the first retailer to secure FSC certification for all our tropical hardwood plywood in such volume. In 2010 just over 90% of our timber products were traceable to responsible sources and from February 2011, 100% of timber products that we buy can be traced back to well managed sources.

We continue to innovate, offering our customers products like compost-able pots, insulated loft board and recycled plastic bottle loft insulation.

Our One Planet Home® range contains a wealth of products that have been independently assessed by sustainability experts, Bioregional. Those given this accreditation are proven to help people manage their eco footprint. This range now contains more than 4,000 product lines.

A. On 1 September 2009 the EU passed legislation preventing retailers from importing traditional 100w, 75w and 60w bulbs and all traditional frosted bulbs.

B&Q has signed up to a voluntary agreement to phase out traditional light bulbs. We stopped selling traditional 100w and 75w bulbs in January 2009 as part of this agreement we stopped selling traditional 60w bulbs in January 2010. In line with the European legislation we no longer import traditional frosted bulbs.

A. Yes - every store has a battery recycling receptacle located near to the front of the store.

A. All portable batteries, ie. AA, AAA, D etc and power tool batteries (but not car batteries).

A. No - We are part of a Distributor Take back Scheme. This means that as a business we financially contribute to the upkeep and maintenance of all local household waste recycling centres. We encourage customers to take their old electrical goods to their nearest site.

A. You can visit www.recycle-more.co.uk and enter your postcode to find your nearest recycling point, you can text elec and your post code to 60060 or you can call the recycle help line on 08450 682 572.

A. B&Q is a partner to environmental charity BioRegional's One Planet Living® initiative. We're consuming resources and polluting the planet at a level the earth cannot sustain. One Planet Living® is our vision of a sustainable world, in which people everywhere can enjoy a high quality of life within the productive capacity of the planet. Regular shoppers to B&Q will know we've been leading the way on environmental issues since the early 1990s but in signing up to the One Planet Living ® initiative we're promising not only to reduce our own operation impact, we're also committing to developing products and information that will help our customers reduce their personal impacts at home and in the garden. For more information about our commitments visit www.diy.com/oneplanetliving or for more on the vision behind the One Planet Living® initiative visit www.bioregional.com/oneplanetliving .