Supply chain ethics
Ethical sourcing of product at B&Q
At B&Q we aim to ensure that all the products we sell have been ethically sourced. This entails mapping out where and how our products are made, and the working conditions of the people who make them.
We have a duty to respect the rights of all the people in our supply chain and an ambition to ensure that everyone involved in B&Q's supply chain feels the benefit of our presence. Ensuring we reduce our environmental impact is only part of the picture; how our products are made is equally important.
We employ the Kingfisher group’s Policy on Supply Chain Workplace Standards to assess the manufacturing sites in our supply chain, and actively participate in programmes to improve the conditions of workers at those sites. We seek to work with vendors who share our values and have equivalent systems and processes in place to assess and improve working conditions.
Our future goal is to respond to thematic risks in our supply chain through broad vendor engagement and regional improvement programmes. We will link this activity to our established ways of working in Communities to ensure that we’re broadening our impact beyond the walls of the manufacturing sites.
Ways we're working to improve our supply chain
At B&Q we are helping to drive ethical and environmental improvements globally.
When we know where and how our products are being made, we can have greater confidence that we are helping to drive ethical and environmental improvements globally. We welcome legislation that has been introduced in this area – including the UK Modern Slavery Act that addresses human trafficking and forced labour in supply chains.
- Our minimum workplace standards apply to all those manufacturing our products, no matter where in the world they have been produced. These standards include requirements on:
- Age of workers: no workers should be employed below the local minimum working age. Where workers are under 18, there are additional requirements for working hours, safety standards and the type of work.
- Forced labour: factories must not use forced, bonded or involuntary labour. Workers should not be forced to handover their identity documents to their employers or pay deposits.
- Workers should not be subject to abuse or any other forms of intimidation.
- Fire exits must be safe, effective and unblocked.
- Workplaces must be safe and hygienic places.
- Workplaces must comply with local environmental legislation and understands their impact.
- All our suppliers are required to join SEDEX and to link each workplace that produces goods for B&Q to us on the system. SEDEX is a leading platform to collect and manage data on our supply chain working conditions. The platform has over 1,000 Buyer members all sharing high quality data and audit findings on over 65,000 supplier sites. We use this information to grade and prioritise sites for improvement and manage the improvement programmes themselves. By using SEDEX we reduce the burden of duplicate audits in supply chains and ensure that SEDEX Buyer members are focused on the same issues at a site. Find out more about SEDEX.
- We’re members of the Forest Steward Council, which includes relevant human rights requirements for certificate holders that are embedded in the chain of custody audit programme. This applies throughout the wood and paper supply chain so the requirements go deeper than the product manufacturing sites. Read more about our Wood and Paper requirements.
Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statements
B&Q is required to disclose the steps we are taking to tackle slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking (together known as modern slavery) as part of the Kingfisher Group. Read more about our activities in this area.
