For 12 years we have supported Kingfisher plc to redefine sustainable home improvement retail.

Our partnership has seen Bioregional work extensively with Europe’s leading home improvement group, from setting science-based carbon reduction targets to helping Kingfisher develop more sustainable retail products, enabling thousands of people to live more sustainably in their homes.

So, we were thrilled to see these achievements recognised at the 2023 Sustainability Consulting Awards in June, where Bioregional and Kingfisher triumphed in the ‘Transformational Partnership’ category (Bioregional’s second major award in as many months, after we were crowned ‘professional services team of the year’ at the 2023 RESI awards in May).

Kingfisher operates in eight countries and owns household names such as B&Q, Screwfix, and TradePoint in the UK. It has over 1,500 stores and a team of 82,000 colleagues, with a turnover of £13.2bn in 2021/22.

Since we were founded in 1994, we have sought out multi-year partnerships with ambitious clients. We believe this approach enables us to deliver the greatest real-world impact, and our work with Kingfisher, which we have supported on its sustainability journey since 2011, is a perfect example of this approach.

Our partnership developed from an initial relationship with Kingfisher’s UK subsidiary, B&Q. From 2007 to 2017, Bioregional helped devise and deliver a ground-breaking, award-winning sustainability strategy that helped B&Q cut 41% from its carbon footprint, (762,546 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions), reduce its costs by £164m through better energy, transport, and waste management, and divert 99% of waste from landfill.

Since then, our relationship has gone from strength to strength. Kingfisher delivered amazing results in 2021/22, a year in which it was recognised as the most sustainable home improvement retailer (by independent ESG analyst Sustainalytics), and the second most sustainable business in the wider retail industry (see p62 of Kingfisher’s 21/22 Responsible Business Report), alongside other key achievements that were celebrated in last month’s awards ceremony in Chicago:

• Net-zero strategy – we supported the development and monitoring of Kingfisher’s science-based carbon reduction targets across property, logistics, supply chains, and the use of its products by customers. Kingfisher achieved a 24.5% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2021/22 from its baseline year.
• Sustainable product guidelines – we provided technical support to drive improvements across Kingfisher’s range of more than 100,000 products that are designed for sustainability – either because they are made from more environmentally-friendly materials, or because they help people to live more sustainably at home. Sales of sustainable home products reached a record £5.8bn in 2021/22, representing 44% of group revenue.
• Award-winning sustainability reporting, disclosure, and transparency – we gathered and verified data from nine operating companies to inform Kingfisher’s award-winning Responsible Business Report, and led reporting on other key disclosure initiatives.
  

We’d like to say a huge thanks to our brilliant Sustainable Business team, to all our colleagues who have worked on Kingfisher projects over the years, and of course to the fantastic team at Kingfisher for their ambition and commitment. Here’s to another decade of collaboration, innovation, and impact!

Looking for support on your sustainability journey? Browse our services, and get in touch with Sian Cooke, our Head of Sustainable Business.

_{Header photograph by Julia Hawkins}