Responsible sourcing and supplier engagement
Our business is built on the foundation of an ethical and responsible supply chain. The vast majority of our environmental and social impacts are from the indirect impacts of the products we buy.
We conduct our operations with honesty, integrity, openness and with respect for the rights and interests of our colleagues and others. We will not tolerate or condone any practices that are illegal or which may damage our reputation. Our expectations for our colleagues are set out in our Code of Business Ethics - for further information visit our ESG Governance Page.
Our Responsible Sourcing Policy ensures that we source products and partners responsibly and set minimum standards across our supply chain. This approach is intended to meet all relevant legislative requirements, as well as to provide confidence for our customers and stakeholders that Wickes is a trusted partner and retailer.
We ensure that our suppliers demonstrate and share similar values to our own, especially in the areas of labour standards, health and safety, environment, business ethics and product quality. These values make up the five pillars of our Supplier Manual, and we have made a series of commitments to establish these principles throughout our supply chain.
We maintain close relationships with suppliers of the products that we sell and only deal with those that can meet our high standards. All suppliers must demonstrate that they operate ethically and in accordance with our standards that uphold human rights and safety, prohibit modern slavery and promote ethical and responsible sourcing.
We regularly assess our suppliers and products to ensure they meet our quality, ethical, safety and environmental standards. We are a member of SEDEX, a leading platform that supports the management and improvement of working conditions in supply chains.
We also talk about our overall performance in our annual Responsible Business Reports.
Human rights and modern slavery
Wickes is committed to respecting all internationally recognised human rights, standards and legislation relevant to our operations. Our Human Rights Policy sets out how we uphold human rights by identifying our areas of responsibility and taking relevant action. We recognise the harmful impact that modern slavery has on individuals and society, and we are committed to help prevent these illegal practices.
Our Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy sets out our zero tolerance approach to any form of forced, bonded or involuntary labour, human trafficking, child labour, and other kinds of slavery and servitude within our own operations or within our supply chain.
Our biggest risk of modern slavery is in our supply chain. We are committed to upholding human rights and promoting positive working conditions and practices throughout our supply chain, and we commit to meet the principles of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) Base Code. We aim to work collaboratively, and to create an environment that enables transparency throughout the supply chain. We promote our Whistleblowing Helpline to our suppliers for them to report concerns.
We are a member of SEDEX, a leading platform that supports the management and improvement of working conditions in supply chains, and we require all suppliers providing Wickes own branded products to undertake and deliver an acceptable ethical audit before we begin trading.
Our annual Modern Slavery Statement made pursuant to the Modern Slavery Act 2015 provides further information.
We also talk about our overall performance in our annual Responsible Business Reports.
Product quality and safety
Wickes aims to source only products that are safe and fit for purpose, and meet or exceed our customers’ expectations. We require each product that enters our supply chain to comply with all applicable legislation.
We recognise the concerns of safe use, content and labelling of chemicals. We actively abide by all UK legislation to reduce the impact of substances of concern and, where possible, use a suitable alternative. Wickes has committed to identifying any products that are supplied to us that contain any substances of very high concern (SVHCs), explosives precursors or poisons, and we take steps to replace any products that contain restricted substances or SVHCs with suitable alternatives.
We require our suppliers to ensure that products supplied to Wickes are free of any banned substances and compliant with any restrictions detailed by the UK Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulations. We also ensure that all paint and varnish products that we sell are compliant with volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations.
We also talk about our overall performance in our annual Responsible Business Reports.