Environmental Policy

Halfords is the UK’s leading retailer of motoring and cycling products and a leading independent operator in garage servicing and auto repair. Our mission is to "realise a sustainable future by championing all forms of electric transport and supporting colleagues and consumers in making smarter transport choices."

Aims

Halfords takes its environmental responsibilities seriously. We aim to manage our operations in a way that is environmentally sustainable, economically feasible and socially responsible. We are committed to minimising our impact on the environment and managing the effects of a changing climate on our business and supply chain. We do this by embedding a culture that considers sustainability and environmental impact within business processes and recognising that every colleague across the business has a responsibility to consider the environment in our day-to-day operations.

Procedures ensure that our operations meet the requirements of environmental legislation. ‘Ways of working’ exist to protect the environment, prevent pollution and mitigate Halfords’ environmental impacts by considering a lifecycle perspective to all operations and products, embedding sustainability into wider Halfords Group activities and processes.

We have set long-term targets to reduce carbon emissions, energy, packaging and waste. We have clear objectives to ensure continuous improvements in environmental performance and management.

Commitments

• monitor progress on environmental standards and objectives by adopting regular internal monitoring procedures;
• investigate incidents to reduce the chance of reoccurrence;
• use impact assessments to identify opportunities for improvement;
• encourage and evaluate feedback from all, on our environmental management;
• liaise assertively and honestly with Enforcement Officers;
• review environmental trends and progress at the Environmental Working Group at least quarterly; and
• review key environmental issues at Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee level at least every six months.

To manage our day-to-day environmental impact, we shall:

• comply fully with all applicable environmental legislation and regulation – striving to go beyond legal compliance.
• actively reduce our environmental impact, including in the areas of water, waste, energy and carbon.
• track and reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in line with climate science and the Paris Agreement (2015) 1.5-degree limit across our value chain.
• minimise the impact of waste on the environment by promoting and facilitating the waste hierarchy (reduce, reuse, recycle) whilst managing waste in a responsible and compliant manner.
• Integrate environmental consideration into product design and/or provision of services (e.g., circularity and lower carbon transportation) – adopting lifecycle analysis principles.
• reduce the level of packaging used and consider ease of recyclability. Minimising reliance on raw materials and consider recycled or renewable materials for both products and packaging.
• manage the property portfolio by considering sustainable construction, refurbishment and maintenance practices.
• promote environmental considerations with our suppliers through the Global Sourcing Code – reducing emissions (scope 3) and partnering to make improvements to packaging and products.
• engage with colleagues to raise awareness of sustainability, communicating environmental targets to promote good practice and encourage collective commitment to reducing environmental impacts.

To continually improve how we manage environmental impact, we shall:

• monitor progress on environmental standards and objectives by adopting regular internal monitoring procedures.
• implement effective emergency response procedures, as/when required.
• investigate incidents to reduce the chance of reoccurrence.
• use impact assessments to identify opportunities for improvement.
• encourage and evaluate feedback from all, on our environmental management; liaise assertively and honestly with Enforcement Officers and other interested stakeholders.
• regularly review key environmental performance at the ESG Board.

To ensure effective governance on our impact on the environment, we shall:

• establish and maintain effective environmental management systems to manage any operational impact on the environment.
• identify, manage and respond to environmental risks and opportunities
• report environmental performance indicators and progress to the ESG Committee and Board at least every six months.
• ensure that each member of the Executive has direct responsibility for the area under their control.
• nominate the Chief People and Property Officer as the person who champions environmental management at Exec Board level.
• confirm that all levels of line management are responsible for day-to-day environmental management.
• transparently report on our environmental performance to all interested stakeholders.

We expect all of our colleagues to engage fully with this Policy and to share in our collective group wide vision of achieving high environmental standards and minimising our environmental impact.

We shall ensure that this Policy is regularly reviewed to ensure it remains fit for purpose and continues to promote these high standards of environmental awareness.