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The theme of Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”) has once again kept us busy during the year as we endeavour to do business in a socially responsible way throughout our operations. More details are given in our sixth online CSR report. For Woolworths Group plc, as for every major retailer, balancing the needs of our business with our commitment to CSR can at times be extremely challenging. We are, however, determined to meet those challenges head-on. Often we can plan in advance how to address new business issues. For instance, how best to meet forthcoming legal obligations. But we also have to be prepared for the unexpected, as was the case with the toy industry recall issues last Summer. We have well established procedures in place to ensure that products sold by us are safe and legal and we have strengthened our product-testing regime still further, introducing extra tests for lead for all our toys in order to prevent this sort of issue recurring.
We believe it is important to give our customers as wide a choice as possible in the products we offer. At the same time we are continually mindful of the need to reduce our energy consumption and, what’s more, to encourage our customers to do the same.
During 2007, Greenpeace claimed that Woolworths was not moving fast enough to remove incandescent light bulbs from sale in our stores. The Government has set a voluntary target to end their sale by 2012 and Woolworths will not be selling incandescent light bulbs by the end of 2010, well before the target date. We will also be phasing out the most energy inefficient light bulbs in the run-up to 2012 and we have already removed 100W-plus bulbs from our shelves. Additionally, we have launched a new Worthit! energy-saving light bulb at a highly competitive price to encourage our customers to go for the energy-efficient option.
We very much welcomed the dialogue with Greenpeace on this issue, although the behaviour of some of their members towards our store colleagues and executives was unacceptable and not conducive to a sensible debate.
Woolworths is committed to working to combat the effects of climate change and was invited to join over 1,000 other business leaders at the Prince of Wales’s May Day Summit on Climate Change. We pledged to take positive action within our companies, and with our suppliers, colleagues and customers to tackle this threat to our planet.
The summit was organised by Business in the Community, one of a number of organisations which promote CSR and to which Woolworths belongs. Another is the British Retail Consortium, where I have a seat on the Board. Through the BRC, Woolworths Group, along with other retailers, does a great deal to promote the highest environmental and ethical standards in our business sector.
In the coming year, we will continue to ensure that CSR is considered in every part of our business, to live up to the standards we have set. For a full report on the Group’s CSR activities, please refer to the Company’s website. Alternatively, for a hard copy of the 2008 CSR report please contact the Company Secretary.
Yours sincerely, |
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Trevor Bish-Jones
Chief Executive
2 April 2008 |
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Recycling
Tonnage of packaging recycled |
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2008 |
2007 |
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| Woolworths |
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18,051 |
17,577 |
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| EUK |
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2,916 |
1,622 |
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| Total |
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20,967 |
19,199 |
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| Wherever possible, card and plastic materials, the major packaging constituents in our business, are taken back to our Distribution Centres.The materials are then baled and passed to recycling businesses for reprocessing. During 2007/08, 20,967 tonnes were recycled by the Group. This reflects a 9.2 per cent increase year-on-year, with a 2.7 per cent improvement in Retail and significant progress in the Entertainment Wholesale business, however, this partly reflects the growth of this element of the Group. |
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Electricity usage
Tonnes of CO2 emitted |
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2008 |
2007 |
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| Woolworths |
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77,593 |
84,971 |
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| EUK |
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7,677 |
5,959 |
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| Total |
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85,270 |
90,930 |
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| During the year, the Group’s electricity consumption decreased by 6.2 per cent. This represents a decline of 8.7 per cent within Retail, driven particularly by specific initiatives within stores, however, the impact of this is negated by an increase in usage within the Entertainment Wholesale part of the Group, attributable to sales growth and acquisitions. |
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| Staff stability |
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2008 |
2007 |
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| Woolworths Offices |
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83% |
86% |
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| Woolworths Retail |
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71% |
70% |
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| Woolworths Distribution |
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97% |
89% |
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| EUK |
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91% |
81% |
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| Our business is built on a core team of dedicated staff. During 2007/08, staff stability increased most significantly within the Woolworths Distribution and EUK workforce, however, there was a slight decline in stability rates within Woolworths Offices. |
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