Kingfisher confirms science based targets for operations and products

Kingfisher has become the latest high profile firm to have its greenhouse gas emissions target independently validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), confirming its plan is in line with goals of the Paris Agreement.

The home improvement company announced yesterday that it has set new targets to cut scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions covering its operation and energy use by 22 per cent against a 2016 base line.

Significantly, it also announced a target to cut its scope 3 value chain emissions from purchased goods and services and use of sold products by 40 per cent per million pounds of turnover by 2025 against a 2017 base year.

SBTi said the proposed pace of decarbonisation was in line with the emissions reduction trajectory required to deliver on the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperature rises below 2C this century.

The newly approved targets form part of Kingfisher's Sustainable Growth Plan, which was launched last year and sets a long term goal to turn the organisation into a 'Net Positive' business by 2050.

The plan featured a raft of targets, including pledges to achieve 50 per cent of group sales from products that help customers create a more sustainable home by 2020, enable a halving of customer energy use by 2025, and ensure zero waste to landfill from its operations by 2020.

The company said this week it had already made considerable progress towards its goals with customer energy saving products and services enabling an estimated 32 per cent reduction in home energy use, 91 per cent of all light bulbs sold now LEDs, and a 16 per cent cut in operational absolute carbon emissions since 2010/11.

It also confirmed it was now sourcing 100 per cent renewable electricity sourced for its UK operations and was planning to launch more zero-energy stores this year following the debut of its first zero-energy store in Peterborough.

"The great thing about our targets is that we'll be cutting carbon emissions by helping customers improve their homes," said Gemma Brierley, sustainability director for Kingfisher Offer and Sourcing. "This will include launching new products and services that help customers save energy and reduce their fuel bills. We'll also be working closely with suppliers to achieve direct cuts in emissions, to reduce emissions associated with materials such as cement and plastic and to continue to remove peat from the soils and composts we sell."

Jeremy Parsons, head of energy and renewables at Kingfisher, said the new targets meant the company would "significantly ramp up our efforts to decarbonise our business, further improving energy efficiency, buying more green power and installing more of our own renewables".

"Cutting emissions from transport as our business grows won't be easy but we'll be looking at a range of opportunities from new fuels and vehicle types to drive efficiency improvements," he added.

The move is a further boost for the SBTi, which last year confirmed that the number of companies signing up the initiative had grown 39 per cent in the nine months to September with over 480 companies having now pledged to set science-based emissions goals. The group said the companies covered 38 countries and together represent a combined market capitalisation of nearly $10tr.