Corporate Social Responsibility
The Board recognises that the long term profitability of the business depends, amongst other things, on
appropriate protection of the Group’s assets, reputation and brand names and is subject to the long-term
sustainability of the supply chain.
Impact on the environment
The use of resources to manufacture and supply our products utilise finite global resources. The source
of the raw materials and the manufacture of the finished products is spread globally and provides
employment, income and personal security at many different points in the process. We recognise, however,
that our products utilise global resources some of which are limited in their nature.
Some of the initiatives we have implemented include:
- In the UK, the business meets its responsibilities under the packaging waste regulations through
membership of Valpak;
- Wooden hangers are sourced from sustainable sources and we do not give them away with the products;
- Reduction in packaging materials for finished goods i.e. no plastic banding, no inner cartons;
- Plastic returnable tote bins for shipping to our own UK stores to reduce cardboard;
- Plastic and cardboard waste is collected from our UK stores for recycling;
- In our US operations, corrugated cartons are re-used whenever possible and ultimately recycled using
a band machine so they are crushed into bails for collection;
- In Canada we are participants in 'Stewardship Ontario', paying a fee for all point of sale materials
to be recycled. All lighting has been replaced with LEDs; and
- Donation of end of life stock to local and national charitable organisations.
Carbon emissions |
Tonnes of CO2e 2020 |
Tonnes of CO2e 2019 |
Emissions from |
|
|
Scope 1 (vehicles, fugitive emissions, gas) |
95 |
174 |
Scope 2 (electricity) |
1,844 |
2,869 |
Total footprint |
1,939 |
3,043 |
Group chosen intensity measurement |
£m |
£m |
Turnover |
119.9 |
138.6 |
Emissions reported above per £m of turnover |
16 |
22 |
The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions report is in line with UK mandatory reporting requirements, set out by
the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The mandatory requirement is for the disclosure of scope 1
and 2 emissions only. We have captured all material qualifying
emissions from around the Group. Some extrapolation and
estimation techniques have been used to calculate the Group
CO2e in respect of less than 5% of our stores and the final
month of our data.
The reported sources fall within our consolidated financial
statements. We do not have responsibility for any emission
sources that are not included in our consolidated financial
statements. We have computed our emissions using the
DEFRA Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including
mandatory greenhouse
Our total GHG footprint in line with these guidelines is 1,939 tonnes
CO2e (2019: 3,043 tonnes). The decrease in our footprint has
been supported by our targeted reduction in our retail portfolio during
the year including the closure of our flagship store in Oxford Street.
Supply chain
The Group has used third party manufacturing facilities around the world for over thirty years but has
specifically avoided suppliers or regions where the employment or environmental practices are known to
be below acceptable standards. The Group requires all of its product suppliers to abide by its
guidelines contained in the Supplier Guide. Our staff visit the factories we use for garment production
on a regular basis and consider the environment and work practices during those visits, however
currently our ability to formally audit the facilities is limited. Our Supplier Guide and the employment
standards required of our suppliers accord with industry standards including inter alia that employees
should: be given a safe and healthy environment to work in; be given the right to free association; be
paid a fair wage; not be forced or bonded labour; be of an appropriate age; and work only
reasonable hours.
The Board recognises that it is not possible to provide absolute assurance that standards expected of our
suppliers are adhered to. Where transgressions are identified we would work with the supplier to develop
an appropriate remediation programme. However we will not hesitate to stop using any supplier who we
identify is persistently operating in contravention of our standards or failing to implement agreed
remediation programmes.
The Group supports the non-use of animals in testing and challenge our suppliers on this matter – our
glycerine soaps as an example, do not contain any animal derived ingredients and are suitable for use by
vegetarian and vegans.
In 2018, the Group published its supplier payment practices in line with UK government ‘Duty to Report on
Payment Practices and Performances’ legislation.
Modern Slavery
The Board has considered the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and has accordingly published a ‘Modern Slavery
Statement’ on its website. The statement sets out the actions taken by the Group and the steps going
forward to aim to prevent modern slavery from its business and supply chains. French Connection is
committed to ensuring it maintains high ethical standards and due diligence processes in place which aim
to prevent modern slavery and human trafficking in its supply chain.
Tax
The Board is committed to ensuring full compliance with the law and making all tax payments on a timely
basis.
The Board is committed to ensuring that openness, honesty and transparency will be paramount in all
dealings with the tax authorities and other relevant bodies.
We run cycle to work and childcare voucher schemes in the UK for our employees.
People
We are committed to providing equal opportunities for all of our employees.
We ensure that every employee, without exception, is treated equally and fairly and that all employees
are aware of their responsibilities. The Group published its UK ‘Gender Pay Gap’ reporting on its
website in 2018 in line with UK government requirements.
The breakdown of the gender of Directors and employees at the end of the financial year is as follows:
|
Men Number 2020 |
Women Number 2020 |
Company Directors |
4 |
1 |
Other senior managers |
5 |
2 |
All other employees |
238 |
762 |
Total |
247 |
765 |
Notes
Company Directors consist of the Company’s Board.
Other senior managers is as defined in The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Directors’ Report)
Regulations 2013, and includes: i) persons responsible for planning, directing or controlling the
activities of the Company, or a strategically significant part of the Company, other than Company
Directors; and ii) any other Directors of undertakings included in the consolidated accounts.
The business complies with locally applicable health and safety regulations in the countries in which it
operates. This includes the provision and maintenance of safe environments for our employees,
appropriate design of our stores, health and safety training for appropriate personnel, electrical
installation reviews, risk assessments and risk monitoring in our offices, stores and warehouses.