Turn Page 
Corporate Social Responsibility report
TimberResponsible sourcing of raw timber products contributes to the success of sustainable forestry.
As part of the ongoing development of our CSR strategy, Wolseley continues to recognise the importance of sustainable timber sourcing and the elimination of illegally logged timber from the supply chain and has well established policies in this area. Wolseley is committed to the responsible purchasing of forest products from forests certified as well managed. This commitment is set out in a Global Timber Policy and will be realised through a stepwise approach that utilises the best available techniques and information.
Wolseley aims to source timber products from forests or forest product suppliers that comply with all relevant legislation in the country of origin relating to trade in forest products and trade from protected areas, parks or similar areas. We also aim to source such products from forest areas or regions that are not subject to censure under the United Nations resolutions including number 2001/1343.
Wolseley engages with its suppliers and seeks information as to the source of all forest products in order to evaluate this information against its policies. Working with and encouraging suppliers who support credible certification, Wolseley is committed to best practice and to reviewing and reporting progress in this area.
The Group continues to work with local forest management organisations and certification agencies to increase the amount of certified timber it purchases and just over 80 per cent of the 8,464,000 cubic metres of timber purchased in the year was from certified sources. Unless the appropriate permits are in place, none of the Group’s businesses purchase any species of timber included in any of the Appendices to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which identify threatened species of trees. All of the Group’s businesses have engaged with their suppliers of Indonesian plywood to ensure that any illegal logging is excluded from the supply chain.
For the fourth consecutive year, Stock purchased 90 per cent of its timber from suppliers certified by recognised sustainable forestry agencies, such as the American Forest Products Association and the Canadian Standards Association. Less than 0.05 per cent of the 5,467,000 cubic metres of timber purchased by Stock during the year consisted of Lauan plywood.
Wolseley UK continues to work with the UK Timber Trade Federation to assess suppliers of timber products to ensure the legal and sustainable status of timber supplied, particularly if it is sourced from Asia Pacific, South America or West Africa. During the year, 65 per cent of Wolseley UK’s 357,000 cubic metres of timber purchased consisted of softwood and 30 per cent consisted of products such as plywood. Build Center is now the UK’s leading distributor of Forest Stewardship Council (‘FSC’) approved plywood.
PB & M SA (‘PBM’) works with its suppliers to ensure that timber is sourced from sustainable forests which have been certified by recognised forestry associations promoting sustainable forestry management. During the year, 76 per cent of the 925,000 cubic metres of timber purchased by PBM was sourced from Russia, Finland, Germany and France and less than 1 per cent consisted of plywood sourced from Indonesia under permit.
This year, in recognition of its forestry and wood production management, PBM became the first trading company in France to be awarded a ‘Two Leaf’ rating from Le Commerce du Bois, the French timber trade federation, which has developed a code of practice that sets standards for timber sourcing, purchasing and distribution throughout France.
DT, which is a member of the Danish timber trade federation, purchased most of its softwood from local forests, with small amounts coming from Chile, China and the Baltic States. Less than 1 per cent of the 1,453,000 cubic metres of timber purchased by DT during the year comprised hardwood sourced from local wholesalers, Indonesia and Ivory Coast.
Heatmerchants in Ireland purchased 247,000 cubic metres of timber in the year, of which 18,000 cubic metres consisted of hardwood, all of which was sourced from certified forests or suppliers free of UN censure.
Chain of custodyWolseley believes that whilst sustainable sourcing is vital, it is also key that illegal timber be eliminated from the supply chain, from the forest of origin to the end user.
The chain of custody scheme, introduced in Build Center in the UK in 2003, now covers 3,660 products and certification has been achieved at a further 85 branches during the year (exceeding the target of 59 branches). Products within the chain of custody scheme have been independently audited and approved by, or on behalf of, both the FSC and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (‘PEFC’). The scheme provides evidence that products originate from certified, well-managed forests at any point in the supply chain, giving our customers an independent guarantee that the timber we are supplying is from a legal and sustainable forest source.
Some 68 per cent of the timber purchased by Wolseley UK during the year was controlled within the chain of custody scheme, an increase of over 130 per cent from 2006.
During the year, chain of custody certification was awarded to PBM’s softwood import business, following such certification of its hardwood business and its garden products business in 2003. In line with its targets, 100 per cent of PBM’s timber purchased during the year had either FSC or PEFC chain of custody certification.
Stock does not have a formal chain of custody procedure for its timber as it relies upon the chain of custody procedures in place within its suppliers. However, the vast majority of purchases made by Stock are from suppliers who hold recognised certifications and whose harvests are strictly controlled by US and Canadian Federal and State law. Stock maintains an extensive dialogue with its suppliers regarding sustainability issues, including chain of custody.
Accreditations during the year
- Wolseley UK attained ISO 14001 accreditation in a further eight branches.
- Mart in Hungary and Cesaro in the Czech Republic continued ISO 9001 accreditation for their quality management processes.
TransportWe continually seek ways to reduce our environmental footprint.
Last year, the Group introduced a common standard for transport management systems across its operations. This continues to be implemented and will enable real-time transport management systems to improve route planning and resource scheduling across different business sectors and between multiple sites. This will help to ensure increased efficiency in the utilisation of commercial vehicles.
The Group continues to focus on improving fuel consumption across its primary distribution fleet, switching fuels where viable and replacing old vehicles with more fuel efficient models.
Wolseley UK has continued to improve its transport fleet utilisation by focusing on efficient route planning to minimise delivery journeys and the number of kilometres travelled. The target set in 2005 to reduce overall kilometres travelled by eight per cent remains on track and is expected to be achieved by the end of July 2008.
Ferguson and Stock are continually evaluating and optimising all modes of transportation to manage costs and reduce miles driven by all freight carriers. The ability to measure the mileage reduction and consequent fuel savings as a result of this optimisation is currently being developed and should be fully established during 2008.
Stock is in the process of testing new technology that treats friction causing parts in engines and transmissions. First results have shown a reduction in emissions of 14 per cent and increased fuel economy of 12 per cent in the tested vehicles. It is planned to continue to test a larger sample of the fleet and if similar results are observed, consideration will be given to the introduction of this technology across the fleet.
All new cars purchased by Brossette in France and Tobler in Switzerland are low-emission vehicles. New trucks purchased by Mart in Hungary comply to the EUR04 standard as do all new trucks purchased by Manzardo in Italy.