The Board is committed to the promotion of strong ethical, environmental and corporate social responsibility principles. This is a fundamental element of “The Marshalls Way.” We do the right things, for the right reasons, in the right way. By being transparent in our dealings, whether they be financial, social or environmental, we seek to inspire trust with all our stakeholders.
We recognise the need to have sustainable products and services and to consider the long term impact of every decision the Group makes. We are focused on playing our part in addressing the risk of climate change and the protection of the environment and we are engaging with our stakeholders to ensure they also put sustainability first. Our ESG agenda is supported by a detailed framework based on the United Nations Global Compact and comprehensive policies.
Our ESG agenda supports capital projects which improve operational efficiency and better utilisation of resources and raw materials. The investment of our new stone processing sawmills are a good example of this and our procurement process is focused on sourcing ethical and sustainable materials. We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our products, reducing packaging and the recycling of water at our sites.
Environmental Stewardship
- The Group’s Environmental Policies are approved by the Board and reviewed at least annually.
- Marshalls voluntarily reports publicly on its progress to initiatives such as FTSE4Good and Carbon Disclosure Project.
- Marshalls operates to an established environmental management system (“EMS”) to ensure that all its operations meet or exceed the requirements of legislation and applicable best practice as an integral part of our business strategy.
- Marshalls assesses the environmental aspects, impacts, risks and opportunities of its activities in setting appropriate environmental objectives and targets.
- Marshalls is committed to:
- achieving the highest standards of environmental performance;
- protecting the environment and preventing pollution from our operation; and
- identifying, understanding and minimising our significant environmental impacts.
- The Group is committed to monitoring, measuring and reporting of our environmental performance.
- More information can be found here
Science based targets
In 2020, Marshalls has had its carbon emissions reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative as consistent with levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. We commit to reduce scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions 40% per tonne of production by 2030 from a 2018 base year. For scope 3, we also commit that 73% of our suppliers by emissions, covering purchased goods and services and upstream transport and distribution, will have science-based targets by 2024.
As part of the Group’s climate change strategy and commitment to science based targets, Marshalls’ priorities include supporting the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in line with the UK Government’s expectation that listed companies should disclose in line with the TCFD recommendations by 2022.
As part of the Group’s climate change strategy and commitment to science based targets, Marshalls’ priorities include supporting the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) in line with the UK Government’s expectation that listed companies should disclose in line with the TCFD recommendations by 2022.
Social responsibility
- The Marshalls Code of Conduct sets out the standards that we expect from our employees and all our stakeholders.
- Doing business responsibly provides the foundations for sustainable growth.
- We are committed to meeting the highest health and safety standards – so that everyone can “go home safely.”
- We are committed to supporting the community and charitable causes.
- We are committed to our ongoing apprenticeship programme, with 50 currently active across the Group.
- We are committed to maintaining our Fair Tax Mark accreditation.
- We support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the Ethical Trading Initiative’s Base Code.
- We undertake modern slavery risk mapping for all business operations and the development of remediation processes in supply chains is a key priority.
- We partner with Bright Future to provide a pathway to employment for survivors of modern slavery.
- Supported by our Ethical Trading Initiative Strategic Plan (2018-2020) we aim to embed and integrate ethical trade into all business practice.
- We are a Living Wage employer.
- We have signed the Social Mobility Pledge to show commitment to a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Marshalls’ governance framework supports the principles of integrity, strong ethical values and professionalism.
The Board recognises that we are accountable to shareholders for good corporate governance and seeks to demonstrate our commitment to high standards of governance that are recognised and understood by all.
Good governance depends on good and effective leadership and a healthy corporate culture, supported by robust systems and processes and a good understanding of risk and risk appetite. Our policies and processes have been applied and developed during the year in a way that remains consistent with our values and strategy, focusing on engagement, operational improvement, reward and incentive structures, ensuring progress can be measured and monitored appropriately and promoting a business that is resilient, responsible and alive to opportunity.