Q WHAT progress have youmade, and what are your biggest challenges and opportunities ahead? Through our work to date, we have made significantprogress – we were pleased to be included in theCircular Economy Financial Times’ inaugural listing of Europe’s Climate Developing take-back schemes Leaders as one of the top 300 companies that achieved for textiles and other product the greatest reduction in their GHG emissions intensity.1 categories, while raising awareness We are also thinking more about the ‘circular economy’ of the ‘circular economy’ across our in our product development process – reducing impacts business and supply chains. at the design stage of our products right through to what happens to them at the end of their lifecycle. We became the first homewares retailer to join Textiles 2030 and, alongside this, we continue to focus on people – improving inclusion and diversity education and network-building and tightening ethical and environmental standards in our supply chains. Further examples are outlined in the following pages. However, our biggest challenge – and opportunity – is to help society transition towards a low-carbon economy by Looking further reducing our own operational and Scope 3 carbon footprint. In February 2021, we published our 10-year greenhousegas reduction targets for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, ahead aligned to a 1.5°C pathway (Paris-aligned), and announced our support of the British Retail Consortium’s Climate Action Roadmap to achieve net zero by 2040. In September 2021 we announced our 10-year targets for Scope 3 emissions. This is a massive undertaking that Carbon Reduction puts risks and opportunities associated with climate change right at the heart of our decision-making, including short-term and long-term capital allocation. Working with suppliers to It also requires us to establish the right level of resourcesunderstand, verify, develop and and knowledge to help meet our deadlines. We continued implement actions that need to be our work with Carbon Trust, appointed a new Head of taken to reduce Scope 3 emissions. Climate Change and our CFO, Laura, is overseeing our ‘Carbon Reduction’ working group. This year we have published our progress against Task Force on Climate- related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) guidelines. Q HOW is ‘sustainability’embedded in your business? We look at sustainability holistically as there are many overlapping areas. While our colleague, safety and compliance areas are already part of how we operate, our approach to carbon reduction and circularity is less mature. Our new Pathway to Zero working groups: Carbon Reduction, Circular Economy, and Community will help improve this. An Executive Board member heads up each area and I will take overall responsibility for our direction and progress. We have also linked three sustainability performance metrics to the Long-Term Incentive Plan for FY22-24, and the CFO, Executive Board members and I have sustainability objectives in our FY22 annual bonus measures. Q HOW would you sum up yournew approach to sustainability? Communities Accelerated. Focused. Reinvigorated. In July 2021, we announced our work with Retail Trust to combat domestic abuse by educating and supporting our colleagues 1. As measured between 2014-2019 and defined as CO2e per €1m of revenue.affected by this ‘hidden crime’. Report compiled by statistica and published May 2021. www.ft.com/climate-leaders-europe-2021 DUNELM GROUP PLCANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 2021 41 STRATEGIC REPORTGOVERNANCEFINANCIAL STATEMENTSOTHER INFORMATION