Better Health for All

Wickes demonstrates strong support for mental health, with over 500 trained Mental Health First Aiders

and an additional 100 people managers trained in 2024. The company provides comprehensive internal mental health support through its Digicare service, an Employee Assistance Programme offering free counselling, and a women's and men's health support package via Peppy. Furthermore, Wickes has raised over £2 million for the mental health charity YoungMinds. Regarding health externalities, the company shows very limited health-harming impacts due to exemplary remediation efforts, having removed Chromium 6 from 99% of its chrome-plated products by the end of 2024, with a target of 100% by the end of 2025. It also ensures compliance with REACH and VOC regulations for its products. The company exhibits excellent risk transparency by proactively identifying and taking steps to replace products containing substances of very high concern, explosives precursors, or poisons, and ensuring compliance with relevant health and safety regulations. For healthcare data, Wickes maintains robust data protection policies, requires annual cyber security and data privacy training for all colleagues, and reported no breaches in 2024.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Colleague engagement was 80% in 2022, based on an annual survey.

The company operates an employee share save scheme, which resulted in almost 1,000 employees receiving a collective £14.1 million windfall, with shares purchased at a discounted rate and surging by 124% since November 2022. Wickes respects the right of colleagues to join or not join a trade union and commits to meeting the principles of the Ethical Trade Initiative Base Code. In 2022, the company reported a 27% reduction in total injuries and a 16% reduction in Lost Time Accident Frequency Rate. Furthermore, Wickes increased the number of gender-balanced leadership teams from 67.4% in 2021 to 75.1% in 2022.

Honest & Fair Business

Wickes demonstrates a high extent of independent verification for its ethical claims. In 2023, 99.8% of timber purchased was certified as responsibly sourced by FSC or PEFC.

The company also requires all suppliers of its own brand products, which account for about 60% of sales, to undergo acceptable third-party ethical audits (e.g., SMETA, Sedex) before trading and every two years. DNV Business Assurance Services UK Ltd provides independent limited assurance on selected data. For anti-corruption, Wickes maintains a comprehensive Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy with a zero-tolerance approach, including a "no gifts" policy for colleagues. All colleagues receive mandatory business ethics training, and the company performs risk assessments on suppliers in high-risk countries using World Bank and Transparency International indices. Furthermore, Wickes has a comprehensive whistleblowing policy, communicated to all staff through mandatory training, which provides a confidential and independent service, protects whistleblowers from retaliation, and ensures independent investigations. No modern slavery reports were registered via the whistleblowing service in 2023.

Kind to Animals

No specific, concrete data points or measurable outcomes related to animal welfare, animal testing, humane certifications, or animal-derived ingredients were found in the provided articles. Information regarding cruelty-free certifications, alternative testing methods, humane operations, wildlife conservation impact metrics, ethical input substitution, animal agriculture ethics, or animal-free R&D collaboration was not available. While supplier audits were mentioned for timber, no percentage for animal-related suppliers or welfare compliance was provided.

Engagement activities mentioned were related to net zero and climate change, not animal welfare policy.

No War, No Weapons

Wickes Group PLC operates as a home improvement retailer and building materials supplier.

The provided articles explicitly state that they do not contain information related to the 'No War, No Weapons' ethical value. There is no evidence of the company engaging in arms manufacturing, military contracts, dual-use technology development, or any other conflict-related activities. Therefore, all KPIs are assessed as N/A, indicating no involvement in defense or arms-related business.

Planet-Friendly Business

Wickes Group PLC reported total Scope 1, 2, and 3 market-based emissions of 1,592,571 tCO2e in 2024

, a reduction from 1,623,048 tCO2e in 2021 . The company has near-term science-based emissions reduction targets validated by the SBTi in 2022 and revalidated in 2025 , with published progress showing a 61.3% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 19.7% reduction in Scope 3 emissions from the use of sold products in 2024 compared to the 2021 baseline . Since April 2023, Wickes has purchased 100% renewable grid electricity for its stores, distribution centers, and offices , with some on-site solar panels . In 2024, 62% of operational waste was recycled . For its supply chain, 27.3% of 2024 Scope 3 GHG emissions are covered by suppliers with SBTi-validated targets . The company's timber sourcing policy ensures 99.8% of timber is certified by FSC or PEFC , and it only sells peat-free compost . Wickes is working towards achieving net zero by 2040 , supporting the British Retail Consortium's ambition . Its climate-related disclosures are consistent with the TCFD’s 4 recommendations and 11 recommended disclosures , and it conducts detailed climate scenario analysis for 1.5°C, 3°C, and 4°C pathways to stress test its business model and strategy .