The Group recognises the increasing importance of supplying renewable and sustainable products. Product ranges designed to provide sustainable building solutions have been introduced in a number of businesses including solar thermal and solar PV, air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps, biomass heating, rainwater harvesting and heat recovery ventilation systems.

The Group has implemented a Timber Sourcing Policy which sets out our commitment to the sourcing of sustainable timber products and to meeting international certification standards. Under this Policy, Grafton businesses that source timber products must produce an annual summary specifying either the certification (FSC and/or PEFC) or the chain of custody of the timber products sourced.

A number of Grafton Group businesses have FSC and/or PEFC certification in place which is specific to individual timber categories or timber types. The Timber Group are active members of the Timber Trade Federation (“TTF”) and their compliance includes FORS Silver, FSC and PEFC Chain of Custody, ISO 9001 & 14001.

The Group’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics states that we will not purchase from suppliers that procure products for us from countries that are subject to trade sanctions, or if the supplier or its sources are listed in connection with a trade sanctions programme. Grafton requires all its suppliers to comply with its anti-slavery policy.

We continue to work to embed our responsible business objectives into our sourcing and supplier activities. The Group currently uses an external due diligence screening solution to assist with prioritising, monitoring and mitigating the risks associated with supplier relationships. Non-EU suppliers are screened annually against relevant sanctions lists, watch lists, lists of Politically Exposed Persons or adverse media reports.

During 2020 the Group commenced a process to identify a suitable third party compliance management and risk assessment system.