Kingfisher plc, the international home improvement retailer whose businesses include B&Q and Screwfix, announces today that it has entered into a £550m three-year revolving credit facility agreement with a group of its relationship banks. The facility is linked to ambitious sustainability and community-based targets.
Kingfisher has a long heritage as a responsible business. We were a founding member of the Forest Stewardship Council when it was established nearly 30 years ago to help the responsible sourcing of wood. We were also the first retailer to label and cut VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in paint in 1998. Establishing a Responsible Business-linked credit facility further demonstrates our commitment to continuous improvement in areas that are material to all our stakeholders.
Under the terms of the new credit facility agreement, which has a duration of three years with the possibility of two one-year extensions, Kingfisher will benefit from a lower interest rate if it delivers specific targets which are aligned with the Group’s Responsible Business plan.
Kingfisher’s Responsible Business commitments, which are linked to the credit facility’s targets, are as follows:
Help to tackle climate change:
- Kingfisher is committed to help tackle climate change by reducing carbon emissions from its business, products and supply chain.
- The target is to deliver 1.5°C science-based carbon reduction targets by FY 2025/26 and the facility covers Kingfisher’s actions to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 impacts.* The previous target was in line with the reductions required to keep global warming to 2°C.
Create more forests than we use:
- Kingfisher is committed to becoming forest positive by FY 2025/26 by creating more forests than it uses.
- The credit facility target is to reach 100% sustainable wood and paper for its products by FY 2025/26, covering all retail banners across the Group. The current level for Kingfisher is 80.7%.
Fight to fix bad housing:
- Kingfisher is committed to help more than 2 million people whose housing needs are greatest in our communities by FY 2025/26. This is double our previous commitment.
- The target is defined as the number of people who directly benefited from Kingfisher’s community contributions since FY 2016/17.
- So far, over 790,000 people have benefited from our donations since FY 2016/17.
The new credit facility replaces two existing facilities (£225m expiring in March 2022 and £550m, most of which expires in August 2023).
Bernard Bot, Kingfisher’s Chief Financial Officer, said: “This revolving credit facility shows our commitment to integrate our Responsible Business principles into all aspects of our business. Our Responsible Business plan is an integral part of our Powered by Kingfisher strategy and this facility links our ambitious sustainability and community targets with our financing activities. We are making great progress with our climate change and community programmes and I look forward to working with all our stakeholders on realising our commitments.”
Footnotes
* Scope 1 – Emissions from direct fuel use within Kingfisher’s operations (e.g. natural gas consumption in stores, fuel used in dedicated transport fleets)
* Scope 2 – Emissions from electricity use within Kingfisher’s operations
