Fashioning a brighter future - CONTENTS - Fashion Footprint
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CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
2017
REPORT
Fashioning a brighter future
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
Contents
Foreword P. 03 Products P. 07
About Fashion Footprint P. 04 Environment P. 17
Governance P. 05 Employees P. 25
Stakeholder Engagement P. 06 Community P. 30
Policies & Procedures P. 06 2020 Targets P. 36
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
FOREWORD
Ian Grabiner
Arcardia Group CEO
Fashion Footprint is endorsed by our Fashion Footprint incorporates both the social More than ever we operate in a challenging, fast
Group Chief Executive Ian Grabiner and the and environmental dimensions of the way Arcadia moving and global marketplace. With retailers on
steering group is chaired by Alda Andreotti, manages our business and supply chain. For us it the high street and online, sharing suppliers and
Group Supply Chain Director. is about education, clarity, integrity, hard work and factories, we must continue to work collaboratively
excellent communication. with other brands, NGOs and to participate in
industry initiatives, such as the Better Cotton
As we strive to produce fashionable products in Initiative and the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and
a responsible and ethical way across all parts of Building Safety. These collaborations demonstrate
our business, Fashion Footprint is establishing our Fashion Footprint values in action.
a legacy for the future. This report takes you
through our programme highlights, and how We continue to use our Fashion Footprint
we are addressing environmental and social programme to provide focus, harnessing under
challenges across four key areas: products, one banner the diverse activities to ensure that
environment, employees and communities. Arcadia continues to be a responsible retailer.
We appreciate that this is a challenge for us
Over the past year we have been focusing on: and the rest of the retail industry.
• Working with and training our suppliers to Over the next year we will be reviewing the
ensure they meet our code of conduct, whilst Fashion Footprint strategy. We look forward to
looking for opportunities to further improve sharing the outcome of this review as we issue
conditions for workers in our supply chain. our next Fashion Footprint report, ensuring we
• Finding new ways to reduce our environmental use our size and scale to focus our energy on
impact by reducing air miles, energy use the most important and impactful areas.
and waste.
• Engaging employees through lively and targeted As always, we would love to hear from you.
communications to support our goals and Please contact us at
enhance our initiatives. hellofashionfootprint@arcadiagroup.co.uk
• Identifying ways in which Arcadia can benefit the
Alda Andreotti wider community, via charity work, education
Group Supply Chain Director and social integration.
Alda Andreotti
Group Supply Chain Director
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
ABOUT
The activities and reporting of our Fashion Footprint programme
are divided into four key pillars:
Fashion Footprint is Arcadia Group’s programme to monitor and manage
the social and environmental impacts of our business, providing a focus
and framework for our activities. Fashion Footprint continually reinforces our
commitment to sustainability; a commitment that we believe makes just as
much sense from a business perspective as it does from an ethical one.
Our Fashion Footprint vision provides us with a mission statement that we
can all get behind: to produce fashionable products in an ethical way and
demonstrate a responsible attitude towards people and the environment.
OUR STRATEGY
We will review our Fashion Footprint strategy over the coming year to ensure
its continued relevance and impact. This work may include a materiality
assessment and a review of our 2020 targets. We will share further
information of this work in our 2018 report.
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
Governance The following Arcadia colleagues make up the steering group and have responsibility for the various
workstreams within the Fashion Footprint programme:
Fashion Footprint is governed by a steering
group, which comprises senior members of Alda Andreotti Sarah Heaney Carole Simpson
our business. The group meets regularly Group Supply Chain Director Head of Public Relations Retail Operations Director
to provide governance, guidance and
risk assessment across all our social and Jamie Beck Maria O’Connell Fiona Wenlock
environmental responsibilities and ensure these Head of Supplier Management Senior Group Internal Communications Manager HR Director
activities remain integral to Arcadia’s strategy.
Colin Campbell Ian Poulton Rachel Bull
Endorsed by our Group Chief Executive Ian Head of Risk Management Purchasing Director Community Partnerships Manager
Grabiner, the steering group is chaired by Alda
Andreotti, Group Supply Chain Director. Activity Andrew Clarke David Shepherd
is divided across a series of working groups, Chief Information Officer Managing Director
each of which is aligned with one of the four key
pillars and has a steering group member as their
sponsor to oversee progress towards targets.
The day-to-day running of the Fashion Footprint
programme is the responsibility of Jamie Beck,
Head of Supplier Management, and his team.
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
Stakeholder Policies &
Engagement Procedures
Stakeholder engagement is a vital element of to make tangible progress and improvements We further strengthened ties with the Fashion Retail Policies and procedures are also an important part
all four of our key pillars. It plays a strategic role for workers in our supply chain. Academy this year, safeguarding the talent pipeline of how we work and we have a comprehensive list
in the success of our working groups and how for our industry. Please see here for more info. of business policies in place that are appropriate
they feed into the pillars, as well as how we CUSTOMERS to an organisation the size of Arcadia Group.
communicate progress. Knowing that the topics covered by Fashion OTHER RETAILERS AND BRANDS Some examples include:
Footprint are increasingly important to our We collaborate with other high street retailers
We have identified the following six groups as customers is one of the key drivers for our work. We on a wide variety of projects and initiatives. • Workplace Diversity
our principal stakeholders. The dialogue and want our customers to be confident that we trade Examples of this include the Accord on Fire • Health and Safety Policy
interaction we have with them are instrumental ethically and consider our environmental impacts. and Building Safety in Bangladesh, the Joint • Right to Organise Guarantee
to Fashion Footprint. Turkey Project, ACT, the Better Cotton Initiative, • Home Workers Policy
TRADE UNIONS, GOVERNMENTS, NGOs, Canopy and the Sustainable Clothing Action
EMPLOYEES CAMPAIGNING GROUPS AND STUDENTS Plan. For more on all these activities, see our These are in addition to our Code of Conduct
Our colleagues are vital stakeholders and we This is the most diverse group of stakeholders we Products section. and its Guidebook, Migrant Workers’ Guidelines
recognise the important role they play in helping work with and can be seen broadly as civil society and Animal Welfare Policy.
us achieve our Fashion Footprint vision. This year and government. All input and feedback from THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS
we have implemented actions driven by feedback this group has a significant impact on our work. We work with a number of carefully chosen
from our latest Fashion Footprint employee survey. This year we have continued to work with various third party service providers, whether it’s testing
We are changing the way we communicate our members of this stakeholder group. our products or independently auditing our
activities under the programme; updating our suppliers’ factories. These companies work
teams regularly and providing more training. During 2017 we continued our engagement with in partnership with our own teams, providing
the cross-industry initiative Action Collaboration valuable specific expertise and local knowledge
SUPPLIERS, THEIR FACTORIES Transformation (ACT), which aims to establish a to support our programmes.
AND FACTORY WORKERS living wage framework. This consortium includes
This group of stakeholders is particularly crucial global brands, retailers and IndustriALL, the global
to our activities within the Products pillar. Many trade union that represents millions of workers
of our ethical trading projects rely on their around the world.
transparency and willingness to work together
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
Products
Where and how we make our products provides worker/management dialogue into workplace
opportunities to demonstrate how seriously we practices and support the establishment of a
take our responsibilities and strive to use our size living wage. We have also completed further
and scale to make a positive difference throughout improvements to our ethical audit system.
our supply chain.
Collaborating with other stakeholders continues
Various initiatives are underway to support our to be an essential component of this pillar. We
suppliers to improve working conditions and work with local and international specialists, trade
reduce the environmental impact of fabrics we use. unions, NGOs and other retailers to combine
resources and expertise.
Reporting within this pillar falls under three
key areas:
• Ethical Trading
• Environmental Impacts
• Animal Welfare
This year we have moved forward in our various
projects to improve industrial relations, embed
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
08 Products | Ethical Trading Green graded factories are low risk but
Our ethical trading work is wide ranging, multi-
layered and involves a variety of stakeholders. require annual audits to ensure standards
We have a number of on-going areas of activity. are being maintained.
ETHICAL AUDIT PROGRAMME Overall this year we reviewed 1,371 ethical audits
Ethical Trading We do not own or operate any factories and
Arcadia Group is rarely dominant in an individual
factory. Nonetheless, we have strong working
for factories producing Arcadia products. 81.8%
of our factories were graded green (low risk),
17.7% were graded orange (high risk) and 0.5%
relationships with our network of international were graded red (critical risk).
suppliers, 55% of which have been with us for
three years or more. Goods sold by Arcadia are We continue to work towards 100% of our
currently manufactured in over 1,000 factories factories operating with a green rating.
through 688 suppliers. Our top 20 suppliers
provide 47% of our goods.
This year Arcadia products were made in 48
countries worldwide, although our top ten
sourcing countries accounted for 91% and the
top five for 73% of the goods we sold. These top Code of Conduct Guidebook to support and
five countries are: China, Turkey, Romania, India accelerate the resolution of problems identified
and Vietnam. during audits.
This year we made further system improvements to We have a traffic light system grading system.
our programme, supporting the way we do business
and further underpinning our ethical approach. If a factory audit is graded red we will not work
with this factory until the issues have been
Under our ethical audit programme, our suppliers resolved. Red issues include serious breaches of
must submit an independent third-party factory our Code of Conduct and local laws, such as non-
ethical audit, no older than a year, to receive a payment of the minimum wage or locked fire exits.
grading for a new factory set-up. These audits
are semi-announced* or entirely unannounced. Orange rated issues are often complex and we
In order to help reduce ‘audit fatigue’ we accept allow factories a window of up to six-months for
third-party audit reports from a small number of remediation. However, our expectation remains
recognised organisations and auditing companies that non-compliances should be resolved as
as long as they are independent and non- quickly as possible and each non-compliance
modifiable. We provide tools such as our has its own specific timescale for remediation. *an audit can take place anytime over a two week window that is provided by the auditor
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
Valid8
09 Products | Ethical Trading
ETHICAL TRADING ORDERS correctly, freeing up time for our ethical trading
team to focus on more complex issues, while
ensuring robust data and reporting are maintained.
We continually upgrade the system to respond
to our business needs, improve efficiencies and
provide us with enhanced supply chain data.
Another new system function launched this
ETHICAL AUDIT SYSTEM year is a landing page dashboard that provides We also require suppliers to add the GPS
We continue to leverage the benefits of our a visual sense check of our suppliers’ current location of their factories; this will provide
internally developed, online ethical audit position. It includes factory ratings and their increased transparency, assist us in mapping
platform, Valid8. position within the system, offering enhanced risk across our first tier supply chain and
visibility for all stakeholders. The dashboard flags support our auditing processes.
Valid8 is a purpose-built system designed to upcoming audits and any factories that are at risk
accurately and efficiently store and manage of disengaging within a time period specified by Although factory audits are an important
our supplier and factory ethical information. It each user. element of our ethical trading programme,
replaced the previous manual system of factory we acknowledge that this is not enough to
set-ups and has been designed to be more drive long-term change. This is why we work
accurate, robust and transparent. It is used by on the projects outlined under this Fashion
our suppliers to set up factories, upload, store Footprint pillar.
and archive audit information, manage corrective
actions and validate the supply base.
This year we further streamlined processes,
automating previously manual elements. Under
strict criteria, the system will auto-grade factories
based on information entered on our system,
after compulsory verification from auditors and
our technologists.
Safeguards are in place to flag any key issues and our
teams always manually check higher risk locations.
We work closely with expert audit partners to verify
factory audit reports and ensure they are logged
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
10 Products | Ethical Trading COUNTRY RISK ASSESSMENTS JOINT TURKEY PROJECT (JTP)
We carefully prioritise, monitor and respond to The JTP was established with Topshop, Topman
issues in all sourcing countries. Our teams and in- and another high street retailer who jointly shared I think it was about 2-3 years ago.
country consultants visit high-risk and important the common goal of establishing mature systems We gathered in the garden and they made some
sourcing locations. of industrial relations and building the factories’ announcements about worker rights. I remember
productivity to support a wage ladder. myself being quite happy and hopeful about the
Bangladesh things I heard there. I felt like something good is
Bangladesh remains a small but important The JTP’s mission is to develop and implement about to come. After that announcement I felt
sourcing country for several Arcadia brands. a strategic and holistic programme to improve like they protected our rights better and treated
We are committed to our role in driving safety factory productivity, workers’ conditions, working us better.”
and sustainability within the Bangladesh Ready- hours, earnings and worker management Worker in Turkish factory
Made Garment industry, having signed the Accord dialogue. It uses established communication
on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. processes, training and industrial engineering.
The aim of the programme is to empower factory
Our work as a signatory of the Bangladesh owners, managers and workers to create a fair The handbook established dialogue
Accord has continued this year and the current working environment while reducing audit fatigue. between worker representatives and management,
agreement comes to an end in May 2018. As of became a tangible outcome from management to
August 2017, Arcadia’s Bangladesh factories were Last year we indicated that outputs from a full workers, and not from consultants, enabling reps
87% remediated. impact assessment report of the JTP had taken to talk about harder issues such as scheduling
longer than expected. Although the report did annual leave in advance.”
We have played an active role in the programme, not provide the level of detail we were seeking, Local NGO
which will further help to steer improvements in it has helped us to identify successes and
Bangladesh. We expanded our role as lead brand challenges within the programme and how they
from 10 to 12 factories, which involves providing can be used to further our aspirations for a
guidance and support for these factories. beyond-auditing model. The programme, evolved over recent years
providing valuable lessons and new methodologies
UK Over the past 3 years the factories involved have to follow in future, ended this year.
While we focus our auditing efforts on global seen an improvement in worker/management
sourcing locations, we are also conscious that UK dialogue and management systems initiatives.
factories are not without risk and we also monitor Overall productivity has increased and thanks to
factory conditions here. We have carried out an incentive scheme there has been a reduction
many UK factory visits this year as local sourcing in overtime, enabling workers to spend more time
continues to be important for speed to market. with their families.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
11 Products | Ethical Trading STRATEGIC LABOUR PROJECTS of association is guaranteed continues to be a Workers’ Federation who are now part of
a) Living wage
The Arcadia Group supports the position that
all workers in our supply chain, including piece
significant challenge and only a small percentage
of our suppliers’ factories are known to have trade
union presence.
IndustriALL, the global trade union organisation.
This is included in our Code of Conduct Guidebook,
part 4, pages 258-9. We request that suppliers
post the RTOG on factory notice boards, verbally
rate, subcontracted, informal, home and migrant As part of Arcadia’s factory auditing process, if explain it and physically provide to all workers
workers, should always receive sufficient wages to a factory is found to be actively preventing or twice yearly with pay slips. When visiting factories
meet their needs for nutritious food, clean water limiting workers to join or form a union, this is we request to see this and when speaking with
and other basic requirements, as well as providing considered a red issue and will be reported to our workers auditors ask them if they have had this
a discretionary income. Ethical Trading team and immediately addressed guarantee communicated to them.
with our supplier.
We are part of the multi-retailer initiative ACT To date, we have had the RTOG document
(Action, Collaboration, Transformation), which We communicate with suppliers and factories translated into Vietnamese and Arabic, adding to
was formed specifically to address the issue about the benefits of freedom of association and the versions in Chinese, Bangla, Hindi, Romanian,
of living wages in the textile and garment as a minimum we expect our suppliers to ensure Turkish and Urdu. Translated versions are also
supply chain. The initiative aims to improve that factories give workers the right to organise. made available on our website and the extranet,
wages in the industry by establishing industry which we use to communicate with our suppliers.
collective bargaining in key garment and textile We produced a ‘Right to Organise Guarantee’
sourcing countries, supported by world class (RTOG) template, drafted with the help of the Freedom of Association is also an important
manufacturing standards and responsible International Textile, Garment and Leather part of worker/management communications
purchasing practices. within our Human Resources Management
Systems Portfolio, see Management Systems and
ACT created a Purchasing Practices Self- the Joint Turkey Project for more information.
Assessment tool for ACT members to evaluate
their own Purchasing Practices. The Self-
Assessment tool was completed in August
2017 by approximately 17 members and 833
c) Purchasing practices
We believe that by improving the way we design
and buy goods and by raising awareness
employees. This insight will be used to help ACT amongst our teams through training, we can
members define best practice as well as identify have a positive impact on how suppliers’ factories
challenges faced and areas for improvement. manage their employees, their production and
b) Freedom of association
The Arcadia Group believes that worker
representation and dialogue with management is
their working environments.
We have also supported development within
purchasing practices this year under our
fundamental to empowering workers to improve partnership with ACT.
their working conditions. Ensuring that freedomCONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
12 Products | Ethical Trading
d) Vulnerable workers of migrant workers who travel from one country
to another for employment. Although migration is
Such has been the success of the new approaches
that the supplier is planning to adopt them at its
Home Workers generally beneficial, vulnerable groups can be at new facilities in Bangladesh and Madagascar. Initial
Home working involves carrying out tasks on risk of exploitation. feedback has been very positive:
products at home. When managed properly this
allows workers, usually women, to earn an income, This led us to develop our Migrant Workers’ It’s a good thing this company is doing
thereby supporting their family. We support home Guidelines, which are available in Part 4 of our – recognising that workers here do suffer from
workers and acknowledge that the lack of visibility, Code of Conduct Guidebook. stress and helping us find a way of dealing with
combined with a complicated employment status, it. Since I started using this technique I’ve felt a
has made them a vulnerable worker group. This is We liaise with relevant suppliers to verify that lot more relaxed and less worried.”
why we work on improving our understanding of best practice standards are in place, identify Worker Representative
home workers in our supply chain. any challenges and mitigate risks in the
recruitment process.
We have found that the most effective way of
engaging with contractors has been to arrange This year we have continued to make significant
face-to-face sessions to communicate Arcadia’s progress in our work with a Mauritius-based supplier, This is a very important issue. I am so
and our suppliers’ responsibilities. We continue focusing on creating more effective workplace pleased that we can give workers something
to use the toolkit and guidelines we have dialogue to support improved worker engagement. that is just for them – something they can own
developed for this purpose and these will evolve to help improve their lives not only here in the
as the project progresses. Workers were invited to elect their own factory but in everything they do”.
representatives, with more than 300 worker Factory Manager
This year, fashion trends have seen a return to representatives trained across five factories in four
embellishment, embroidery and other added value different languages. Representatives learnt methods
activities, often carried out by home workers. to raise, investigate and resolve issues. They were
This has created a need for greater focus on the taught about health and safety and provided with
employment of home workers in India, where wellbeing techniques. Female representatives have It’s easy to feel ‘forgotten’ as a supervisor.
such specialised work is typically centred. Our received further training in partnership with the Everyone talks about management development
representatives make regular visits to home Working Women Worldwide organisation. and worker training. Nobody talks about the
workers in key locations, specifically in the state of supervisor. We get more stress than most people,
Uttar Pradesh, to check workers are being correctly The representatives meet monthly in each factory because we get it from both sides. Now someone
paid. This process enables us to implement our and have selected spokespeople who attend a is showing that they recognise that we get
Home Workers Guidelines. joint meeting with management every two months stressed too. This is really important to us and
to review more complex cases that may require helps us a lot. Thank you!”
Migrant Workers budgetary or policy decisions. Supervisor
In recent years, the Arcadia Group has actively
improved the recruitment and working conditionsCONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
13 Products | Ethical Trading
Syrian Workers in Turkey Contract Workers
Arcadia insists that all workers must be treated Within this time, we had Syrian workers without Contract labour remains a major concern in
fairly, without discrimination and paid a fair living the correct paperwork identified in two of the countries like India. This is why we monitor the
wage. In addition, working hours should not be factories used by our suppliers. use of contract workers in our suppliers factories
excessive, working hours and wages must be and work with those that have high numbers
documented and child labour must not be used. In both cases, the documents had been applied of contracted employees. Wherever possible,
for, and the factories are awaiting receipt. we encourage factories to employ contract
We work in partnership with our suppliers in Arcadia continues to monitor the situation workers directly. We are also working to ensure
Turkey to identify and monitor the risks regarding in both factories, one of which has already contractors are fully registered.
refugees, providing support where needed. received the outstanding documentation to
We continue to work closely with our audit legally employee the worker identified.
partners in Turkey, where increased focus has
been placed on ensuring auditors are trained to In collaboration with other stakeholders we
identify and manage any suspected unauthorised continue to monitor the situation.
migrant workers. We have reminded our Turkish
suppliers to use our Migrant Worker Guidelines
to manage the recruitment and employment
of migrant workers, ensuring conditions of
employment are no less favourable than those
afforded to local workers.
During Sept 2016 and Aug 2017 169 audits
were conducted on a semi-announced or un-
announced basis in Turkey.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
14 Products | Ethical Trading MODERN SLAVERY ACT
We published our first Modern Slavery Statement
in February 2017, you can view it here. Our next
update will take place in February 2018.
MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES
Our management systems project currently There are a number of controversial manufacturing
focuses on two factories in India with the aim processes that the Arcadia Group will not tolerate:
of creating a better environment for dialogue
between workers and management, thus • Sandblasting: a process that is used to give
encouraging freedom of association and denim a worn or faded look is banned due to
collective bargaining, with the overall aim potential health hazards faced by workers if they
of improving working environments. breathe in the fine silica particles used.
CODE OF CONDUCT GUIDEBOOK The latest stage of the project in India began • Uzbek cotton: This is banned due to concerns
Our Code of Conduct Guidebook provides
this year with a series of site visits and 350 about forced and child labour in Uzbekistan
practical guidance to suppliers and factories
employee interviews. during cotton harvesting.
on how to improve labour standards based
on our Code of Conduct.
In one factory, work has taken place to identify • Mulesing: a sheep husbandry practice used
and convert casual workers to formal contracts. in the Australian wool industry to remove skin
Our Code of Conduct Guidebook is available in
Worker representative committees have been from sheep (often without anaesthetic) to
English, Chinese, Hindi and Turkish as these four
reformed and restructured while feedback prevent flystrike.
languages cover close to 80% of factories in our
sessions have been held to enable employees to
top ten sourcing countries. We are working to
share their concerns with management. Workers • Live feather plucking: Down is banned following
translate the Guidebook into additional languages,
(and their families) have been given access to discussions with People for the Ethical Treatment
reflective of our sourcing countries.
medical care benefits. of Animals (PETA) regarding investigations into
animal cruelty in sourcing feathers (down).
The Guidebook includes helpful items such as
training slides and notes, policy statements and
Our ethical audit database (Valid8) improves our
template contracts and handbooks for factories to
verification process to ensure that factories are
use as a guide to creating their own versions.
compliant. For more information on our animal
welfare programme please see page 16.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
15 Products | Environmental Impact SUSTAINABLE CLOTHING ACTION PLAN SCAP signatories are committed to a
We have renewed our commitment to the seven-point action plan:
Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) and its
2020 targets. SCAP’s ambition is to improve the 1. Use a common assessment tool to measure
sustainability of clothing across its lifecycle. It baseline position and track changes in footprint
Environmental brings together the clothing industry, government
and other stakeholders to take action to reduce
their carbon, water and waste footprint, along with
2.
over time.
Reduce the environmental footprint of
clothing through fibre and fabric selection.
Impacts of our providing support, tools and guidance.
SCAP’s 2020 commitment will see us measure
3. Over the longer term, work with our supply
chain partners to reduce the environmental
footprint of their processes.
BETTER COTTON INITIATIVE
The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) exists to make
Products 4. global cotton production better for the people
and reduce our overall carbon, water and waste Extend the useful life of clothes and reduce
who produce it, better for the environment it
footprints across all our brands. Using SCAP’s the environmental impact of clothing through
grows in and better for the industry’s future
footprint calculator, we measure and report the our product design and services.
total impacts of the clothes we sell in the UK on 5. Develop effective messaging to influence
by developing Better Cotton as a sustainable
mainstream commodity.
an annual basis. consumer behaviours, which will reduce the
environmental footprint of clothing.
SCAP have officially partnered with MADE-BY, 6. Increase re-use and recycling to recover
BCI has a system which helps retailers and
brands source Better Cotton, driving volumes
a European not-for-profit organisation with a maximum value from used clothing.
mission to improve environmental and social 7. Develop actions that help keep clothes
while exerting minimal pressure on suppliers.
The aim is to increase the flow of Better Cotton,
conditions within the fashion industry. We will be out of landfill.
tracing the volumes sourced by each member,
working with MADE-BY under our commitment to
through the production process.
help SCAP reach its 2020 goals.
Arcadia is a full member of BCI. We are making
We closely monitor the outputs of SCAP’s working
good progress towards our 2020 target to source
groups and support the programme where we
20% of our cotton as Better Cotton. This year we
can with any requests for engagement and
have been focusing on sourcing BCI in our largest
information. We are looking to work even more
ranges, for example, Topshop Denim.
closely with the group over the coming year as
we review our overall Fashion Footprint strategy.
SUSTAINABLE FABRICS
Our brands have supported projects that explore
the sustainability of fabrics, including recycled
wool, up-cycling surplus and off-cut materials.
We are currently exploring new projects that focus
on the use of sustainable materials.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
16 Products | Environmental Impact CANOPY WORLDWIDE CHEMICAL COMPLIANCE
Every year, 120 million trees are logged for We have an on-going programme in our brand
fabrics including rayon, viscose, modal and other product teams to embed an understanding of
trademarked textiles. That number is projected our global chemical compliance requirements
to double by 2025 and many of those trees into their key competencies.
originate from the world’s most ancient and
endangered forests or controversial sources. At a This year we have developed focused internal team
time when keeping carbon-rich forests standing training on chemicals and the testing methods
is a key strategy in mitigating the growing used to identify them. We have also increased the
impacts of climate change, we have joined forces external training given to our suppliers with the
with international not-for-profit environmental support of our laboratory partners.
organisation Canopy to address this rapidly
emerging threat to forest ecosystems. Our legal and safety requirements and restricted Our policy states that Arcadia Group suppliers
substances list is continually reviewed, to ensure must adhere to the following sourcing standards:
We are committed to sourcing viscose fabrics that it is aligned with global legislation and industry
that are free of endangered forests and to best practice. This is communicated to suppliers • Leathers, skins and feathers must only be
supporting Canopy’s work to secure large-scale both directly and via our laboratory partners. The obtained as a by-product and not be the sole
forest conservation and catalyse the teams continue to grow and develop to meet the purpose of the slaughter of an animal.
next generation of fabrics. challenges of chemical compliance worldwide. • No products in full or part are to be sourced from
endangered species listed by the Convention on
ANIMAL WELFARE International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)
The Arcadia Group is committed to a proactive or International Union for the Conservation of
approach to animal welfare and we take part in Nature (IUCN).
on-going dialogue with industry partners to ensure • Angora, down, real fur or pelts are not to be
our policy is both progressive and comprehensive. used on any products supplied to Arcadia Group.
• Skins should not be obtained while an animal
All suppliers are required to sign up to our animal is alive.
welfare declaration as part of our Code • Feathers should not be plucked from live animals.
of Conduct. • Arcadia Group branded cosmetics, and their
ingredients, must not be tested on animals.
• Karakul must not be used (also known as
broadtail and astrakhan), or any skin products
from aborted animals in goods supplied to us
• Wool cannot be sourced from producers
that use mulesing as part of their animal
husbandry strategies.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
Environment
A key part of being a responsible retailer is to This year we have embarked on two new
minimise our environmental impacts. We need to be major projects.
mindful of the potential impacts our business can
have in both the process of bringing our goods to The first is to review our global sourcing footprint,
market and in the retail stores in which they are sold. looking for greater end-to-end efficiencies.
The second will see us create a bespoke UK
In this pillar we focus specifically on energy, Distribution Center (DC) to meet our future
waste and transport. This spans across multiple requirements, with a focus on sustainable
departments including Property, Purchasing and design through the BREEAM standard.
Logistics and also external consultants who assist
us with tracking progress against our targets.
Our long-term commitments continue to be to:
• Lower our energy consumption
(and reduce CO2 emissions).
• Identify waste streams and work to reduce these.
• Reduce our consumption of other valuable
resources such as water.
• Transport our products while reducing impact
on the environment.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
18 Environment | Our Environment COLEGRAVE HOUSE REFURBISHMENT
The transformation of our London headquarters sustainable value in a series of categories, ranging
was completed in September 2016. This three-year
project created a stunning 21st century workplace
from energy to ecology. Each of these categories
addresses the most influential factors, including low
The transformation
OF OUR LONDON
designed to both excite and inspire our people. impact design and carbon emissions reduction;
Our Environment The building was completed to the BREEAM
design durability and resilience; adaption to climate
change; and ecological value and biodiversity
HEADQUARTERS
standard - the world’s leading sustainability protection. We were happy to achieve a ‘very
assessment method for master planning projects, good’ BREEAM rating.
infrastructure and buildings. It addresses a number
WAS COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER 2016.
of lifecycle stages such as new construction,
refurbishment and in-use. BREEAM measures
This three -year project
CREATED A STUNNING
21ST CENTURY
WORKPLACE
designed to both
EXCITE AND INSPIRE OUR PEOPLE.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
19 Environment | Transport & Logistics reducing empty running by consolidating click selecting best-in-class partners we can be sure
and collect orders, which account for 6% of that they share our commitments to reducing
our total volume. environmental impacts and CO2 emissions.
We have further investigated the benefits of LOGISTICS CONSOLIDATION BENEFITS
working in partnership with DHL to combine This year we have explored a more flexible
deliveries with those of other retailers, particularly approach to the movement of products into
where our brands occupy a retail space within Europe. We have increased sea freight out of
Transport & Logistics Wherever possible, we seek to minimise the
impact of transporting products especially as our
a department store.
After a successful pilot of the DHL shared user
Turkey, rather than transporting product by road.
Under our new multi-transport model, products
are shipped from Turkey to Trieste, transported by
global reach as a retailer continues to grow. network in remote locations in north Scotland, it rail from the Italian seaport to Germany and finally
has now been fully adopted in that region. We are moved by road to the UK via Dover. We have
For the tenth consecutive year we have planning to roll out similar pilots in the South West reduced truck journeys by 5% using this model.
significantly reduced global transport CO2 and East Anglia during 2018.
emissions, resulting in a 16% reduction against a We have also consolidated container usage. We
5% target. Once again our core team of drivers received no longer use shorter 20ft containers, improving
training in fuel-efficient and safety conscious consolidation to fit our goods into fewer, larger
We drive this continuous improvement by driving style this year, thereby increasing our containers. Similarly, in the US, consolidation has
scrutinising all areas of our operations including: miles per gallon travelled. also resulted in reduced journeys.
• Transport planning and scheduling We have made significant progress in recent years When we consider the relative impacts of the
• Improved fuel efficiency from updated fleet to reduce CO2 emissions in transportation. We are different methods of moving our products, it is
and driver behaviours focused on continuous improvement and anticipate clear that moving goods by sea has the least
• Reduced business travel via company cars. achieving a 3% annual reduction until our existing impact in terms of emissions per kilometre
fleet is replaced in two to three years’ time. travelled and our ocean freight partners continue
Improvements made to the way we plan and to focus on reducing emissions.
schedule our journeys resulted in a 16% mileage We continue to explore all options with our
reduction this year, significantly over-achieving transport partner and will look at new innovations
against our 2017 target. such as alternative fuels and a new fleet, in line
with our replacement programme.
A particular area of focus has been scheduling
overnight deliveries when roads are quieter. Our UK-based initiatives are supported by the
This has also increased our fuel efficiency. commitments made by our third party forwarders
and carriers. The long-term partnerships we have
We have continued to utilise vehicle space, forged in this area continue to reap benefits. ByCONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
20 Environment | Transport & Logistics GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN ENGINEERING NON-CLOTHING SUPPLIER
We embarked on a holistic review of our supply TENDER CREDENTIALS
chain this year, which will provide a picture of Arcadia regularly invite suppliers to tender
our global sourcing footprint. The project will for contracts to supply services such as
examine our worldwide operations, reinforcing transport, cleaning and energy management.
our aspiration to establish a joined up end-to-end As part of a recent review of such tender
process from the development of product to the procedures, we have added ethical and
delivery to our customer. environmental considerations within the pre-
tender questionnaire stage of the process.
Much of this work will be informed by the outputs
of our new Singapore DC. It has changed the way SINGAPORE DISTRIBUTION
we work with suppliers in the region, resulting in CENTRE UPDATE
more direct deliveries and greater efficiencies in Meanwhile, our Singapore DC has expanded it’s
moving product through the supply chain. reach by adding new markets, including South
Africa and South America.
UK DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY In its first year, the DC shipped 1.2m units and
Project Trinity will see the creation of a new,
reduced nautical miles travelled by 6,770 miles
purpose-built DC in the Midlands as well as retrofit
per unit.
and refresh projects within our existing distribution We are already reaping rewards within our
centres.The building itself will have strong existing DC in Leeds, where a new warehouse
environmental credentials with lots of natural light management system has been adopted. Evans
via an entry atrium, energy efficient lighting with was the first of our brands to go live with the new
low energy modes, and highly efficient building system, which will see paper eliminated from
materials. We are hopeful that the building will the process and increased efficiency via the use
achieve an ‘excellent’ BREEAM rating. A local of highly accurate radio frequency technology.
green travel plan will also be in place to support Product will be moved around the warehouse
employees to minimise their impact. more productively, improving stock turn and
reducing waste.
It is anticipated that the first despatches from
the new DC will take place in mid-2019. Deliveries will be more easily tailored for
individual stores, reducing journeys, thereby
Building an entirely new DC from scratch at reducing CO2 emissions and increasing
the Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal speed of product to the consumer.
enables us to design and build a future-proof
state-of-the-art centre offering capacity for our
immediate needs and room for growth.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
21 Environment | Energy Efficiency
Energy Efficiency ENERGY SAVINGS ACCREDITATION
We continue to pursue accreditation under
STORES ENERGY EFFICIENCY
This year we have carried out a Wireless Building stores in Ireland joined CTK this year, as we are
the ISO 50001 system run by the International Management System (BMS) trial across 4 now able to monitor consumption there for the
Organization for Standardization. The key Topshop stores bringing the total numbers of first time.
driver for this is achieving compliance with the stores with operating wireless BMS to 8.
Government’s new Energy Savings Opportunity As part of the CTK campaign, our Topshop stores
Scheme (ESOS), which supports the EU Energy We are planning to install wireless BMS into a compete to become the lowest energy consumer.
Efficiency Directive (EED). further 12 Topshop flagship stores by April 2018. League tables are compiled using data from
This has resulted in an average energy saving monthly energy reports, enabling stores to spot
This year we have maintained our accreditation of 20% in these stores. All new stores will have anomalies and peaks of energy usage. This year
under ESOS and we are currently reviewing our wireless BMS and LED lighting as standard. we have extended the initiative to Outfit, while
options for ESOS Phase 2 Compliance. Wallis will follow early in the next reporting year.
Last year we installed LED lighting in our Topshop
ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CO2 EMISSIONS store in Leicester and in this store alone we have
seen a 40% saving in energy consumption.
Our aim for 2018 is to roll out the campaign to all
our remaining brands. Currently, overall savings
Our total combined energy usage (gas and
are running at 5%.
electricity) has decreased by 5% this year. Our
CUT THE KILOWATTS CAMPAIGN
corresponding CO2 emissions for our head offices,
distribution centres and stores has reduced for
Since April 2015 we have been running Cut the DC ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Kilowatts (CTK) to engage our retail colleagues in We have made further progress in our goal to
the tenth consecutive year by 7%.
our efforts to reduce energy consumption. deliver energy savings throughout our UK DCs
this year.
Since 2015, 100% of our energy has come from
Initially the campaign was launched in partnership
renewable sources. We reviewed our energy
with Topshop to create a ‘club’ of 50 stores that Our Milton Keynes DC has seen the completion
purchasing contracts this year and we continue
agreed to detailed scrutiny of their energy usage. of a project to replace all its lighting with LED
to source all our UK and ROI electricity from
Regular usage reports highlighted opportunities to lamps. The energy reduction rate is currently 47%.
renewable generation.
switch off and save energy without compromising
on store performance or customer service. Meanwhile, our Leeds DC completed a
similar project to install more energy-efficient
In September 2016 we achieved our aim of rolling lighting, achieving a 32% reduction in energy
out CTK across the entire Topshop chain. Our consumption.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
22 Environment | Recycling & Waste
Recycling & Waste WATER CONSUMPTION
Last year we appointed a water consultant to help
RECYCLING AND WASTE – STORES
This year we have maintained a 95%
us better understand our consumption patterns. recycling rate (this does not include stores
We embarked on a project this year to detect in shopping centres as they have their own
leaks, which achieved a saving of 16,000m3 of waste management system). We consider our These devices are also delivering the benefits
water. This equates to more than 44,000 bathtubs performance in this area to be strongly established of new store software that communicates price
or 6.5 olympic sized swimming pools. and we do not currently anticipate further change bulletins direct to the devices, replacing
opportunities to increase this figure significantly. the previous paper-based system.
While around 300 stores are under our direct E-receipts are now well established and we have
responsibility, for stores in shopping centres, significantly exceeded our target of having 20% of
waste management continues to be the transactions paperless, having achieved 34% of
responsibility of the centre’s landlord. This has receipts shared with customers in this way. We will
been an area we have strived to influence and our continue to drive further conversion in this area.
experience is that landlords have become more
engaged in this challenge recently. These sites are In June 2017 we introduced a new warehouse
now achieving an 80 – 85% recycling rate at non- management system in our Leeds DC for our
Arcadia managed shopping centre locations. Outfit and Evans brands. Operators use a new
handheld terminal that displays pick instructions,
For some time we have recognised that aiming replacing a paper-based system for preparing
for a paperless model wherever possible in both deliveries to stores.
stores and head office should be a priority.
Two more of our brands, Wallis and Dorothy
We updated our handheld terminals in stores this Perkins, are scheduled to move to the new
year, replacing the existing model with ones that system in January and we anticipate the
have improved battery performance and now remainder of our brands will follow later next year.
need charging once a day rather than the twice We intend to include an update on paper savings
daily required by their predecessors. in next year’s report.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
23 Environment | Recycling & Waste
ONLINE ORDER PACKAGING
We have made further progress this year in our
project to reduce the impact of the bags used in
the despatch and delivery process of online orders.
Last year we reduced the microns and increased
recycled polymer used in the manufacturing
process. Both trials were conducted with
Topshop. Following this successful pilot, we rolled
out the new bags to all our brands this year.
Towards the end of this reporting year we single-use bags and increasing bag thickness
HANGERS introduced a revised version of the bags across and strength to encourage re-use.
This year we have made a concerted effort all our brands featuring increased recycled
to encourage the re-use of hangers. Our content, which now forms 75% of the polymer Next year across all brands we will be introducing
recycling programme has seen an uplift of used in the bags. store re-use carrier bags that contain 25%
43%. This is due to our continued drive to recycled plastic.
ensure our suppliers source from accredited CARRIER BAGS
hanger suppliers. In total, just under 9.6 million Following the introduction of the government’s
hangers were recycled this year. carrier bag charge, we have seen a reduction
in the number of carrier bags used, in relation
to sales. Arcadia have focused on phasing outCONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
24 Environment | Recycling & Waste EVOLVING OUR WORKPLACE
This year saw the launch of PeoplePoint, a Our corporate servers are moving to a new
new payroll system that provides a hub where model of energy-efficient solid-state disc storage
employees can access all HR information and that uses only a fraction of the electricity of its
documentation. A key environmental benefit predecessor, along with reduced cooling/air-
is that all payslips are now held online, further conditioning requirements. The new arrangement
reducing our paper consumption. Historically was agreed at the end of this year and we
we printed 23,000 payslips each month and anticipate that benefits will be seen from the first
distributed them to stores and head office. For quarter of 2018.
stores, these were sent via an internal delivery
system and for head office a van was used to
travel between the office locations.
Using the new system, which was launched in
head office in May and across retail in July and
RECYCLING AND WASTE August, employees log on to an online portal to
– HEAD OFFICE view their payslips. Reaction has been positive
Last year we reported on improved recycling and we are proud of saving of over 300,000
of waste at our newly refurbished London sheets of A4 paper, envelopes and ink each year.
headquarters at Colegrave House. In this site we
now also recycle toner cartridges, spent batteries Our strategy regarding company devices is to
and have recently introduced glass recycling. provide more portability enabling employees to
use them at their desks or on the move. All new
Our new energy-efficient multi-function devices devices are equipped with cameras to make video
that require employees to manually confirm print conferencing more accessible. In reality, we often
requests are now well established in Colegrave find screen sharing of documents combined with
House. The new devices have driven a significant audio conferencing proves to be the most effective
reduction in paper consumption and our next step approach to meetings with remote stakeholders,
is to introduce similar devices into our Marylebone allowing our employees to work from anywhere
House offices. they can get a secure internet connection.
We have reviewed our strategy on waste at Greater portability is also contributing to a reduction
Marylebone House since the moves that followed in office space occupancy at our Marylebone
the full reoccupation of Colegrave House. This has House head office in London. We have achieved
enabled us to establish full waste separation and a 20% reduction in space within IT in London,
recycling for the first time. reducing our heating and lighting needs.CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS Employees We recognise the key role that the Fashion Footprint programme plays in employee satisfaction. The majority of our employees are under 35 with high levels of environmental and social awareness and expect this to be reflected in their place of work. So it is essential that we continue to demonstrate our commitments and engage our employees in support of Fashion Footprint. This year we have focused on responding to the insights gathered through our Fashion Footprint employee surveys across both head office and retail teams. Both communities clearly expressed an interest in receiving Fashion Footprint updates. Therefore, we are embracing digital channels to ensure effective and timely communication.
CONTENTS PRODUCTS ENVIRONMENT EMPLOYEES COMMUNITY 2020 TARGETS
26 Employees | Engagement EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
This year we introduced a new email channel Dragon Children’s Foundation and the Manchester
called ‘Your Footprint’, which has enabled Emergency Fund.
us to improve communication about Fashion
Footprint-related topics, such as charity activities, HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Employee volunteering and wellbeing on a regular basis.
This year we celebrated the launch of the Fashion
Another major focus this year was employee
health and wellbeing.
Engagement Footprint digital report with a complimentary
reusable water bottle. The bottle was selected in
response to a request from employees to reduce
To mark Mental Health Awareness Week, we
offered free fitness and meditation classes, treats
and tips to boost mental health and resilience,
waste such as plastic cups and bottles. including mindfulness guides and a visit from the
Mental Health Foundation. The restaurant in our
We incentivised employees to engage with last London head office joined in by offering a special
year’s report with a competition to win a monthly mood-boosting menu!
home delivery food box complete with recipes. LEADERSHIP EXPECTATIONS
Meanwhile, the teams in Leeds established a We consistently focus not just on what we do
This year Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation was Fashion Footprint working group towards the end but how we do it, and this year we updated
announced as our new Fashion Footprint charity of this year to provide focus and direction for the our ‘expectations’ for our employees.
partner for the next three years. It was chosen by programme. Activities organised by the group
our employees from a shortlist of charities. More included wellbeing workshops on stress, coping These Leadership Expectations set out the
details on this can be found in the Communities with cancer and donating blood. Six local behaviours that reflect our values at every level
section of this report. community outreach events focused on within our head office functions, supporting our
developing future talent. people to fulfil their potential.
We celebrated the launch of this new partnership
with our first ever Group Charity Week in May. As organisations come under greater pressure
Colleagues were challenged to fundraise to adapt and perform in a rapidly changing and
individually or as a team and the top three complex environment, we recognise that we need
fundraisers were rewarded with a team social to respond with leadership behaviours and agile
event. Group Charity Week culminated in a silent processes that can be flexed when necessary.
auction, with our brand teams donating items
for our employees to bid on. Arcadia Group By developing our leadership capability, we can
matched the total amount raised. Fundraising build more authentic relationships, engage our
from a charity sample sale was also matched by teams and build a more future-focused and
one of our suppliers. In total, £11,000 was raised customer-centric organisation that also reflects
and proceeds were divided between the Blue our Fashion Footprint objectives.You can also read
