WH Smith PLC CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2008

Transcription

1 WH Smith PLC CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2008

2 CONTENTS CONTENTS 3 Introduction 4 Governnce nd ccountbility 5 Mrketplce 8 Environment 12 Workplce 17 Community 22 Verifiction

3 Introduction Welcome to WH Smith PLC s 2008 Corporte Responsibility Report. This yer, environmentl nd socil concerns hve risen further up the public s gend, s issues such s climte chnge, wste recycling nd fctory workers conditions hve ll been the focus of medi ttention nd public concern. At WHSmith, we hve been engging in Corporte Responsibility (CR) for mny yers nd hve long-estblished working prctices which embed CR cross our business. We believe tht mnging CR in this wy enbles us to understnd nd effectively mnge the key impcts of our business, s well s the relted risks nd opportunities they pose. This report outlines the progress we hve mde during 2007/08 towrds meeting the objectives we set lst yer. We define our responsibility into four res: Mrketplce, Environment, Workplce, nd Community. During the yer, I m plesed to report tht we hve mde progress in ech spect of our progrmme. This yer we hve reduced our wste nd encourged customers to reduce the number of crrier bgs they tke from our stores. We re finding innovtive wys to reduce the environmentl impct from our trnsport fleet. We hve reviewed nd re-lunched the suite of lerning nd development progrmmes we offer our store collegues nd re-designed our intrnet site to mke them more ccessible. We ctively support community nd chrity projects, which deliver cler benefits for the communities we support. We recognise tht there is still more to do nd hve set new trgets on ech spect of CR for the yer hed. We im to benchmrk our CR performnce ginst other leding UK compnies s this cn help us identify wys to further improve our progrmmes. The nnul Business in the Community Corporte Responsibility Index provides just such n opportunity nd, this yer, we were delighted to receive their highest ccolde in recognition of our CR work; Pltinum rnking. Environmentl nd socil issues hve become permnent prt of the economic lndscpe. At WHSmith we will continue our work to mnge our impct on society nd the environment, whilst lso exploring opportunities to use corporte responsibility to enhnce our business performnce. Kte Swnn, Group Chief Executive, WH Smith PLC

4 GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY At WHSmith, we believe tht good corporte responsibility (CR) is essentil to the long-term success of our business. We remin committed to mnging our impct on society nd our environment, integrting this work into our dy-to-dy mngement of the business. As consequence, our mngement of CR is effectively integrted within our core mngement of business risks. Mngement nd ccountbility We recognise four key res of CR: Mrketplce, Environment, Workplce nd Community. Accountbility for ech rests with nmed members of our Bord, who in turn, re supported by senior executives responsible for delivering our objectives. In this wy we ensure our CR work is embedded cross our orgnistion. We use rnge of policies nd stndrds, which we review periodiclly to ensure they remin pproprite. Detils of the relevnt policies nd the executives responsible for them cn be found t the strt of ech section of this report. Our full suite of policies cn be viewed on our website t: Identifying risks nd developing key performnce indictors Every yer we crry out full review of our CR strtegy, set business objectives nd gree the focus of ctivity for the yer hed. As prt of this we mp risks nd opportunities, process which is informed by legisltive nd consumer trends, s well s key environmentl nd socil issues. Our Executive tem is fully involved in this process nd the Bord grees the finl strtegy nd future trgets. The Risk Committee reviews our progress ginst these trgets on qurterly bsis. Stkeholder enggement Our stkeholders ply n importnt role in shping our pproch to CR. We engge with them regulrly to her their views nd understnd their expecttions. We interct with the following groups: Investors we meet to discuss our strtegy nd nswer their questions on specific elements of our CR progrmme. This yer we hve nswered investor questions on issues such s our chemicls in products policy nd the Interntionl Lbour Orgnistion (ILO) conventions. Trde bodies nd government deprtments we re members of the British Retil Consortium nd Business in the Community working to ddress consumer, ethicl nd environmentl issues tht ffect our industry. We lso consult with the Deprtment for Environment, Food nd Rurl Affirs over the development of new policies for exmple, the forthcoming Crbon Reduction Commitment. Non-Governmentl Orgnistions nd chrities we hve engged with vrious orgnistions, such s the Woodlnd Trust, the Employers Forum on Disbility nd the Ethicl Trde Inititive. Suppliers we engge with our suppliers in number of forums, including workshops, conferences nd meetings. In ddition we work with key suppliers in Asi to improve their helth nd sfety stndrds nd wider working prctices. Customers in ddition to listening nd responding to customer feedbck we engge with customers in number of wys. This yer we hve introduced store trils on crrier bg chrging nd will tke into ccount the views of our customers when shping our policy in this re. Employees we communicte regulrly on CR issues in our weekly newsletter nd we provide detiled informtion vi our intrnet site. We lso provide progress updte t our strtegy briefings. Everyone is encourged to give their views on our CR performnce. Benchmrking our performnce We im to benchmrk our CR performnce ginst other compnies nd retilers to ensure tht we re keeping pce with developments. We lso submit pplictions for selected CR wrds s the judges comments cn be nother useful externl benchmrk of how we re doing. The nnul Business in the Community (BitC) Corporte Responsibility Index enbles us to benchmrk our performnce ginst other leding UK compnies. This yer, in recognition of our work, we were delighted to chieve BitC s highest ccolde; Pltinum rnking. WHSmith is lso included within the FTSE4Good Index. This index mesures the finncil performnce of compnies tht meet globlly recognised stndrds of corporte responsibility. These stndrds re regulrly reviewed nd kept up-to-dte, to ensure businesses sty on top of importnt socil nd environmentl issues. Every yer we hold Lerning t Work week t our centrl offices. This event forms prt of ntionl wreness progrmme sponsored by Cmpign for Lerning, ntionl chrity which ims to crete pssion for lerning. This yer we were highly commended for their Business Improvement through Lerning Awrd, which itself ws sponsored by Investors in People UK. A cse study on this event cn be found on pge 13 of this report. The Bookseller is leding trde journl, which is published weekly to booksellers nd publishers cross the world. Every September they host the Bookseller Retil Awrds. This yer we were plesed to receive totl of five nomintions, including nomintion for Green Retil Inititive of the Yer. We won two wrds, one of which being the Mrtin Cole Generl Retiler of the Yer Awrd, where we were commended by the judges for our customer service nd product choice.

5 MARKETPLACE Bord ccountbility Kte Swnn, Group Chief Executive Executive ccountbility Stephen Clrke, Mnging & Commercil Director High Street Relevnt policies Ethicl Trding Code of Conduct Forest Sourcing Policy Mrketing Code of Prctice Above ll else, our customers expect us to offer them choice, vlue for money nd good shopping experience. Incresingly customers lso expect ressurnce tht our products hve been mde with cre for the environment nd tht fctory workers re firly treted. We hve ctive progrmmes in plce to work towrds delivering our customers expecttions, in our stores, online nd behind the scenes cross our supply chins. Focus on customer service Customer Focus is one of our core business vlues, which underpins everything tht we do to improve the products nd services tht we offer. Like ny retiler, customer stisfction is key driver of our business performnce. To ensure we continue to meet our customers expecttions we regulrly ssess the service we offer by conducting regulr reviews. Over the course of the yer we performed 1,350 mystery shopper checks in our stores to ssess the level of service customers received. We continue to deliver consistently strong scores. These surveys ensure we focus on the key elements of service highlighted by our customers, which include queue mngement, nd polite, efficient nd ccurte trnsctions. We lso focus on mintining stock levels of promoted nd dvertised products, to ensure we void disppointing customers. For exmple, our Books Excellence progrmme focuses the ttention of our store tems on ensuring tht ll key titles re on disply nd tht promoted items re vilble to purchse. Responsible Retiling We tke the responsibility for the products we sell seriously nd we re committed to listening to our customers feedbck. Our Mrketing Code of Prctice sets out the stndrds we will follow in our promotionl ctivity, mrketing nd dvertising. In prctice this ensures we sell products tht re sfe, fit for purpose, meet legl stndrds nd re never described in misleding mnner, prticulrly when mrketing to children. At our High Street stores ll our till points operte strict system of product prompts to remind stff to check tht customers re of n ge tht is pproprite to the product they re buying, for exmple on our rnges of cigrettes, crft knives, DVDs nd erosols. In ddition, stff re trined twice yerly to ensure we comply with this spect of our code. A number of the products we sell re constituted from recycled mterils. For exmple the grey bord used to form the inner csings of our own-brnd ring binders nd lever rch files re mde from recycled mterils. By using product components sourced in this wy we re working to close the recycling loop by providing mrket for post customer wste. Responsible retiling is lso bout offering customers choice, to help reduce their impct on the environment nd lso to support chritble endevours. This yer, we hve lso continued to develop our rnge of sttionery products nd hve incresed our giving through our Adopt-n-Animl rnge of chrity Christms gifts. Rech redy New EU legisltion ws introduced in 2007 to improve the protection of humn helth nd the environment from the risks of using certin chemicls in the mnufcture of products. The Registrtion, Evlution nd Authoristion of Chemicls (REACH) regultions stte tht these chemicls will hve to be tested nd registered. The regultions require tht informtion is gthered on the properties of chemicls used in quntities of more thn one tonne yer nd registered on centrl dtbse. At WHSmith we re currently developing process to understnd how the registrtion process will ffect us nd plnning to tke the necessry ctions needed to ensure our complince. Forest Sourcing As leding retiler of books nd sttionery products, one of our significnt environmentl impcts is the pper nd wood used in mny of our own-brnd products. It is our continuing objective tht ll virgin (i.e. non-recycled) mteril used in our products is from known, legl, well-mnged nd credibly certified forests. All prospective nd ongoing suppliers re required to complete pre-order questionnire, which sks for detiled informtion on the forest sources intended for own-brnded products. Our complince tems ssess the informtion nd decide whether or not n order should be plced. We contct our mjor suppliers of own-brnd pper nd wood bsed products requesting informtion on products they supplied to us during the previous twelve months. The resulting report enbles us to identify ny risks in our supply chin, such s timber tht might be from res of contention. The report lso shows us which suppliers re mking good progress in their own forest sourcing mngement nd who we cn work with to introduce new sustinble products. For our 2007 survey we chieved 90% coverge of our supply bse, by volume nd improved the ccurcy of our dt gthering methodology. The volume of mteril from recycled sources nd certified forests 1 ws mintined t 41% yer-on-yer. While this represents significnt proportion of our totl volume, we relise there is more work to be done to improve this performnce. The improved methodology hs led to review of our sourcing process nd chnges in selection criteri. In ddition we hve trgeted number of key suppliers who we pln to work with over the coming yer to generte improvements. 1 Certified forests re mnged in ccordnce with the requirements of specific certifiction bodies setting out the steps tht must be tken to ensure the long-term sustinbility of the forest. The certifiction schemes our suppliers use include the Forest Stewrdship Council (FSC) scheme, Progrmme for the Endorsement of Forest Certifiction (PEFC) scheme nd Sustinble Forestry Inititive (SFI). The pproch tken by ech certifiction scheme vries. We encourge suppliers to move towrds certifiction under the FSC scheme, which is recognised by WWF s n indictor of well-mnged forest.

6 MARKETPLACE Own-brnd mteril from recycled sources nd certified forests* % certified/recycled / / / /08 * Certified forests re mnged in ccordnce with the requirements of specific certifiction bodies setting out the steps tht must be tken to ensure the long-term sustinbility of the forest. The certifiction schemes our suppliers use include the Forest Stewrdship Council (FSC) scheme, Progrmme for the Endorsement of Forest Certifiction (PEFC) scheme nd Sustinble Forestry Inititive (SFI). The pproch tken by ech certifiction scheme vries. We encourge suppliers to move towrds certifiction under the FSC scheme, which is recognised by WWF s n indictor of well-mnged forest. We provide our UK nd Fr Est suppliers with guidnce documents explining the risks round forest sourcing nd lso our responsible sourcing policies. In ddition we re plnning trining workshops for our UK buyers so they my better understnd the risks nd requirements of our forest sourcing policy nd cn work with their key suppliers to ensure our products re from well-mnged sources. Promoting ethicl trding We re committed to ensuring good stndrds mong our suppliers nd we engge with them to bring bout improvement. We will only plce orders with reputble suppliers nd mnufcturers who re committed to working towrds complying with the conditions set out in our Supplier Code of Conduct nd Humn Rights policy. We work with our suppliers to bring bout incrementl chnge through process of fctory udits nd greeing future improvements. WHSmith is member of the Ethicl Trde Inititive (ETI). The ETI is n llince of compnies, Non-Government Orgnistions nd trde unions which promotes nd improves the implementtion of corporte codes of prctice covering supply chins. Our supplier code is bsed on the ETI s own bse code nd we work in concert with them to meet our joint objectives. For exmple, we prticipte in the ETI Chin Working Group which provides forum for members to lern nd shre experiences. We hve n integrted ethicl nd technicl udit tem bsed in our Hong Kong office. This combintion of the two roles enbles us to provide our fctories with feedbck tht tkes into ccount our whole complince stndrds nd which is lso consistent over time s our follow up udits tend to be conducted by the sme person. Before n order is plced with new supplier, member of our tem will udit ech fctory to determine product qulity, mnufcturing processes, helth nd sfety, tretment of workers nd environmentl conditions. During our ethicl udits we meet with the fctory mngement to discuss our findings nd recommend necessry improvements. An ction pln is greed, with specific timetble for completion. We then continue to visit the fctory, on regulr bsis, to ensure complince nd provide support. Every two yers we undertke n independent benchmrking process to ensure our ethicl udits remin in line with industry best prctice. We udit ll our direct source suppliers in Asi every two yers. This yer, the tem crried out 128 udits cross Chin, Indi nd the Fr Est. This figure is slightly lower thn the previous yer nd reflects some sesonl fluctutions nd lso some improvement in complince, leding to the need for fewer udits t suppliers where we hve estblished, long-term reltionships. We continue to work in prtnership with three of our lrger Asin suppliers to develop better working prctices to improve their generl helth nd sfety stndrds. Our objective is to build closer reltionship with these suppliers through working longside fctory mngers nd personnel to gree improvement plns. We re plnning trining workshops for our buyers so they my better understnd the risks nd requirements of our Supplier Code of Conduct to enble them to work closely with our suppliers nd udit tems to improve complince. Cse Study Working with suppliers to improve helth nd sfety stndrds Since 2006 we hve been working with three of our lrgest suppliers in Asi. The project is bsed on the Ethicl Trding Inititive (ETI) helth nd sfety project, which we hd helped to develop through our membership of the ETI Chin Working Group. We begn the project by gining n understnding of the current working conditions t ech of the suppliers fctories. Questionnires were sent to fctory s workers to collect their opinions on current helth nd sfety stndrds. Once we hd their feedbck, we nlysed the dt nd used this to develop ction plns nd benchmrk improvements. Regulr follow up visits were mde to check on progress nd review the pln. Exmples of improvements using this process include: improvements in ir qulity nd noise pollution, wrehouse workers trined in the proper lifting techniques of hevy objects, first-ider trining, better understnding of how to identify nd hndle chemicls nd the institution of helth nd sfety committees. The project hs proven to be beneficil to ll concerned. Our suppliers hve the opportunity to build their helth nd sfety mngement skills nd lso to build their confidence in involving workers on such issues. For WHSmith, the project hs helped us to understnd how to better engge with our suppliers to encourge improvements in their lbour stndrds. Looking forwrd to the future, we will be holding supplier conference in the spring to report on the progress of our project nd shre best prctice recommendtions with other suppliers in the Fr Est, so they my lso lern from this work. Engging with UK suppliers nd gents In ddition to sourcing directly from suppliers overses, we source number of our own-brnd products from Asi using UK gents. During the yer hed we pln to work with selection of our gents to crry out ethicl udits of their fctories. To fcilitte this we hve enlrged our ethicl udit tem bsed t our Hong Kong office.

7 MARKETPLACE 2007/08 Trgets Progress 2008/09 Trgets Ethicl trding Continue focused enggement work with key suppliers to help them understnd the business benefits of improved lbour stndrds, trgeting 5% increse in enggement. x Fewer udits took plce during 2007/08 s result of some sesonl fluctutions nd lso some improvement in complince, leding to the need for fewer udits t suppliers where we hve estblished, long-term reltionships. Continue focused enggement work with key suppliers to help them understnd the benefits of improved lbour stndrds. Aim tht 5 suppliers improve their ethicl udit performnce rting. Instll new integrted mngement trcking system t our Hong Kong office to improve the monitoring nd evlution of fctory udits. Continue to work with key Fr Est suppliers. Deliver trining for key suppliers giving prcticl dvice on how to improve lbour stndrds. g Our ethicl udit tem is continuing to work with our suppliers to deliver ction plns which promote complince with our Supplier Code of Conduct. Crry out buyer trining in the UK with regrd to ethicl sourcing nd forest sourcing policies. Enggement Continue to work with key UK FOB sttionery suppliers, following up points from mutully-greed ctions pln to ensure continued development of systems to udit lbour stndrds nd forest sourcing prctices in their supply bse. g We hve enlrged our ethicl udit tem t our Hong Kong office nd plns re underwy to begin UK FOB supplier udits. Begin rolling 24-month udit progrmme to ssess lbour stndrds t ll UK FOB suppliers nd gree ction plns for improvement s required. Forestry Mintin t 41% or increse further the mount of ownbrnd pper nd timber product sourced from recycled sources nd certified forests. 41% hs been mintined. Increse the mount of own-brnd pper nd timber product sourced from recycled sources nd certified forests to 45%. Crry out trining for personnel in the Fr Est sourcing office with regrd to forest sourcing policies. Products nd Mrketing Continue to identify new products through our CR pproch (i.e. products with improved environmentl credentils or which support chrity). Aim to introduce t lest 15 new product lines. x We hve continued to develop our rnge of sttionery products nd hve incresed our giving through our dopt-n-niml rnge of chrity Christms gifts, however trget of 15 new products not met. Continue to introduce products with environmentl or chritble benefits. g x Achieved Ongoing Not chieved

8 environment Bord ccountbility Aln Stewrt, Group Finnce Director Energy consumption kwh per squre foot Executive ccountbility Robert Moorhed, Retil Finnce Director Relevnt policies Environmentl Policy At WHSmith we remin committed to reducing our environmentl impcts s we recognise this is n importnt issue for our customers, employees nd wider stkeholders. It is lso good business mngement in tht stedily reducing our impcts, for exmple energy nd wste, results in more efficient business nd lower operting costs. Our min environmentl impcts include the energy used in our stores, offices nd distribution centres (DCs), the fuel consumed by our distribution networks nd wste mterils, in the form of plstic nd crdbord outer pckging. Our pproch to mnging our environmentl impcts is governed by our environmentl mngement system, which is bsed on the principles of the interntionlly-recognised ISO14001 scheme. Energy nd emissions In 2007 we set progressive energy trget to reduce consumption by 15% per squre foot by August During the yer our overll energy consumption incresed slightly, with the mjority of the increse coming through in the winter months. While this mkes chieving our 2010 trget more chllenging, we re still committed to this reduction. We re currently working on number of store trils nd inititives to ctively reduce energy consumption in the coming yer. Our energy mngement nd store opertions tems re working together to investigte new wys we cn het nd light our stores, to improve energy efficiency yet not diminish store performnce. Members of our Executive tem re tking n ctive role in this project nd hve been visiting our tril stores to understnd the impct of the proposed chnges nd mke recommendtions. We clculte our Group crbon dioxide emissions (from both trnsport nd energy) using recommended Defr conversion fctors. During the yer, Defr mde chnges to these conversion fctors, dvising tht green energy could no longer be rted s zero crbon emissions nd must be clculted using grid energy conversion fctors. Lst yer we reported our Group crbon dioxide emissions s 18,528 tonnes, s consequence of sourcing hydro-electric nd renewble energy. Using the new Defr conversion fctors, the 2006/07 figure is restted s 63,235. This yer, overll Group crbon dioxide emissions hve incresed 3.9% nd is 65,719 tonnes. 2003/ / / / /08 Helping stores to reduce their energy consumption With the opening of new stores ech yer nd rpidly rising energy costs, the energy used to het nd light stores is mjor focus to reduce our environmentl footprint. A number of our stores hve Building Mngement System, which centrlly controls store tempertures nd when the lights re switched on. In the reminder of stores we rely on our stff using these energy systems in the most efficient mnner possible. We encourge our store employees to use the Energy nd Environment section of our intrnet site, which provides them with informtion on how they cn help reduce consumption. Our store mngers re responsible for energy costs within their profit nd loss ccounts nd re therefore motivted to be efficient in how they consume energy. Providing ccurte mesuring nd reporting is criticl prt of energy mngement. To help our stores mnge this cost more closely, we hve completed roll out of Automted Meter Reding (AMR) systems to the mjority of our High Street stores. This system enbles us to monitor, both in store nd t our centrl office, the energy consumption of individul stores throughout the dy. The consumption pttern tht AMRs produce cn identify where lights hve been left on overnight or when thermostts hve been incorrectly set. To fully relise the benefits this system provides we hve implemented new reporting system with our Store nd Are Mngers. This will ensure we understnd ny unplnned energy spikes s they occur nd cn tke immedite ction to reduce energy wstge. Trnsport With over thousnd stores cross the UK, our stock deliveries to stores nd corresponding fuel emissions re mjor environmentl impct for us. We hve continued to improve fuel efficiency this yer, resulting in lower crbon dioxide emissions per pckge moved. This reduction hs been chieved in prt by the continuing benefit of improvements mde lst yer, for exmple the introduction of double decker trilers leding to fewer delivery vehicles on the rod, nd lso in prt to new inititives introduced this yer. These new inititives include renewed focus on store delivery scheduling nd mximising the stock fill of our delivery totes t the DCs. We hve chnged the wy we pick stock for stores. Our new system ensures we plce hevier items, such s books, t the bottom of our totes nd smller, lighter items t the top. In this wy we hve found we cn increse the fill cpcity of ech tote nd limit the mount of fresh ir we trnsport round the UK. These inititives hve resulted in reducing the need for dily stock deliveries to some of 8

9 environment our stores nd consequently crbon dioxide emissions per pckge moved hs reduced. We nticipte further improvements in the coming yer s we pln to upgrde our fleet to more fuel efficient vehicles. In ddition we hve begun to work collbortively with smll number of other retilers to shre store deliveries to some of our more remote stores in Cornwll nd Scotlnd. Crbon dioxide emissions per pckge moved* Crbon dioxide emissions (kg per skip) Reducing wste The mjority of the wste generted by our business is product pckging in the form of crdbord nd plstic shrink wrp nd lso dmged stock. This yer we hve enbled ll our High Street stores, which cn incorporte the fcilities, to recycle their crdbord. However, we recognise tht there is more to do nd wste is continued re of focus for us. Totl wste risings* Tonnes of wste Lndfilled Recycled 14,207 12,836 10,813 8,815 7, / / / / /08 *Dt for 2005/06, 2006/07 nd 2007/08 re-stted bsed on more ccurte totes dt In 2007/08 we revised the wy we clculte our crbon dioxide per pckges moved, to incorporte more ccurte dt for the number of totes we use cross our High Street nd Trvel stores. On this bsis we hve re-stted our lst 3 yers emissions, resulting in the 2006/07 figure reducing from 0.71kg to 0.58kg. Cse study Collection Service As n exmple of how good environmentl mngement cn drive down costs, we hve lso begun working with our suppliers to reduce their trnsport emissions. Erlier this yer we stepped up our Collection Service. This collects stock from our suppliers, using spre cpcity within our store delivery fleet, which would otherwise come bck from stores empty to our distribution centres. This inititive offers us nd our suppliers significnt benefits, such s more cost effective trnsport solutions, one point of contct for stock bookings nd queries, better integrtion of suppliers into our supply chin s ll proof of deliveries re now held centrlly nd, consequently, the development of closer working reltionships. Our suppliers hve welcomed this inititive nd this yer we hve begun collborting with some of our lrger books nd beverge suppliers. This inititive brings potentil triple benefit of cost reduction for both prties, reduction in vehicles on our rods nd stock hndling improvements t our distribution centres s the stock check-in procedure is mde more efficient. In considering the impct of our trnsport networks, we lso consider the impct of emissions from our compny cr fleet. This yer we set ourselves the trget of reducing crbon dioxide emissions from compny crs by 7% for typicl vehicle. To chieve this we hve chnged our compny cr policy. Previously, compny cr driver hd free choice to choose ny vehicle, now the list hs been considerbly shortened in both vehicle choice nd engine size vilble / /05 1,829 2,267 2,303 2, / / /08 *Dt for 2005/06, 2006/07 nd 2007/08 re-stted using store squre footge methodology In 2007/08 we revised the wy we clculte our Group wste, incorporting store squre footge into our methodology to reflect our performnce more ccurtely. Overll Group recycling rtes for 2007/08 were 23% ginst rte of 21% for the previous yer. In ddition to the wste pper we recycle t our hed office loctions, during the yer we introduced recycling sttions cross our Swindon site. These sttions collect plstic nd glss bottles, cns, newsppers nd mgzines. This recycling inititive hs been very well supported by stff who regulrly use these fcilities. Reducing pckging We re working to reduce our shipping nd product pckging. Excessive pckging is n issue of concern to consumers, who re incresingly recycling conscious nd concerned bout the potentil for councils introducing dditionl chrging for consumer wste. Excessive pckging is lso concern for us s it represents triple cost to our business, in terms of the cost of the ctul pckging, pying for it to be trnsported to our distribution centres nd stores nd lso wste disposl costs, once the pckging hs served its purpose of protecting our products nd is then discrded. Ech yer, we re required to report the quntity of the pckging we hndle to the Environment Agency nd ensure tht set percentge of this mteril hs been recycled, through pyment of pckging levy. This percentge is known s our pckging obligtion. In 2007/08 we reduced our totl pckging obligtion by 6% to 2,227 tonnes, which in prt ws due to the reduction in our crrier bg consumption. 9

10 environment Pckging obligtion Tonnes (recovery obligtion) 2,167 2, ,318 2, , This yer pckging specifictions hve been incorported into our vendor buying greements, which will increse our visibility of pckging mterils nd quntities used in our products nd thus enble us to incorporte these fctors into our negotitions. Reducing crrier bg use We re committed to reducing the environmentl impct of our plstic crrier bgs nd this yer we hve reduced customers consumption by 12%. In prtnership with the Woodlnd Trust we hve encourged customers not to tke bg nd rewrded this behviour by mking dontion for every crrier bg tht ws not tken, to support the Trust s work. As result, we chieved our im of funding the plnting of 10,000 trees cross the UK. Reducing the impct of our crrier bgs on the environment is n importnt issue for us. We hve been working for number of yers to reduce the mount we consume ech yer nd lso to reduce the percentge of virgin plstic tht mkes up their content. In utumn 2007 we lunched tril of new crrier bg, which ws mde up of 30% recycled plstic. Following the success of the tril we rolled-out this new bg s our existing stock of bgs were used up in stores. Woodlnd Trust Christms Crd Recycling Scheme Ech yer we work in prtnership with the Woodlnd Trust to rise the profile of recycling mongst our customers. During Jnury, customers cross Scotlnd, Englnd nd Wles cn tke their old Christms crds into our stores for recycling. In ddition to rising the profile of recycling in the UK, the scheme lso rises funds tht llow the Woodlnd Trust to continue its conservtion work. This yer, we were one of four UK retilers to collect Christms crds for the Woodlnd Trust, with our customers helping to recycle 74 million crds. The proceeds from the recycled crds rised enough money to enble the plnting of 17,000 trees cross the UK. WHSmith s ongoing prtnership with the Woodlnd Trust We hve developed long-term prtnership with the Woodlnd Trust, supporting their work for the lst seven yers. The Trust is the UK s leding woodlnd conservtion chrity dedicted solely to the protection of our ntive woodlnd heritge. Since their foundtion in the 1972, the Trust hs grown to cre nd protect over 1,100 sites cross the UK. By cquiring woodlnd sites, the Trust protects woodlnd from the thret of development pressure or unsympthetic mngement nd offers the spce for public enjoyment. The Trust lso uses its considerble experience to promote forestry conservtion cuses mong the government nd public. I would like to sy huge thnk you to WHSmith. I know n enormous mount of work goes into collecting nd sorting the crds in stores, s well s to the overll orgnistion of the scheme. Your efforts will help us plnt thousnds nd thousnds of trees. These trees will eventully grow into mjestic woodlnd which will become plce people of ll ges cn enjoy. Sue Holden, Chief Executive of the Woodlnd Trust Cse study Think Twice At WHSmith we re encourging our customers to use fewer plstic bgs. Think Twice is tril lunched in selection of stores to guge customers rection to pying for crrier bgs. The trils re tking plce in the Midlnds, North West, South West nd South Wles. At these stores customers cn choose to py 1p for single use bg or buy good qulity reusble bg, mde from 100% recycled mterils. All profits from the sle of bgs re donted to the Woodlnd Trust. These trils hve led to significnt reduction in the number of single use crrier bgs we give to customers. We will continue to test customer rection during our Christms trding period, prior to mking decision on whether to roll this scheme out to ll our stores in Registered chrity number: Supporting Tommy s through inkjet crtridge recycling For number of yers, WHSmith hs offered our customers the opportunity to recycle their old inkjet crtridges when they come into our stores to buy replcement one. As well s helping to reduce household wste, for every crtridge recycled, dontion is mde to Tommy s chrity, which funds medicl reserch into the cuses of premture birth, stillbirth nd miscrrige. Helping our customers to conserve our environment Customers wnt to do their bit to reduce their own environmentl impcts nd wnt us to help mke it esier for them tke steps forwrd. We offer customers recycling fcilities to return Christms crds nd lso their empty inkjet crtridges nd in so doing support the work of the Woodlnd Trust nd Tommy s the bby chrity. 10

11 environment 2007/08 Trgets Progress 2008/09 Trgets Energy Continue to reduce energy consumption, trgeting 15% reduction by August 2010 (versus 2007 levels). g This trget is ongoing. New inititives to chieve the trget re currently being trilled in our stores. Implement ctions rising out of the store trils work to reduce energy consumption, continuing to trget 15% reduction by August Offset the emissions from the electricity used in our Trvel Airport stores by supporting clen energy developments cross the world. Emissions from the electricity used in our Trvel Airport stores hs been offset by the offset chrity PURE. Further develop store nd re reporting of the Automted Meter Reding system to drive reductions in energy consumption cross the store estte. Trnsport Reduce crbon dioxide emissions per pckge delivered to stores to 0.67kg (resulting in 5.6% reduction). x Crbon dioxide emissions per pckge delivered is 0.56kg. The dt hs been re-stted in 2007/08 to reflect the inclusion of more ccurte totes dt. This represents 3.6% reduction over lst yer. Reduce crbon dioxide emissions per pckge moved by 5%. Reduce the number of pckges moved by 4% through continer consolidtion. Begin renewl of compny cr fleet to reduce crbon dioxide emissions by 7% of typicl vehicle. g We hve chnged our compny cr policy; the list hs been considerbly shortened in both vehicle choice nd engine size vilble. Wste nd Mngement Ensure tht t lest 25% of Group wste is recycled during 2007/08. x Group recycling for 2007/08 ws 23%. Ensure tht t lest 28% of Group wste is recycled during 2008/09. g x Achieved Ongoing Not chieved 11

12 workplce Bord ccountbility Aln Stewrt, Group Finnce Director Executive ccountbility Anthony Lwrence, Retil Humn Resources Director Relevnt policies Code of Business Conduct Suite of Employee Policies Helth nd Sfety Policy The qulity of ny business depends strongly on its people. To develop good tem it is essentil to recruit the right people, keep them motivted nd crete the right environment for them to perform well. At WHSmith we provide ll our employees with lerning opportunities to help them develop their creers nd we focus on engging employees cross our business. Living our vlues We shre four key business vlues: Customer Focus, Drive for Results, Vlue Our People nd Accountbility. WHSMITH VALUES Customer focus Vlue our people Drive for results Accountbility To keep these vlues live mongst our tems, we celebrte the success of our collegues who demonstrte these vlues on dy-to-dy bsis, through our Hed Office Vlues in Prctice or VIP scheme. Lunched in 2004, this successful progrmme is n opportunity for ny member of our tem to nominte collegues who hve set leding exmple in demonstrting the vlues. Ech month VIP nominee is selected s VIP of the Month by the Executive tem s n exmple of how to live our vlues. Ech nominee s story is published in our weekly stff newsletter nd the VIP winner is rewrded with free te or coffee for month, specil VIP mug nd three extr dys holidy. In ddition we celebrte the chievements of our store stff. These wrds include Most Improved Store, Store of the Yer, Store Mnger of the Yer nd Mnger s Mnger of the Yer. Exmples of VIP nomintions this yer: Adm demonstrted Customer Focus in mnging the supply chin for Express Items in Trvel during prticulrly busy period. As result of his work, vilbility of core products incresed to 95%. Alistir ws wrded nomintion for Mking Life Esier for Stores. During the run up to Christms he orgnised series of procedurl chnges for stores to dminister promotionl nd pricing mendments so these were lwys ccurte for our customers. Belind hs demonstrted Vluing Our People, recently supporting High Street store mnger when they were deling with n extremely difficult sitution. The store mnger ws relly grteful to Belind for her dvice nd the ssistnce she gve. The store mnger sid, Belind s support ws outstnding. Vluing our people We recognise tht people s lifestyle ptterns re chnging nd so we offer our employees rnge of benefits imed t promoting good work life blnce. Our School Strter scheme grnts working prents hlf dy pid leve to tke their child to their first dy t school. We offer phsed retirement plns to llow employees to voluntrily reduce their working hours s their retirement dte pproches. V-Time Working enbles employees to voluntrily reduce their working hours for defined period, to cope with life chnging events nd in so doing reduce the levels of stress they fce, hving to cope with full time work nd issues t home. In ddition, ll our hed office stff with 100% ttendnce during six month period re rewrded with n dditionl dy s holidy. All WHSmith employees enjoy ccess to vriety of benefits, including pension nd shre sve schemes, stff discount on WHSmith products plus rnge of voluntry benefits nd discounted goods nd services, such s insurnce, trvel, helth, leisure nd retil. Communicting with nd engging our stff Everyone t WHSmith is responsible for delivering our strtegy, so we understnd the importnce of regulr communiction on business performnce, both issues nd successes. We do this through cler communiction cscded through tem briefings, lrge employee events, intrnet sites nd newsletters. Our Executive Directors crry out monthly briefings to the senior mngement tem, providing updtes on business performnce nd n opportunity for questions. This informtion is then communicted out to ll hed office employees. In ddition, every month, more informl gtherings re held over brekfst or fternoon te, where smll group of stff, chosen t rndom t both our Swindon nd London offices meet with one of our Executive Directors to discuss ny subjects they wish. Our stff vlue the opportunity to meet the Executive tem informlly to discuss the business, s this comment shows: An extremely useful session nd gret opportunity to meet Director nd people from other prts of the business. I enjoyed it immensely, especilly getting nswers to ll questions rised. I would highly recommend ttending. Every week we circulte newsletter to stff in hed office nd distribution centres contining rticles on business ctivity, stff recognition nd new recruits, policy updtes nd store promotions nd events. Across the yer we hold strtegy briefings for hed office nd store employees to brief them on our progress nd the lunch of new inititives such s our Christms trding plns, s well s covering other topics such s Corporte Responsibility. Employee enggement is continuing focus for us nd we hve plns to develop our enggement levels further over the yer. Lst yer we ppointed Employee Enggement Chmpions t our Hed Office to discuss how we improve our working environment. 12

13 workplce Two chmpion forums took plce nd these provided useful lerning in the formtion of our ongoing plns. As we expnd our Trvel business to include Post Offices nd hospitls we tke the time to engge those new employees with our vlues, culture nd wys of working. We ensure everyone receives n introduction to WHSmith nd this yer we pln to review nd revise our trining progrmmes to specificlly cter for the needs of these employees. Lerning nd development At WHSmith, we mke lerning nd development ccessible to ll our employees, through suite of lerning methods. This yer we re-designed our Lerning nd Development (L&D) intrnet site, which now contins pges tht integrte job roles with relevnt L&D opportunities. Any employee interested in developing, for exmple, creer in buying, hs the opportunity to view ll relted role profiles, understnd wht experience nd behviours re necessry to perform in tht role nd which trining opportunities will help guide them to success. Cse study redesign of Lerning & Development intrnet The new look Lerning & Development intrnet site lunched in Mrch 2008 is designed to ensure our employees hve esy ccess to L&D resources nd development opportunities. The site is esy to nvigte nd includes bite size lerning pcks on rnge of topics nd ccess to the Growing your Creer Site, which is step by step guide to mnging your creer development. Employees cn find informtion bout Workshops nd Mster Clsses s well s browse our lerning librry to borrow development books. For the 4th consecutive yer we held our Fst Trck Acdemy progrmme which prepres smll group of high potentil cndidtes to be future business leders. This progrmme is well received nd we pln to hold nother in the coming yer. This yer, our succession plnning for stores progrmmes included 135 store supervisors nd 108 Store Mngers. In ddition, we held senior store mngement development centre to identify mngers with the bility to progress to field mngement roles in support of stores. The development centre enbled us to develop specific trining workshops to meet our mngers needs nd crete bespoke lerning, such s Store Mngers temporrily stepping up to cover field roles while those individuls took holidy. To keep our L&D opportunities relevnt to the needs of our tem, we periodiclly review our entire suite of trining courses. This yer we conducted full review of our store trining progrmmes nd subsequently lunched new lerning guides in our High Street nd Trvel stores. In the coming yer, we pln to repet the exercise for our hed office nd distribution centre progrmmes. Cse study Lerning t Work week Every yer we hold Lerning t Work week t our hed office. This event forms prt of ntionl wreness progrmme sponsored by Cmpign for Lerning, ntionl chrity which ims to crete pssion for lerning. Thousnds of orgnistions tke prt to promote business-relted lerning ctivities to help stff lern new skills which they cn put into ction t work. This yer, to promote the week we sent stff dily lerning hndouts nd held series of 31 Mster Clsses which were led by senior member of stff who hve mny yers experience in topic. As n exmple, Chief Executive, Kte Swnn rn Mster Clss on Ledership which ws ttended by 26 employees. This yer we were highly commended for Cmpign for Lerning s Business Improvement through Lerning Awrd, which itself ws sponsored by Investors in People UK. Our L&D opportunities cover rnge of lerning styles to suit individul needs. Employees cn tke specific trining courses to cover res identified in their performnce reviews. On the job trining is offered through series of topic lerning guides which cn be worked on with line mngers. Also, for those employees who prefer book bsed lerning, we hve lerning librry, which we refreshed this yer, with 30% new titles. We re keen to develop our future mngers from within WHSmith nd so we work to ensure there is pipeline of tlent vilble for ll mngeril roles. We hold regulr succession plnning meetings for store, hed office nd distribution centre stff, where we identify those individuls who hve the bility to develop themselves nd our business. Vluing diversity WHSmith s commitment to equlity nd diversity through its policies, prctices nd procedures mens tht ll employees re given equl nd fir tretment. This pplies to recruitment nd selection, terms nd conditions of employment, promotion, trining nd development opportunities nd employment benefits. We hve worked to improve the qulity of the dt we hve on the diversity of our stff, introducing new diversity sections to our Store Mnger nd hed office job ppliction forms, to cpture relevnt informtion. We re investigting wys to include this on ll ppliction forms nd pln to develop new recruitment mngement system tht will llow us to esily mnge nd monitor our performnce. 13

14 workplce DIVERSITY PROFILE All employees 66% 34% Store Mngers 46% 54% Over 60% of ccidents were due to slips nd trips nd flls from height. During the yer we trined 1,000 Store Mngers in these specific issues, to enble them to cscde sfety trining to their stff. In ddition, specific helth nd sfety trining is incorported into our Mngement Development Progrmme for new Store Mngers. Mle Femle Our Group Risk Deprtment hs lso issued new trining guides to stff in ll stores on best prctice when serving disbled customers. These guides hve been produced by the Employers Forum on Disbility, of which we re member. Improving ccess to our stores It is our im to improve the service we provide to our disbled customers, in complince with DDA legisltion. Our rolling progrmme of cpitl improvements hs this yer included number of instlltions of customer service lifts, utomtic doors nd hering loops. We hve lso invested in new evcution chirs for disbled customers, s prt of our fire protection progrmme. We hve continued to trin our store stff, issuing new trining guides to ll stores which were designed nd printed by the Employers Forum on Disbility. We continue to subscribe to the website service operted by Direct Enquiries tht provides informtion to disbled customers on the specific fcilities t ech of our stores nd enbles us to review feedbck on the qulity of service. Mle Femle Helth nd sfety Our Bord is committed to mintining high stndrds of helth nd sfety. The Mngement tem, supported by professionl sfety dvisers, monitors key sfety performnce indictors nd n nnul report detiling trends, performnce nd recommendtions is presented to the Bord. The business lso hs properly constituted Helth nd Sfety Committee tht comprises employees, mngement, trde union representtives nd professionl sfety dvisers. This yer, we continued our downwrd trend in the number of reported incidents, with the totl number of reportble ccidents flling by 3%. Mintining this trend is n ongoing re of focus over coming yer. Accidents nd Injuries Mjor injuries Injuries resulting in over 3 dys bsence from work/ hospitlistion All RIDDORS* ACCIDENTS BY TYPE 1 SEPTEMBER AUGUST % 34% 2% 11% 3% 22% Mnul hndling Striking fixed object Struck by moving/flling object Slip/trip/fll Fll from height Hnd tools/other We monitor ll incidents t our sites, irrespective of how minor they my be, so tht we cn understnd the cuse nd identify ny trends. This yer, our trget ws to reduce these minor ccidents by 5% nd we exceeded this, with reduction of 9% during 2007/08. We will trget further 5% reduction next yer. In ddition, we trck the contcts mde by locl Environmentl Helth Officers nd the issues rised. Our trget is to hve no fines or penlties imposed, nd this ws chieved during 2007/08, s it hd been in the previous yer. We lso monitor the number of forml notices received from Environmentl Helth or Fire Officers. This yer we chieved our trget of reducing the number of notices by 2%. We continue to benchmrk our helth nd sfety performnce ginst our peers to ensure tht we improve our pproch in line with best prctice. We do this through nlysing their published performnce ginst our own nd lso through collbortive working vi the British Retil Consortium s Risk nd Sfety Policy Advisory Group, which meets qurterly to compre dt nd shre best prctice. The Group Sfety tem hs been working on stremlining vrious procedures nd documenttion, to mke life esier for stores. During the ltter prt of the yer, vrious risk ssessments, ccident reporting forms nd 6-monthly helth nd sfety udit returns hve ll been utomted, so tht these cn be submitted by stores over the Intrnet. This hs mde it esier for stores to complete nd submit necessry legisltive documenttion, nd for the Sfety tem to nlyse ll responses nd ensure tht ny issues re swiftly ddressed on timely bsis. * Reportble under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseses nd Dngerous Occurrence Regultions 14

15 workplce Cse study Helth nd Sfety Trining During 2007/08 our Helth nd Sfety dvisors delivered sfety trining to ll Store Mngers. In previous yers these trining courses hve focused on Fire Sfety nd Mnul Hndling. This yer s trining focused on Slips & Trips, s the lrgest cuse of ccidents sustined in the yer. Helth nd sfety trining ws lso feture of our mngement development progrmme, where courses were held every qurter for ll new mngers. Further trining progrmmes hve been provided, firstly in respect of food hygiene for nominted stff cross the Trvel business. Secondly, for those stores trding on more thn one floor, trining ws provided covering emergency evcutions nd the use of specificlly designed evcution chirs. Feedbck from these courses hs been consistently positive. Promoting well-being Our work on employee helth nd sfety extends beyond the mngement of ccidents, s we seek to help employees improve their helth. During the erly months of 2008, we re-rn our WHSmith Helthy Living Cmpign for stff in our Swindon site, designed to help promote helthy lifestyle. This cmpign fetured personl helth screening, fitness clsses nd the promotion of helthy eting. 15

16 workplce 2007/08 Trgets Progress 2008/09 Trgets Enggement Continue to improve employee enggement levels using tools such s Directors Brekfsts. Appointed Employee Enggement Chmpions t our hed office nd held two forums. Directors Brekfsts were extended to include both our hed office sites in Swindon nd London. Implement resourcing nd trining solutions to rise WHSmith brnd wreness for internl nd potentil employees. Lerning nd Development Crry out full review of existing suite of progrmmes for stores to ensure effective development of internl tlent. Designed nd lunched suite of Lerning Guides cross Trvel nd High Street stores. Crry out full review of existing suite of progrmmes for hed office to ensure effective development of internl tlent. Rise wreness of lerning nd development cross the whole business nd work with line mngers to increse their ccountbility for performnce. The Lerning nd Development intrnet site ws re-designed to include esier ccess to trining opportunities. Published mngers guides to support line mngers. Continue to implement solutions to rise wreness of lerning nd development cross the whole business nd work with line mngers to increse their ccountbility for improving performnce. Succession plnning Implement Grdute progrmme cross hed office. Diversity Implement diversity monitoring for current, new nd prospective employees. Store Mnger ppliction forms now include relevnt diversity questions to enble the cpture of this informtion. Introduce new recruitment mngement system nd implement ctions rising. Continue to review the ccessibility of our stores for disbled customers. g Continued to trin our store stff on disbled ccess issuing new trining guides to ll stores. Helth nd Sfety Helth nd Sfety. By 2010, overll reportble ccidents to be 10% of 2004 levels. g On trck to chieve this by Reportble ccidents in 2007/08 were 3% lower thn the previous yer. By 2010, overll reportble ccidents to be 10% of 2004 levels. g x Achieved Ongoing Not chieved 16

17 community Bord ccountbility Kte Swnn, Group Chief Executive Executive ccountbility Anthony Lwrence, Retil Humn Resources Director Relevnt policies Community Enggement Policy We vlue our community progrmme s n importnt tool through which we cn support the locl communities in which we operte. Our employees hve the opportunity to support good cuses nd give their time to prticipte in fund rising ctivities. As leding bookseller nd sttioner we focus our investment on eduction nd life-long lerning, notbly through our prtnership with the WHSmith Chritble Trust. We set nd chieve nnul trgets to invest t lest one per cent of our pre-tx profits in support of chrities nd community projects. We use the London Benchmrking Group s (LBG) reporting model to clculte our community contributions which provides stndrdised wy of mnging nd mesuring corporte community enggement. The chrt below presents brekdown of our community contributions, using the LBG reporting model. We mesure the direct contributions we mke to the community, in the form of csh dontions, gifts in kind nd lso stff time nd mngement costs. WHS community investment 2007/08 140, , ,420 Csh Stff time Gifts in kind/mngement costs Promoting Litercy Encourging Summer Reding This is the fourth yer tht we hve worked in collbortion with the WHSmith Chritble Trust nd the Ntionl Litercy Trust (NLT) on summer reding project. The project forms prt of the NLT s Reding is Fundmentl progrmme (RIF), which promotes love of reding mong children in disdvntged res, nd gives them the chnce to choose nd keep new books for themselves. The WHSmith Trust Summer Red cmpign ws developed to encourge children to keep reding during the long summer holidys, time when litercy levels often fll. The children re typiclly from deprived communities where book ownership levels re low nd re trgeted s those most likely to benefit from the chnce to choose nd keep books for themselves. We re relly plesed to be working with the WHSmith Trust. Our prtnership enbles us to keep mny children excited bout books nd reding during the summer brek nd beyond. Judith Prke, RIF director The Ntionl Litercy Trust is n independent chrity tht chnges lives through litercy. The NLT ims to build society in which everyone hs the reding, writing, speking nd listening skills tht they need to fulfil their own, nd ultimtely, the ntion s potentil. In 2008 we worked with RIF to hold 110 events reching 3,600 children cross 18 loctions. In totl, 7,200 books were given to children. The RIF tem provided volunteer coordintors with trining on how to run successful project, nd specillydesigned RIF/WHSmith hndbook for ech of the loctions. Coordintors were given dvice to help them order selection of ge-pproprite books for children to choose, long with ides for hosting exciting events which ensure the children hve memorble experience when they receive their books. This yer, the events took plce during July nd August nd were held in librries, housing esttes, ply schemes nd in other community settings up nd down the country, where children from disdvntged bckgrounds re invited to ttend two events, receiving free book t ech one. At these events children re red stories, invited to choose nd keep books nd lso receive goody bg nd WHSmith gift vouchers. One of the events took plce t Clderglen Prk in Glsgow. Fmilies spent the dy t the mini-zoo nd dventure plyground nd then chose books themed round the outdoors. The children hd fbulous dy plying in the prk nd seeing the nimls nd loved choosing books relted to this topic. Thnk you for mking this event possible nd providing books to children, mny of whom hve never hd their own book to choose nd keep before. Kren Robertson, project coordintor. The Summer Red is n excellent opportunity to offer volunteering opportunities to our stff. This yer s Summer Red event ws officilly lunched by Chief Executive, Kte Swnn, t n dventure plyground in Swindon. In ddition to Kte s visit, stff from our hed office nd locl stores ttended other events to meet the children nd tke prt in story reding nd helping the children to choose their books. 17

18 community When ll the events re complete, we sk ech project coordintor to ssess the confidence levels nd interest in reding of the children who ttend two events. In 2008 we found tht overll 80% noted positive effect on children s confidence, interest in reding nd skill round choosing their book. In ddition to these mesures we hve funded piece of reserch compring ttitudes towrds reding of the children who hve prticipted with those who hve not. The report s findings re due to be complete before Christms nd we will provide summry of these in our 2008/09 CR report. Supporting World Book Dy World Book Dy ws designted by UNESCO s worldwide celebrtion of books nd reding, nd is mrked in over 100 countries round the globe. It is the biggest nnul celebrtion of books nd reding in the UK nd is sponsored by Ntionl Book Tokens. World Book Dy ims to give every child the opportunity to choose book of their own nd to promote the enjoyment of reding. WHSmith hs been supporting World Book Dy for mny yers. 6 Mrch 2008 ws the 11th nniversry of this importnt event nd mny of our High Street stores helped locl children celebrte by orgnising events nd ctivities promoting the fun of reding. We promoted the event in over 400 of our stores, 245 of them holding events which were ttended by locl school children nd included fun things to do such s story telling, tresure hunts, uthor ppernces nd behind the scenes tours of our stores. In some cses, we visited locl children t their schools to promote World Book Dy. The WHSmith Group Chritble Trust The WHSmith Group Chritble Trust is n independent registered chrity [registered chrity no ] tht ctively supports employees tht re involved with chritble orgnistions in their locl community. The Trust hs two principle objectives which focus its ctivities: To support the locl communities in which WHSmith stff nd customers live nd work; nd To support eduction nd lifelong lerning, helping people of ny ge to chieve their eductionl potentil. We encourge our employees to be ctively involved in their locl communities nd mny of our stff re personlly involved in work cross their communities. To support nd encourge stff involvement, the Trust mtch funds rised by employee fundrising up to 500 nd tem fundrising up to the vlue of 1,000. In 2007/08 the Trust mde 45 grnts worth 15,226 to employees in support of both ntionl nd locl chrities. Ech yer, the Trust lso runs Christms Givewy where stff cn pply on behlf of ny chrity they re involved with. This yer 91 pplictions were received by the Trust from both store nd hed office stff. Ech chrity nominted received 230, resulting in over 20,000 being donted to chrities rnging from Cncer Reserch, Ntionl Animl Welfre Trust, Alzheimer s Society, Wiltshire Air Ambulnce, s well s mny other locl chrities. Over 100 stores held drwing nd colouring competitions, displying ll the entries in stores during the week, before judging the winner. One of the events took plce t the West & Swimbridge Primry School in Brnstple. The WHSmith store s tem leder sid Helping locl school cretes positive reputtion for the store in the re nd cretes feel good fctor for employees. 18

19 community Cse Study Fundrising for the WHSmith Trust This yer s Flor London Mrthon sw four WHSmith employees running the 26.2 mile course to rise money for the WHSmith Chritble Trust. Key members of our Executive tem took prt, including our Commercil nd IT Directors, helping to rise the profile of the WHSmith Trust nd its work both internlly nd externlly. A totl of 11,273 ws rised for the Trust; fntstic chievement. The school we support is in the fifth most deprived district in Englnd. We hve donted penny stock nd prizes for ttendnce nd fundrising ctivities. Stff visit the school in their own time for story-telling sessions nd vrious clsses visit the store to see how the business opertes. We run competitions round promotionl chnges in store t times such s Ester nd Christms, which re then posted round the shop floor. We hve hd gret feedbck from customers when we post up thnk you notes from the children. I hve worked for WHSmith for 15 yers nd this is the best response I hve hd from group of stff; they re relly proud of wht they hve chieved together, long with the knowledge they hve gined from visiting the school nd knowing wht prents re looking for to help their children. This hs given them so much confidence. In ddition, hving school children in the store seeing how we work nd how the product gets to them, mkes them respect us more s store. Twice yer, the Trust mkes grnt of 5,000 to smll chrity locl to our hed office in Swindon, to support their work in the community. The money is funded from the proceeds of our chrity shop bsed t our Swindon office nd the orgnistion chosen to receive the grnt is voted for by our hed office stff. The first of these grnts ws wrded to CALM, the Children s Cncer nd Leukemi Movement, working within the Swindon nd Mrlborough re. CALM provides support to fmilies to cope with the physicl, emotionl nd often finncil strin nd to improve the qulity of life for children going through tretment. The second wrd ws mde during the summer to STEP, the Swindon Ten to Eighteen Projects. STEP is voluntry service for vulnerble young people bsed in Swindon. They run vriety of projects throughout the week working with young people to build their skills in mny res, such s self-esteem, communiction nd providing sfe plce for them to come nd hve fun. The dontion will be used to fund our summer progrmme ctivities, ensuring young people hve ccess to positive ctivities t time when lot of their support networks become reduced. We re very grteful to ll WHSmith employees for their dontion. Pul Dobson, project coordintor Recognising employee contribution round the UK The WHSmith Community Awrds is our wy of recognising the contribution employees mke to support their locl chrities, by building strong links with community orgnistions in the re which they work. This yer, following nomintions process, twenty tems from round the UK received wrds of 500 ech to further support their chritble efforts. Of these, three won specil Gold, Silver nd Bronze prizes for mking prticulrly specil contribution to locl orgnistion. Our Teeside Prk store ws wrded the Gold wrd for their work with Pillister Prk Primry School in Stockton. The store s tem leder describes the contribution WHSmith mde in support of the school: Also to win prizes were; the Mnchester Arndle store which won Silver for their work with Unsworth C.P. School nd our store in Ayr, which won Bronze for their support of Prestwick Acdemy School. Pyroll giving During the yer we lunched new voluntry pyroll giving scheme to rise wreness of the Trust mongst employees nd enble them to contribute to its work. Clled Pennies from Heven, the scheme works by rounding up the pennies on employee s slry to form monthly dontion. We pln to promote the scheme in the coming months, to encourge more store stff to get involved. Enbling customers to support chritble cuses In ddition to the fundrising ctivities of our stff, we hve for mny yers supported good cuses through product sles. As well s providing chrities with finncil contribution, the products sles lso rise consumer wreness of the work these orgnistions do nd help them to gin new supporters. Christms is time when mny of our customers like to give presents tht lso benefit chrities. This yer our sles of chritble Christms crds nd clendrs rised 167,000 for six chrities, who were chosen by our employees to receive support. These chrities included Unicef, CLIC Srgent, The Smritns, Brndo s, Hering Dogs for Def People nd Children in Need. We hve continued with our Christms Adopt n Animl rnge, which gives customers the opportunity to support the work of specific chrities working to protect endngered nimls. The chrities re Born Free, Cre for the Wild nd the Aspinll Foundtion. Together sles of this Christms product rnge generted sles of 173,000 for niml conservtion. Working with WHSmith is gret opportunity for The Aspinll Foundtion whose niml conservtion work round the world relies on dontions. With the support of WHSmith the chrity cn continue to provide support such s regulr monitoring by field stff nd nti-poching ptrols in the reserve to ensure the nimls continued sfety. Srh Tite, Hed of Fundrising t The Aspinll Foundtion 19

20 community We lso support chrities ll yer round with the sle of products, such s the Brest Cncer pink filofx, nd by giving customers the opportunity to buy chrity pin bdges t the till, including Vriety Club Gold Herts, Brest Cncer Pink Ribbons nd British Legion Poppies. Cse Study The Vriety Club For more thn 50 yers the Vriety Club Children s Chrity hs been helping sick, disbled nd disdvntged children by providing Sunshine Coches, electric wheelchirs, outings to exciting plces nd equipment for children s hospitls. The Vriety Club Gold Hert Appel hs rised over 16 million. In Jnury this yer, Becky Butler from WHSmith presented them with cheque for over 90,000, which were the proceeds rised from the sle of Mr Men nd Little Miss themed Gold Herts sold in WHSmith stores during Other wys tht our customers rise money for good cuses is through the sle of Lottery tickets in our stores. WHSmith hs rised over 200 million for Good Cuses since the Ntionl Lottery lunched in November In Februry, The Soho Fmily Trust in London ws the ltest to benefit nd received 284,202 from the Big Lottery Fund. Child crers in London often fce problems finding homes lrge enough for minding children. The Soho Fmily Centre Trust, which cters for mny ethnic groups, provides loction for number of crers to mind the children. The project helps crers secure regulr jobs nd offers prents re-entering the workforce lower childminding costs. 20