Debenhams

Ethical SourcingEthical sourcing requires us to assume responsibility for the labour and human rights practices within our supply chain. To this end, we need to ensure we work only with reputable suppliers and manufacturers so that when customers buy goods from Debenhams they can be assured that they have been produced under assessed and monitored conditions.Before a factory enters our supply chain, it must submit a factory information pack which covers the social and technical aspects of its operations. Only once we are satisfied that the factory meets our stringent criteria will it be able to manufacture goods to be sold in Debenhams.To monitor our suppliers and the standards in their factories on an ongoing basis, we use both internationally recognised independent auditors (such as Bureau Veritas) and our own assessment and approval process managed by the corporate responsibility team. The audit programme is based on two day audits and more focused one day gap analysis audits. Any issues which arise out of the audit process must be dealt with if a supplier is to retain approved status.We accept social audit reports completed for other retailers and joined the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (“SEDEX”) at the end of 2006. We encourage our suppliers and factories to join SEDEX so that they can focus more on delivering corrective action plans than preparing duplicate audits.We believe that working with a supplier to correct any issues through organisations such as the ETI is always the preferred route rather than disengaging with that supplier.Ethical Products and MaterialsEnsuring that the goods we sell are manufactured in conditions that meet our standards of ethical sourcing is only one part of ethical trading. We also need to ensure that the materials and components used in manufacture and the goods themselves meet similar standards. This is not just about preventing the use of harmful or unethical materials, it is also a driver of using of materials and products which actively promote ethical behaviourGood Origin CoffeeEach year our 160 restaurants and cafés serve around 8 million cups of coffee. Since 2007 every cup has been made from Douwe Egberts Good Origin Coffee and can be traced back to the farm where it was grown. Good Origin Coffee is certified by Utz Kapeh, a non-governmental organisation which assists farmers in protecting their workers and the environment in which they live and work and provides assurance that coffee beans are derived from 100% sustainable sources.Fairtrade CottonFairtrade seeks to ensure that the farmers and their workers who produce items are treated fairly. It promotes direct trade at a fair price, fair labour conditions, environmental sustainability and community development.Fairtrade cotton is used in a number of clothing ranges. In 2007, it was introduced into lingerie ranges. In February 2008, our menswear brand Maine New England teamed up with Sir Steve Redgrave’s clothing brand FiveG to produce an exclusive menswear collection made from Fairtrade certified cotton.In womenswear, exclusively designed Fairtrade organic printed T-shirts from People Tree will be available from Red Herring departments from May 2008. People Tree is a Fairtrade company which aims to use fashion to help the world’s most marginalised people; for more information go to www.peopletree.co.uk. At the same time a selection of Fairtrade jersey and sweat garments will be introduced into women’s Maine.Uzbek CottonThe use of Uzbekistan origin cotton has become a particular concern due to widespread labour abuses in that country, including the use of forced child labour during the harvesting of the cotton crop. Also of concern is the continuing environmental disaster unfolding in the region of the Aral Sea.Uzbekistan has been on Debenhams’ banned country list since 2006 and this covers both product manufacturing and all components and raw materials.The best place to capture cotton country of origin is at the spinner and in some cases the mill. To this end, we require all our suppliers to support us in identifying the cotton country of origin and ensuring that future production does not contravene our policy.Ethical Trading InitiativeWe have been a fully committed member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) since 2001. The ETI is an alliance of companies, non-governmental organisations and trade union organisations which exists to promote and improve the implementation of corporate codes of practice which cover supply chain working conditions. Its ultimate goal is to ensure that the working conditions of workers producing for the UK market meet or exceed international labour standards. One programme we are currently involved in is the China Project group and the Decent Work group. Set up in 2002, the aim of this programme is to raise awareness of the ETI base code and the underlying human rights principles and also to build relationships with Chinese institutions and organisations.Ethical PoliciesDebenhams has a number of policies which cover the ethical aspects of the products we sell and their constituent materials. These include:    * Animal testing: we do not sell any products or product ingredients that have been tested on animals.    * Leathers, hides and furs: all leather used is a by-product of the food industry and we support the humane treatment of animals throughout the supply chain. We do not allow the use of snake, crocodile, alligator or any endangered species or the use of real fur.    * Sustainable timber sources: only timber from sustainable sources is used and our suppliers must keep records so that this can be verified.    * Genetically modified organisms: all products must be GMO free.    * Diamonds: rough diamonds must be procured and certified in compliance with the Kimberley Process; finished diamonds must be purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict, in compliance with United Nations resolutions.EnvironmentalOne of our key responsibilities as a business is to ensure we minimise the impact of our activities on the environment. We do this through making sure we use energy as efficiently as possible; reducing, reusing and recycling waste; using sustainable and recycled materials; and selling products which allow our customers to reduce their own environmental impact.Energy EfficiencyDebenhams is committed to responsible energy management and promotes energy efficiency throughout its operations. We believe that:    * energy management plays an important role in supporting our business objectives;    * there is a link between energy use and environmental stress; and    * we need to control the use of finite resources.We therefore aim to use energy safely, efficiently and at minimum cost based on the needs of our customers.Our work in this area has been recognised through accreditation by the Energy Institute under the Energy Efficiency Accreditation Scheme. In 2007 Retail Operations Director Nigel Palmer won the Ellen MacArthur Award for his personal leadership and achievement in retail energy efficiency. Alan Carter, Debenhams’ Energy Manager, has been nominated for the Energy Manager of the Year Award 2008.So far we have run three energy awareness campaigns, each of five months’ duration, which have reduced our CO2 output by 9,800 tonnes compared to previous emissions. This reduction has allowed us to:    * buy in a proportion of “green” energy for stores;    * open five new stores without increasing our energy use;    * reduce our costs; and    * pay three rounds of personal bonuses and top-ups to stores’ social funds for successful teams.StoresAll stores have energy targets and we promote energy awareness amongst our staff with campaigns, publicity and prizes for reducing energy use.Our internal publicity is eye-catching and easy to read. We have published intranet newsletters that involve members of staff, explaining good practice and offering help with employees’ own home energy bills. New StoresWe are undertaking an ambitious programme of store openings and taking all possible steps to ensure energy efficiency is built in from the very first design stages.At least 50% of energy used by new stores comes from renewable sources.Compared to an older store, recently opened stores are more energy efficient by some 25%. Key enablers of this are the use of diffusion heating and cooling systems rather than standard forced air ventilation and of lower power/higher intensity lighting units.Distribution and LogisticsDistribution and logistics – which are the functions responsible for getting our products from our suppliers and into our stores – are also working hard to improve their energy efficiency.Each distribution centre (DC) has been set energy reduction targets as part of their operating budget and performance is reviewed weekly and monthly. Each DC has also launched its own "Go Green" programme involving staff in all aspects of energy use at work coupled with advice and support for domestic consumption.The Brackmills distribution centre, for example, has recently been relamped, replacing fluorescent tubes with low energy tubes and high intensity reflectors. Each aisle is equipped with ambient light detectors to ensure that aisles are only lit when there are people working in them and only then if the ambient light levels are insufficient for them to work in a safe environment.We make hundreds of deliveries from the distribution centres to the stores every week. We seek to reduce both the overall number of miles driven and fuel consumption through practices such as using larger trailers to reduce the number of journeys, improved driver training and over time replacing our transport fleet with more efficient vehicles.Packaging and Waste ManagementCarrier bags: Every year we use some 70 million carrier bags to wrap customers’ purchases. Since the middle of 2007 the plastic content of our carrier bags is 100% recycled material. We are aiming to reduce their impact on the environment further by signing up to the voluntary DEFRA initiative to cut carrier bags usage by 20% by the end of 2008. This involves simple initiatives such as training staff to ask customers if they need a bag rather than automatically giving one. We are also trialling reusable cotton bags in a variety of designs, priced £1 and £2.50, in a small number of stores. We have also commenced a carrier bag charging trial in three stores.Product packaging: as well as recycled carrier bags, we are introducing recycled packaging for a number of product lines; from lingerie, where recycled material is used in bra packs, to gift cards, where the “Green Edition” card was launched in July 2007 which is made from 100% recycled material and is chlorine free.Hangers: in a Debenhams store around 80% of our products are displayed on plastic hangers. Where we cannot reuse hangers in store, we aim to recycle all hangers so they can be remade into new ones rather than be sent to landfill.Distribution Centres: all cardboard and plastic produced through the DC operations is baled and sent for recycling. Centralised recycling points are in place in each DC to collect paper, plastic and cans for recycling and waste bins have been removed from most of the office spaces. In total, 97% of DC waste is recycled.Store waste: an increasing number of stores backhaul all cardboard and plastic waste to our distribution centre in Peterborough which then sends it onwards for recycling. Previously such waste would have been sent to landfill. We are undertaking an in-depth review of the waste produced by one store to identify what is currently thrown away and how waste can be reduced, reused and recycled. The findings of this review will be used to develop a programme which will be implemented in all stores.Transit packaging: over the last few years we have removed tonnes of unnecessary packaging from our supply chain. Primarily aimed at reducing our environmental impact and improving business efficiencies, we have again driven down our contribution to landfill and eliminated materials that cannot be recycled.Head office: A number of recycling schemes are in place for our head office operations which all head office staff have access to. These include facilities for the recycling of clean white paper and for mixed waste such as cardboard, used stationery, newspapers and magazines, cans, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and sandwich containers.ProductsAn increasing number of products on sale in Debenhams use organic materials.Our designer range Rocha.John Rocha is our key organic range across menswear, womenswear, childrenswear and homeware. Items being introduced during 2008 include: menswear: new underwear and loungewear ranges in April; womenswear: new ranges of cotton T-shirts and denim to complement existing lines in April; new sleepwear lines in May; childrenswear: continuation of babywear offer; and home: bedding available from April to add to current towel ranges. Men’s casual brand Mantaray features a number of organic lines and has a tie-up with the Marine Conservation Society. A new loungewear offer will be available in the Maine New England brand from April 2008. Our Thomas Nash brand includes organic socks in many colourways.In womenswear, new organic jersey products will be in store during 2008 as well as organic sleepwear and new cotton lingerie in the Comfort by Presence range consisting of padded and non-padded bras, shorts and thongs.In our restaurants and cafes, we have a number of initiatives including: sustainable coffee, free range eggs, recycling of used cooking oil into bio-diesel and sandwich wrappers and napkins made from 100% recycled card/paper.An easy way for everyone to reduce their impact on the environment is to use a lower temperature in their washing machines. We are raising awareness of this by including 30 degree wash information on the washcare labels of relevant products “This product can be washed at 30 degrees to save energy.”PrintingFollowing an audit by SGS, our print department is now accredited to use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and PEFC paper to produce certified printed material. One of the major contributors to CO2 levels in the atmosphere is deforestation. When we see the FSC or PEFC logo appearing on printed matter, we can be sure that the timber content of the paper used is sourced from a legal and sustainable source. We can also be assured that the forestry management standards protect the bio-mass and area of the certified forest. Of course this has a positive impact as an environment for wildlife, as well as people and provides a ‘carbon sink’ to help maintain the balance of CO2 in the atmosphere.Environmental PoliciesDebenhams has a number of policies which cover the environmental aspects of the products we sell and their constituent materials. Animal testing: we do not sell any products or product ingredients that have been tested on animals. Leathers, hides and furs: all leather used is a by-product of the food industry and we support the humane treatment of animals throughout the supply chain. We do not allow the use of snake, crocodile, alligator or any endangered species or the use of real fur. Sustainable timber sources: only timber from sustainable sources is used and our suppliers must keep records so that this can be verified. Genetically modified organisms: all products must be GMO free. Diamonds: rough diamonds must be procured and certified in compliance with the Kimberley Process; finished diamonds must be purchased from legitimate sources not involved in funding conflict, in compliance with United Nations resolutions. Our PeopleWe are committed to supporting all our employees to achieve an acceptable balance between their work and personal life.Where appropriate, we offer a number of flexible contracts to suit the different needs of employees. We recognise there are times when an employee may need to take time off work due to personal situations and have a number of policies in place to support employees through such events including maternity, paternity and adoption leave, flexible working and a career break scheme.Learning and DevelopmentProviding opportunities for employees to learn and develop is a crucial factor in our future success. In the fast moving retail environment employees need to have a flexible suite of skills. We offer a wide range of training courses and programmes which encourage individuals to expand their skills and reach their full potential. Comprehensive competency-based training programmes are offered to provide clear paths for progression for those wishing to pursue a career in all our areas of operations. A dedicated learning and development team works closely with stores and head office to ensure that both the potential and aspirations of our employees is maximised.We are closely involved in skills development for the retail sector as a whole and Nikki Zamblera, Debenhams’ HR Director, is Vice Chairman of Skillsmart Retail, the government Skills Sector Council for the industry.Equal OpportunitiesWe are committed to ensuring equality of opportunities for all our employees. Through our equal opportunities policy we aim to create an environment that offers all employees the chance to use their skills and talent. This means a workplace where individuals are treated fairly regardless of age, nationality, race, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, marital status or hours of work and where policies such as recruitment, training and career opportunities are based around objective criteria.AffiliationsWe have associations with a number of organisations in the area of corporate responsibility.The most important of these include:      Ethical Trading Initiative      DEFRA      Energy Efficiency      FSC      Business in the Community      Scottish Business in the Community      Disability Rights Commission      Skillsmart Retail      Local Employment Partnership  

We're one of the UK's leading retailers, primed for a tough market and our Graduate opportunities are very important to us as we are fully committed to growing talent for the future. The senior level exposure, breadth of experience and depth of expertise we can offer is second to none in the retail industry. We create leaders and experts of the future with marketable, leading-edge skills.As a graduate you can join our Store Management Trainee Programme, or alternatively start with us in our Head Office going direct into a job role. We also offer Business Placements in our Head Office for undergraduates wanting to work for us in the third year of their degree course. Apart from that we look for:      Creative and commercial solutions      Passion for fashion and retail      Initiative - offer ideas and suggestions      Individuality      Ambition