Our responsibilties | Howden Joinery Group Plc

Our responsibilities

Our idea of business is that it is a service of quality and value rendered for a fair price. In our everyday dealings we try to be honest, and honourable, and to do what we say we will do. We are accountable, individually and as a business, to others, to ourselves and to the world around us.

In our depots, we work at a local level, and our staff form personal relationships with their regular customers. In our supply activity, we work on a global level, sourcing materials and products from the UK and 14 other countries.

Download the 2011 CSR report

We want everyone who comes into contact with Howdens, whether customers, suppliers, staff, investors, or members of the wider public, to have a good experience, and to get something worthwhile from their connection with us.

Howden Joinery is a leading supplier of kitchens and joinery to trade customers across the United Kingdom through a network of depots. Our kitchens are fitted in all kinds of homes, from local authority and social housing to privately owned and rented flats and houses.

The business was founded in 1995. Today, the company directly employs over 6,100 people and sells more kitchens than any other company in the UK. Each year, we supply our customers, principally small builders, with around 3.6 million kitchen cabinets, 2 million doors and 400,000 complete kitchens.

Our market leading position means we have responsibilities that must be reconciled with the pursuit of our commercial interests. This report describes the actions we have taken over the past year to ensure that our commitment to all our stakeholders is real and sustainable and continues to progress along with our business. Unless otherwise stated, the report covers the entirety of our business.

Measuring our achievements

The Group continues to measure its performance in respect of environmental issues through the use of a number of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These relate to:

our use of wood
how we manage our waste
our ability to offer energy efficient products to consumers.

These KPIs, which are discussed in detail below, help us to ensure that the action we take to reduce our environmental impact is targeted where it will have most benefit, and that our progress is measurable and motivational for all those involved.