We strive to act with integrity and responsibility to do the right thing in protecting our planet, nurturing our people and governing our Company for the benefit of all stakeholders.
We look to manage our business responsibly and focus on supporting our key stakeholders with our immediate focus being the prioritisation of material ESG activities.
ESG is a regular feature in our internal communications with the CEO sponsoring the importance and relevance of ESG for H&T.
Our strategy was aligned to five pillars of focus to ensure that we prioritise our activities and the most impactful actions we can take, to demonstrate our ambition to do the right thing for our planet, our people and the sustainability of our organisation.
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY
We recycle 99.8% of pre-owned jewellery (2023: 99.8%) brought to us through selling as pre-loved, upcycling, or melting into gold.
In 2024, we switched to FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) retail packaging in stores, which is both sustainable and recyclable.
In 2024, Jewellery and Watch consumable suppliers were reduced from 3 to 1, orders were reviewed, and deliveries have been reduced to 1 per month.
ENERGY
We have extended our long-term agreement with our renewable energy supplier to December 2026 to ensure that 100% of our purchased electricity is generated by renewable resources.
They aim to become carbon-negative by 2030, removing more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they produce.
While we have installed LED lighting across our estate, we continue to install motion detector lights so that lighting is only switched on when required; this lines up nicely with our internal ‘switch me off’ initiative, which encourages staff to switch off equipment.
Find out more about our environmental efforts in the video below;
FARESHARE
The key cornerstone of our community strategy is partnering with FareShare - the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste.
Our partnership aims to provide at least 275,000 meals each year through our company and employee contributions.
FareShare saves food from going to waste by redistributing it to 8,000 local charities and community groups across the UK, ensuring it finds its way to those affected by food insecurity.
Find out more about our impact here - FareShare and H&T
SAFE & ENGAGING WORKPLACE
We will ensure that our colleagues and customers work and transact safely and in a positive, engaging environment.
Part of this has seen the introduction of improved safety measures and security processes. This includes the introduction of a dedicated on-call security manager.
We have also implemented training for all Store Managers on ‘Managing Challenging Situations’ to ensure that the working environment is a secure and safe environment for all customers and employees alike.
DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
At H&T, one of our Values is Opportunity for All, and for us this is providing the opportunity for our employees to grow and develop within their roles and within the organisation.
In our stores, our technical training is structured to provide our employees with the knowledge they need to serve our customers, and once training is completed, pay is increased to recognise this knowledge and capability. Technical training programmes are also in place in our Jewellery Centre and Customer Support Centre.
For our management population, training is provided to ensure that they have the skills to develop, manage and motivate their teams.
H&T supports apprenticeships for our existing teams, supporting them within their existing roles or providing them with development for future roles across the organisation.
Find out more about our social efforts in the video below;
