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Kingfisher Modern Slavery Act Transparency Statement 2024/25


Introduction


Suppliers & customer offer


Governance


Policies


Risk assessment


Working with suppliers GFR


Working with suppliers GNFR


Going beyond audit


Whistleblowing & escalation


Employee training


Partnership & collaboration


Looking to the future


Roll-out and effectiveness of measures


Ethical audits review production site performance and identify any instances of non-conformance with our standards relating to labour practices and human rights, health and safety, business ethics and environmental performance.


Total number of declared production sites identified as high risk 3,080


Total number of audited high-risk production sites in the past two calendar years 2,619


The auditor will produce an audit report, including a Corrective Action Plan, in which they will identify any non-conformances, stipulate what needs to be done to address them, and recommend a timescale for closing them out (which will vary according to the type of non-conformance). Sites are required to implement any corrective actions accordingly and report progress to their auditor.


We work with suppliers and production sites to address and close the audit non-conformances, prioritising the most critical issues. Once complete, the site should verify their corrective actions and improvements with the auditor via a desktop review and/or a follow-up audit.


In 2024, we increased the number of audits conducted at high-risk production sites, a direct result of the increased visibility.1


The


additional resources within the banners have enabled us to review and record these audit results effectively, and engage with suppliers. The result is more high-risk production sites undergoing an audit, significantly improving our supply chain visibility and transparency.


There has been a focus on horticultural vendors. Kingfisher trialled a new process with our largest OEB horticultural vendors in 2024, requesting a list of growers to give us visibility of their ethical compliance status. Specialist ethical audit methods GlobalGAP and MPS-SQ are accepted for horticulture products. This has been added into policy for 2025.


Remediation


We track audit findings and progress on remediation to monitor the effectiveness of our ethical compliance programme.


Within the last calendar year, we have worked with our supplier partners and production sites to close 47% of the identified non- conformances. This closure rate reflects the ongoing nature of our ethical audit programme. Each audit may identify new issues or non-conformances, even at facilities that have been previously audited. This process is central to driving continuous improvement in working conditions across our global supply chains. Additionally, as new


suppliers are onboarded, audits conducted as part of the approval process often reveal new findings that require resolution.


We continue to monitor and work in collaboration with production sites to address outstanding issues, through our ongoing audit programme.


Top five non-conformances by category (GFR)


This table shows the top five non-conformances by category for all SMETA ethical audits carried out in the past two years. The majority of non- conformances relate to health and safety. These typically include issues such as missing fire extinguishers or obstructed fire exits and are commonly observed across global supply chains. In many cases, these can be addressed through corrective actions and routine follow-up. In contrast, issues related to wages and excessive working hours can indicate a more systemic issue that may require a longer-term and more collaborative remediation approach. Other common non-conformances include management systems and environmental practices.


Non-conformances


Working conditions are safe and hygienic Working hours are not excessive Legal wages are paid Environment2


Management systems3


Number 6,196 1,134 739 514 371


We also track non-conformances under the heading ‘employment is freely chosen’, of which there were 86 in 2024. Findings under this heading range from lack of policies through to instances of forced, bonded or involuntary labour and worker recruitment fees. Refer to ‘Addressing business-critical issues’ for more information regarding our approach.


Note: data covers production sites disclosed to us that are registered and linked to Kingfisher on Sedex with active purchases for 2024.


1 Kingfisher has a list of products considered high risk, which evolves year on year. In 2024, a clarification was added on textile products; no new products were incorporated for 2024. 2 Covers issues relating to Waste Management, Environmental Permits, Energy Usage, Chemical Usage/Disposal, Air Emissions, Reforestation, Conservation and Biodiversity.


3 A management system is defined as a comprehensive framework comprising of processes, policies, procedures and tools that are strategically designed and implemented within a business to plan, organise, execute, monitor and continuously improve its activities.


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