Sustainability

  DESIGN

At Signet we pride ourselves on meeting our customers expectation and ensuring the latest innovations and designs are available to them. The design stage is our biggest opportunity to reduce negative impacts and develop sustainable options for customers.

In consultation with our customers and suppliers we are producing a sustainability design protocol. This will ensure all our designs consider the major sustainability drivers including:

· Embodied carbon
· Weight
· Re-usability / Recyclability
· Packaging and transport efficiency

Sustainable Wooden Cartouche designed for Glengoyne

Our focus in 2021 will be measuring waste in all its forms that arises from design decisions. This information will help inform our design protocol development. As part of this initiative we are considering a sample take-back service when the associated transportation carbon footprints make this a positive impact.

 PROCESS

Our production process is predominantly delivered through our integrated supply chain. We have started the process of engaging our suppliers to recognise their own impacts and support our drive to be more sustainable.

To ask this of our suppliers, we recognise the need to do everything we can inhouse to improve our impacts. Our scope 1 and 2 carbon footprints will be measured and reported quarterly at board level. This has led us to:

· Switch our energy supply to 100% renewable power.
· Build a plan to reduce our owned asset carbon footprints.
· Create a Net Zero working group with a goal of creating our Net Zero plan in 2022.
· Measure our waste outputs.

Our UK freight partner is green.dpd whose manifesto is to be the greenest delivery company on the planet.

Defining the organisational boundary for our Scope 3 emissions is relatively complex. Our Net Zero team is working with our key suppliers to understand their approaches and in particular measuring and reporting ability. We aim to set our Scope 3 boundaries and start reporting the associated emissions in 2022.

One of our principle production partners installed an exhaust air purification system eliminating CO2 emissions in the process.

The area of our supply chain with biggest impact potential currently is the inbound and outbound logistics for our materials and products. We have engaged the relevant businesses to discuss how we can improve our transport impacts.

 PEOPLE

The quality of our people and retaining them in our business is key to our long-term success. We strive to provide a good working environment that supports a diverse mix of employees to do rewarding work. A modern and collaborative work environment, and fair pay are key factors, and providing this enables us to focus on setting clear expectations and providing career development support for all our people.

Our Board of Directors have all completed Sustainable Development Goal Training and are cascading this through their teams to broaden awareness and understanding of how Signet can contribute. Staying on top of the latest design and material innovations has always been a key pillar of our business. Building sustainability into our existing training and development events and materials will be an ongoing process.

While our supply chain is international, we have always been conscious of giving back to our local communities. We have a long-term commitment to educating young people, attracting them to our industry and developing their skills

We were excited to have the opportunity to support the Design School Students at Loughborough University early in 2021 with their Design Week project, and go on to offer a Student Work Placement in the summer of 2021.

 Partners

Signet recognises that reducing impacts alone has limited potential. Our positive impacts will be amplified by effectively engaging and supporting our partners.

Beyond Carbon impacts, as Sedex and EcoVadis members we are committed to working with suppliers who provide working conditions that are safe, treat their workers with respect and dignity, and conduct their business operations ethically and in an environmentally responsible way. Our procurement team is running a sustainability engagement process to enhance our understanding, assessment and proactive support of our supply chain conduct and impacts.

Ultimately, we are successful if our work and the products and services we provide enable our customers to achieve their goals. We therefore align our partnerships and charity support activities with them. In 2021 we are pleased to support drinkaware and wateraid.org with their positive activities. We also support RRT (Rapid Relief Team) helping those in calamity and crisis.

Photo by WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala.