At Nisbets, we're committed to ethical trading and accountable business principles. Our policies ensure fair and equal treatment for everyone - customers, colleagues, and suppliers. Explore our apporach to ethical trading, governance, gender pay, community involvement and the steps we take to ensure responsible business practices.
Responsible Business
Nisbets and its subsidiaries will act in a responsible manner at all times. We recognise that we must continually evolve our business values and reflect those values in operations that meet the expectations of our customers, employees, regulators, investors, suppliers, communities and the environment. Our responsible outlook encompasses interaction with our marketplace, our environment, our community and our people. The Nisbets Executive Leadership Team is committed to developing and delivering this policy and believes that it is integral to the success of our business. Nisbets will continue to promote fair and ethical dealings with all stakeholders as a matter of law and conscience.
Our key principles
Nisbets is committed to continually improving the following responsible business principles
- We manage our business with pride and integrity
- We are committed to full legal compliance in all that we do
- We will help local community organisations and charities
- We shall ensure that all employees are treated equally, with respect and without sexual, physical or mental harassment
- We shall provide, and strive to maintain, a clean, healthy and safe working environment
- We will seek reductions in our energy requirements and environmental impacts and enable our customers to do the same through innovations in our product offerings
- We will seek responsible business practice within our supply chain
- We shall encourage suppliers and contractors to adopt responsible business policies and practices for mutual benefit
- We shall demonstrate our commitment to quality and safety in every aspect of our business
- We will aim to have a positive influence within the communities in which we operate
- We will minimise our impact on the environment and prevent pollution
Performance and Review
In order to ensure that our aims are being achieved and exceeded where possible Nisbets will review the detail of this policy annually and rewrite it as a whole on its fifth anniversary. Nisbets is open to sharing its achievements and current performance across the broad range of responsible business initiatives upon request.
Ownership
The Chief Executive Officer has sponsored and is responsible for the implementation of this policy and will make the necessary resources available. The responsibility for our performance to this policy rests with all colleagues throughout the company.
Our Ethical Trading Commitment
At Nisbets, we remain committed to combatting modern slavery and human trafficking in our operations and supply chain. We continue to align with the requirements of the UK Modern Slavery Act and support similar legislation globally, reflecting our focus on integrity, transparency and responsible sourcing. We welcome the requirements placed on businesses to be open about the steps they are taking to address forced labour and human trafficking. As a socially responsible business, we believe it is our duty to do everything we can to prevent modern slavery in our operations and supply chain. Being open and honest with our customers, colleagues and suppliers is a fundamental part of this.
Nisbets has published an annual Modern Slavery Statement since 2015. Following our acquisition by Bunzl plc in 2024, this commitment is now reflected within the Bunzl Group Modern Slavery Statement, which covers Nisbets alongside other relevant group companies and their supply chains.
For our customers, this means you can have confidence that the products we supply are sourced through well‑established and continually evolving processes designed to protect workers and uphold ethical standards. We value our relationships with suppliers and recognise that we are only as strong as the workforce behind the products we sell. Modern slavery remains a global risk across all industries, and we are committed to working closely with our suppliers and business partners to prevent all forms of slavery, servitude, forced labour and human trafficking.
Ensuring a responsible and ethical supply chain remains a key part of our sustainability programme. We maintain robust policies and governance processes, and continue to assess and manage risk through due diligence, supplier engagement, ongoing audit activity and colleague training, including in higher‑risk sourcing regions.
The Bunzl Group Modern Slavery Statement sets out the steps being taken across the business and its supply chains during the financial year.
Gender Pay Report
Nisbets is required by law to carry out Gender Pay Reporting under the Equality Act 2010 (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2017. The data for this report has been gathered using the data measure point 5th April 2025.
The data points we are required to report are:
- The gap (expressed as a percentage) in terms of the mean and the median hourly rates between
male and female colleagues in our organisation.
At Nisbets the mean (average) female colleague’s hourly rate is 11.24% lower than that of a male and the median hourly rate is 6.53 lower. - The gap in terms of the mean and median bonuses paid to male and female colleagues in our organisation.
The mean female colleague’s bonus rate is -15.87% lower than the that of a male whilst the median bonus rate is 16.67% lower. - The actual proportion of male and female colleagues who received a bonus.
The proportion of all female colleagues receiving a bonus is 93.24% whilst the proportion of all male colleagues receiving a bonus is 93.18%. - The proportion of male and female colleagues in each quartile of our organisation’s pay structure.
- Female colleagues occupy 36.7% of the highest paid jobs and 60.8% of the lowest paid jobs.
- Lower hourly pay quartile (lowest paid) - Men 39.2%, Women 60.8%
- Lower middle hourly pay quartile - Men 57%, Women 43%
- Upper middle hourly pay quartile - Men 62.3%, Women 37.7%
- Upper hourly pay quartile (highest paid) - Men 63.3%, Women 36.7%
- Within Nisbets the data shows that at the point of measure, 5th April, the gender split of Nisbets Limited is:
- 44.54% Women
- 55.46% Men
- Download the full Nisbets Gender Pay Gap report
- View the Bunzl GPG report
Nisbets in the Community
Introducing the NiC
At Nisbets, we care about our people, our planet and our communities. That's why we set up our Nisbets in Community (Nic) charitable initiative. This initiative is dedicated to building relationships with local communities and charitable organisations, whilst supporting them with donations of time, money and skills.
Not only do we organise volunteering events throughout the year. But our colleagues can choose the charitable causes that they fundraise for, and we'll provide match funding.
What do we do to help?
Our colleagues come together from across the business to take part in rewarding and engaging events. There's so much going on throughout the year but here's a few highlights...
- We engage with local schools and run work experience programmes so that young people can discover the breadth of roles and opportunities available to them.
- Our colleagues take part in national charitable events, including Macmillan Coffee Mornings and Children in Need.
- We work with local community farms helping to plant trees, sow plants, cook or tend to animals.
- Our colleague donate to our local foodbanks, and we also run volunteering events at local and national foodbanks.
- We built our very own beehive at Lawrence Weston Community Farm, and have planted over 1000 sunflowers (good pollinators for our bees!)
"It inspiring to work for an organisation that is committed to supporting our colleagues, communities, and our environment where we all work and live. Colleagues have embraced our community commitment, and they should all be proud of their achievements whilst establishing lasting relationships with our charity partners and community leaders."
Zoe Joyner
Community & Engagement Partner (UK&I)
Look at what we have achieved in over a decade of running NiC
A look at some of our community partners
STEP AND STONE
A Bristol-based charity that support young people with learning differences develop skills and confidence needed for employment.
How do we help?
- Our Colleagues volunteer in the bakery and work with the young people
- We've donated laptops to help support the charity
- We developed an intern program specifically for technology, to help young people gain industry experience
Did you know? We have employed one of these young people in our IT department and she’s doing great!
Learn more about the charity
THE FELIX PROJECT
A charity that saves surplus food from suppliers and redistributes it to charities.
How do we help?
Colleagues from Jongor Hire in London organise regular volunteering. They redistribute food to charities and schools across the city, providing healthy meals to those in need.
Learn more about the charity
AVONMOUTH COMMUNITY CENTRE
We've had a close relationship with this CIC for many years. At the heart of our local community, they run many initiatives designed to create welcoming spaces for the elderly and the young.
How do we help?
- We host the annual Nisbets Christmas Party at the community centre where we prepare, cook and entertain local residents.
- We support job clubs and witih the weekly lunch club
- We help with young peoples programmes
LAWRENCE WESTON COMMUNITY FARM
Another long-established relationship! This charity farm supports the local community residents and youth programmes with nature and wellbeing programmes .
How do we help?
- Running volunteering events and team-building days
- We built a beehive and are looking forward to harvesting the honey!
- Building fences & planting trees
- Over 1000+ sunflowers grown in the office or at home and then planted on the farm
- Feeding and clearing out the animals
- Supporting young people and their projects on the farm
- Organising our "Cook up a storm" cooking competitions
Environmental sustainability
Our sustainability policy
Improving our sustainability is important to us at Nisbets. Across the business, we have made and will continue to make significant improvements to the way we work, the products we sell and the reduction our carbon footprint as a business.
Find out more >
Sedex
Nisbets is a member of Sedex. Sedex is home to one of the world’s largest collaborative platform for buyers, suppliers and auditors to store, share and report on information quickly and easily. The platform is used by more than 40,000 members in over 150 countries to manage performance around labour rights, health & safety, the environment and business ethics. Sedex is not a standard setting body and doesn’t approve or certify our policies and standards. Instead, being a member of Sedex is a sign of Nisbets’ willingness to share information and to use this information to help manage and improve ethical standards within the supply chain.
View our General Statement of ConformityCorporate Governance
Nisbets Limited tax strategy is incorporated in the Group tax strategy, which is published on the Bunzl website.