Our Sustainability Policy

This has always been a key area of focus: reducing our costs to keep our prices low, and reducing our climate impact across our supply chain by minimising wastage and energy usage.

In our warehouses:

• We're proud to have achieved and held the ISO 14001 Environmental Standard, which independently shows that we are fulfilling our environmental performance obligations.
• The ISO 50001 Energy Standard independently verifies continuously improving environmental performance. First achieved in 2019, it was recertified in 2022 and was extended in 2023 to include our new warehouses and retail stores. We were successfully recertified again in 2025.
• Our first panels were installed at the end of 2015, and over the last 9 years, they have generated 4,670 MWh of electricity, avoiding 903,957 kg of CO₂. Our on‑site solar panels now powers more than 30% of our total business energy use, which rises to 46% during peak.
• In 2023, control of 99% of our warehouses' lighting moved to sensor-based LEDs (previously 82%). All other lighting is provided by low-energy fluorescent bulbs.
• In 2025, we proudly achieved our fifth year of zero to landfill. Our recycling rate improved from 87% to 91% with any unrecyclable waste used for energy production. We work with our recycling partner to recycle cardboard, soft plastic, paper, ceramics, metal, white goods, pallets and wood.
• Energy consumption in our Avonmouth warehouses dropped by 16%, and since 2018, we've achieved a 60% reduction in energy purchases.
• Despite record sales in 2023, our energy usage has decreased 12% year on year and has almost halved in the last 5 years.
• All our forklift trucks are electric and we continue to update our fleet, in 2024 we replaced several older lead acid battery machines with newer Lithium-Ion alternatives.
• We do not use any disposable gloves in our warehouses and all our PPE is reusable.
• Four of our warehouses are partially powered by solar panels, which generated 700 MWh of electricity in 2024—a 50% year-on-year increase.
• Following the success of the Cardboard contractor, we have purchased a wood compactor and a plastic bailer to help increase our recycling rates and reduce transport.
• All pallets are reused or repaired on site first before being recycled.
• Collaborating with packaging suppliers to enhance sustainability and reduce plastic usage within our warehouses.
• All failed parts from repairs from customer machines are taken back to our warehouses for recycling.
• All our engineering vans are rated Euro 6, adhering to the latest European Commission’s emission-control standards for reducing harmful levels from nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide and particulate matter (e.g., soot from diesel). In 2023, an electric van was added to our fleet as we move towards more sustainable modes of transportation.
• In 2025, we collected and sorted over 350 tonnes of used electronic waste from our customers as part of our WEEE scheme. All of these products are decommissioned and recycled to limit damage to the environment.

In our offices:

• We make sure only low-energy appliances are used in our buildings.
• 100% of energy for our Nisbets offices comes from renewable or green sources.
• EV chargers have been installed at four of our locations to encourage colleagues to transition to more sustainable transportation options.
• In-house cleaning in our office uses the Jantex green range of products, these are plant-based, non-toxic and non-harmful to marine and aquatic life.
• In March 2020, we stopped wrapping our marketing materials in plastic polywrap. Instead we used paper wrap or left them unwrapped.
• All paper marketing materials sent to customers and our retail stores are from sustainable sources.
• We have extensively marketed numerous solutions to help our customers reduce their carbon footprint. For example, the Jantex green range is kinder to both staff and the environment than traditional cleaning products. It utilises plant-based formulas that are non-toxic and not harmful to marine and aquatic life. We continue to promote, market and expand the range of Fiesta Recyclable and Compostable products, giving customers more sustainable alternatives.
• Nisbets work with a sustainable award-winning marketing agency using carbon-balanced printing and climate positive postage solutions.
• Our in-store battery recycling program has now been extended to our office locations as well.

In our stores:

• Cardboard and plastic waste from our stores is sorted and sent back to our warehouses for recycling on a return delivery from the warehouses. This helps us save on making multiple trips and ensures we continue to achieve zero-waste to landfill.
• All back-of-house lighting in our stores is sensor-controlled using LED bulbs.
• All our store signage lights are timed to turn on and off at set times of the day to not waste energy.
• All stores have a battery-recycling facility.
• All energy we buy for stores is from renewable or green sources.
• We’ve continued to roll out smart metres to our stores, which enable us to monitor and improve energy use and share best practices.

In our supply chain:

• All our transportation to our retail stores across the UK, Ireland and Europe is backhauled, so there are no empty trucks moving between sites.
• All pallets collected from customers and used within our business between our carriers are reused.
• All our vans that transport between warehouses are rated Euro 6, adhering to the latest European Commission’s emission-control standards for reducing harmful levels from nitrogen oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide and particulate matter (e.g., soot from diesel). All our forklift trucks are electric powered.
• We only work with transport companies who are committed to reducing their carbon footprint and have made it a key scoring metric for our tenders.
• Continued working with our logistics partner for the movement and next-day delivery of large white goods, They return transit packaging from unboxing / unpacking customer orders to be recycled. Our partner has a Net Zero plan for 2040 utilising alternative fuels and using a newer and more efficient fleet.
• Our parcel delivery service provides is working to reduce their carbon emissions with a Net Zero plan for 2040. They are using bio-compressed natural gas to decrease diesel usage and move to 100% zero emissions delivery fleet by 2035. They have also moved to using renewable electricity.

With 1 million customers a year and our industry-leading website, we take this issue very seriously. The potential disruption to both our customers and our business is significant, which is why we continuously invest in this area to stay ahead of ever-evolving threats.

In our head office:

• We continue to update security systems to support safer hybrid working.
• We have upgraded our IT systems (i.e., network and connectivity) and moved to Microsoft Office 365 to enable our office-based hybrid workforce to be able to safely work in the office and at home.
• We've enabled hybrid and remote working through Microsoft Teams, replacing what would have been face-to-face meetings that required travel across our warehouses, stores, and offices, including international travel.
• We've partnered with cloud-based systems to move our backend servers to cloud-based data centres. This IT infrastructure will be using fully renewable energy by 2025 and should attain Zero Waste certification by 2030 - a move which will save us 7t CO2e per annum.
• Achieved Cyber Essentials accreditation in 2023 which covers enhanced data protection, reduced risk, customer trust and compliance.
• Annual training with courses on cyber security, phishing, social engineering red flags and internet security