Supply chain management

Over 1,100 suppliers assessed worldwide since 2002 against Boots Code of Conduct

Ensuring consistent ethical standards

In our inventory we stock many thousands of products and we currently have over 550 Boots brand product suppliers. So ensuring that all our products are produced by suppliers who treat their workers fairly and show a responsible attitude towards the environment is an enormous challenge. But that’s our goal.

In 2002 we embarked on a programme of assessing all Boots brand product suppliers against our own Code of Conduct for Ethical Trading, which covers everything from labour conditions to the way the environment is managed. We completed this enormous task during 2006 and then extended our programme to other suppliers, building on the best practices established. Suppliers are subjected to periodic, ongoing review to ensure that standards are being maintained.

Our programme doesn’t just check that suppliers are consistently abiding by the standards we set for them; our knowledgeable in-house team of social accountability assessors also work with them to identify areas for improvement, and help them to understand the requirements and benefits of our assessment. We also have the support of Boots experts who are available to help our suppliers resolve any problems. In July 2005 we received a national Award for Excellence from Business in the Community for our social accountability programme, and in June 2006 the ongoing robustness of our process was rewarded by Business in the Community with a reaccredited 'Big Tick' award.

To improve environmental practices we work with external bodies such as Envirowise and the Carbon Trust.

In 2008 and beyond, we will continue to review and refine our supplier environmental and sustainability risk assessment processes to ensure that all relevant suppliers of Boots brand or exclusive products, services or products not for resale are operating to defined, acceptable minimum standards. This allows us to directly compare the impacts of our suppliers and allocate appropriate resources to make sure our requirements are met.

Working with external organisations

To improve our sustainability practices we continue to work with external organisations such as Business in the Community, Envirowise and the Carbon Trust.