National, RS Group plc has unveiled its ESG Report for 2022/23, detailing its overall strategy, achievements and future actions required in the area of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG).
RS’ overarching business purpose is ‘making amazing happen for a better world’ to deliver results for people, planet and profit. In November 2021, RS launched its 2030 ESG action plan, entitled ‘For a Better World’, which has four global goals and 15 ambitious actions for 2030. The approach also supports six of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and lays the foundation for the Company’s long-term vision to 2050.
The four key goals are in the areas of advancing sustainability, championing education and innovation, empowering people, and doing business in a responsible way. These four key pillars of RS’ ESG action plan are further defined as:
- Developing sustainable operations and product and service solutions for customers and suppliers with a commitment to achieve net zero in direct operations by 2030
- Partnering with education providers, building skills and fostering innovative solutions that improve lives with a target to work with 1.5 million young engineers and innovators
- Empowering people to create a safe, inclusive and dynamic culture where everyone can thrive and grow with a commitment to working toward 40% of the Company’s leaders being women and 25% being ethnically diverse
- Doing business responsibly by ensuring the highest ethical and environmental standards throughout the business and global value chain and embedding ESG targets in employee awards, sustainability-linked loan and supplier objectives
The ESG report includes details on the Company’s progress in all these areas. For example, RS has reduced its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 58% since 2019/20 with progress made in the year through distribution center energy efficiencies and renewable electricity. It has also reduced its Scope 3 transportation emissions intensity by 28% since 2019/20, thereby achieving its 2029/30 goal seven years early. This has been made possible through modal shifts from air to sea or air to road and optimizing its supply chain to source, store and ship more products locally.
Through its global education programme, the Company has reached 471,000 young people across 10 countries globally and approximately 4,400 educational institutions. In addition, RS is supporting its suppliers in working towards and achieving their own ESG goals by launching a supplier ESG action plan and handbook.
Furthermore, RS is making significant efforts to help its customers develop more sustainable products and solutions with the launch of its ‘Better World’ product range that are supported by trusted sustainability certifications. The initiative currently includes 20,000 products that make it easier for individuals and businesses to make more informed decisions about the sustainability and potential positive environmental impact of different products from RS’ suppliers and partners. RS is also aspiring to grow this range to 100,000 products globally by 2024/25.
RS is also developing service solutions such as RS Industria, which uses data and analytics in conjunction with our technical product and maintenance knowledge to help customers improve the efficiency of their operations, reduce energy consumption and cut carbon emissions.
“ESG is absolutely core to our purpose and in how we operate as a business in conjunction with our employees, our suppliers and our customers,” said Andrea Barrett, VP of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at RS. “We see the release of our ‘For A Better World’ report as a key part of the process of transparency for the benefit of all our stakeholders as we state our position, our future and our hopes, and how we view our place and responsibilities not only in terms of the environment and society but also how we govern ourselves as an organization in a more sustainable manner.”
For more information, please visit https://www.rsgroup.com/.
