Mitre 10 Governance

Overview

As a co-operative of family-owned businesses, sustainability is a strategic priority for Mitre 10. Making an impact requires an interconnected approach that considers environmental practices, social responsibility, and corporate governance. We are clear on our purpose to drive a real and sustainable impact on the environment and the communities we’re part of.

Mitre 10 has established a formal sustainability framework to prioritise issues and opportunities most important to our customers, co-op members, suppliers, people and communities. We focus on areas that align with our purpose, ensuring our environmental impact is positive, meaningful and lasting.

Mitre 10 formed our foundational Sustainability Plan in 2019, using the ESG Framework (more commonly known as ESG – Environmental, Social and Governance), along with mapping the UN’s Sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the principles of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

We then used the Sustainability Account Standards Board (SASB) framework to include the more recent work on our climate change strategy.

Full transparency and good governance are key to strengthening our position in the market, empowering our team members to get involved, and improving our operational impact on the environment and our communities.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are governed by the United Nations and world leaders. In 2015, this group agreed to adopt 17 goals as a blueprint for creating a better world by 2030. These goals address a wide range of social and environmental issues, from climate change to food insecurity to poverty and inequality. Find out more about them here. We hold ourselves accountable to the SDGs, and as a business, we recognise that 12 of the SDGs directly align to our plan and vision in sustainability.

Materiality

We updated our materiality matrix in 2023, ahead of work to update our long-term Sustainability strategy.

NB: ‘Double materiality’ refers to the need to consider a sustainability topic from two perspectives. Businesses have an impact on people and the environment (the inside-out view), while sustainability-related developments and events create new risks and opportunities for businesses (the outside-in view). Double materiality ensures that our sustainability reporting focuses on the topics that are most relevant for Mitre 10 and its stakeholders.

Strategy

The development of our strategy started with intensive research of local and international regulations and legislation, what other businesses in our sector were doing, and a deep dive into consumer expectations and preferences.

We pulled together a group of stakeholders from different functions across the co-operative to participate in a series of workshops. We also engaged a diverse range of sustainability thought leaders and experts to challenge and inspire the group’s thinking – a sustainability content creator, representatives from local councils and communities, and a consumer rights group. With this assembly, we developed the policies that would become the pillars of our strategy.

Policies

Our work is governed by our Sustainability Policy, which outlines the governing conditions and foundation of our approach. It sets our intent, ethos and fundamental commitments across our operations. Our sustainability charter outlines the four key principles that Mitre 10 is focused on. Our Sustainability Plan set out initiatives and targets to reduce our environmental impact and provide solutions for our team and customers. These targets make us accountable for our performance and, like a roof, hold our programme together.

Mitre 10 Sustainable Packaging Guidelines Policy 2025

Introduced in 2020, this policy provides a framework for reducing unnecessary packaging from products. All trade partners are required to meet our sustainable packaging guidelines policy by the end of 2025. It is designed to provide practical advice to suppliers on sustainable packaging design for the products sold to Mitre 10. It focuses on best practice packaging for retail, warehouse and distribution, material selection and disposal for consumers.

Mitre 10 Ethical and Responsible Sourcing Policy

This policy acknowledges the importance of our customers having confidence in the products we offer. That’s why we are committed to sourcing our products in line with the highest ethical and environmental standards. We work closely with our suppliers to ensure we provide sustainable product choices.

Mitre 10 Materials Procurement Policy (Superseding the Timber and Wood Finished Goods Policy)

Mitre 10 offers a wide range of finished and unfinished timber products, as well as items containing wood. This policy recognises the significant impacts that our timber and wood sourcing practices have both locally and globally, aiming to minimise impact through an ethical and informed procurement approach.

Mitre 10 FSC Policy

The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) Chain of Custody certification helps builders and construction companies create more environmentally sustainable homes by using responsibly sourced materials. This certification ensures that product claims and principles of responsible forestry management are conveyed to the end user. As part of our certification, our FSC® policy reflects our ongoing commitment to sustainability.

This FSC Policy applies exclusively to the following entities:

What gets measured gets managed

We’ve made efforts to be transparent in our journey and have worked to avoid the potential for greenwashing. The Sustainability Plan has proven valuable in providing structure in day-to-day activities and accountability amongst the team.

Owning our climate impact and taking action to reduce it is key to meeting both our targets and the expectations of customers and stakeholders.

Our materiality assessment identified greenhouse gas emissions and the management of waste and materials within our business as having a material impact on people and the environment. Reducing emissions and minimising operational waste also benefits business efficiency and our bottom line.

Mitre 10 is committed to being carbon neutral by 2050 in accordance with New Zealand’s Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Act 2019. All stores have now completed their initial carbon reduction plans. These have been consolidated to produce network targets for 2030 and 2035. Currently our strategy focuses on 2030 and 2035 because we recognise that to be carbon neutral by 2050, we are reliant on green technologies (e.g. hydrogen and biofuels) which are not yet mainstream or affordable.

Impact Highlights:

Sustainability report

Key highlights of FY24

• Reviewed and refreshed our Building for Better Sustainability strategy, with strong and positive engagement across the business.
• Embedded our sustainability strategy into the overarching business strategy,
• Set timebound carbon emission reduction targets for 2030 and 2035.

Read the full FY24 Sustainability report
Read the full FY23 Sustainability report