In the week in which World Environment Day is celebrated, Leroy Merlin takes stock of his career in recent years focused on reducing the environmental and social impact of both its products and its internal activity.
In both cases the commitment is energy efficiency and decarbonization of households. For the first, the company reduces its own carbon footprint; For the second, he has launched various initiatives to facilitate that customers’ homes can also their energy consumption and emissions, as well as bet on the circular economy
Informed and responsible consumption
One of these initiatives focuses on facilitating purchase decision making and more responsible.
Cristina Sánchez, executive director of positive impact of Leroy Merlin Spain, explains that “as a company, in addition to improving our internal operation, we want to help our clients so that their own homes are also more sustainable, they can renew them energetically for greater efficiency and lower energy consumption.”
In line with these objectives, the company launched last year the Home Index indicator that evaluates the products and their environmental impact, and gives them a rating that goes from A, those of greater accredited positive impact, to the E, those that have the greatest margin of improvement to reach high standards of sustainability.
The products already evaluated, more than 150,000 references of their catalog, have a very visible and intuitive label, which informs of a single glance,-although it is also accompanied by a poster with details about the 30 criteria of the life cycle of the product analyzed. “Home Index provides clear information and responses to help customers make more responsible and conscious purchases, with the accompaniment of our stores,” says Sánchez.
The indicator analyzes up to 30 criteria based on the product life cycle, social and ethical or health aspects of people, and the results are expressed in a numerical scale from -1 to 100, the best performance, which translates into those letters of the A to the E. The process values nine different categories: raw materials, manufacturing, transport, phase of use, repability and durability, social impact, health and ecological label.
Sánchez also highlights a matter not less, such as the consumer profile is changing. According to a 2022 Forética study, eight out of ten customers preferred a sustainable product to another that was not. Something that is also reflected in sales figures: 57% of those of 2024 were products with the maximum grades.
Continuous improvement
If Home Index is useful for customers, for Leroy Merlin it is also a guide to work with its suppliers to introduce improvements in their manufacturing processes, including the ecodesign of their products. 85% of them are already attached to the indicator and 800 have received training.
Internal level, achieve the objectives of Leroy Merlin’s decarbonization trajectories,- reduce carbon footprint until neutrality in 2050, with an intermediate objective of carbon footprint reduction of 50% in 2035-, also requires a continuous improvement work.
So far the results are a 26% reduction in logistics processes, substitution of conventional hybrid vehicles, 100% of renewable energy in the facilities, 120 stores with LED lighting and 36 of them with solar panels, with a forecast to multiply by five the power installed in the next two years.
Circular economy
In parallel to these actions, the company is committed to circular businesses, which suppose more responsible and sustainable consumption options.
One of them, second life, recovers products with light damage, reconditions and puts on sale with discount. Until now 200,000 articles, valued at three million euros, have gone through that process.
Along the same lines and to influence the distribution culture, a centralized post -sales service support includes repair.
For more options and for that there are amount of articles, tools, equipment, etc. That they are needed only from time to time, in Leroy Merlin they have promoted a rental service available online and in 33 physical stores, to “join a more collaborative and circular economy, instead of the linear,” says Cristina Sánchez, where it is possible to have items of the most diverse: from barbecues to parasols, portable air conditioning equipment or garden care items.
As Cristina Sánchez emphasizes, “the transformation into the company’s sustainability culture is being vital.”