Annual Report & Accounts 2010

Working together
to improve our environment

The Board is committed to Corporate Responsibility and the need to take proper account of our impact on the environment, the morale and welfare of our employees and the satisfaction of our customers. We will consider all social and environmental issues that could affect our business.

The strategic aim is to adapt our business to the consequences of climate change including taking advantage of the opportunities presented. As a result by 2012 we intend to increase our current sales of renewable products by at least 50%.

Corporate values and commitment are to be translated into mainstream management practice and the Group has committed to:

1. Operate in an open and responsible manner
2. Be inclusive in the way we manage the business
3. Ensure that management systems, checks and balances are robust and that we comply with legislation and proper stewardship standards

Health and Safety

It has been an exciting time within the BSS Group with the launch of our Primary Authority Arrangement. We were delighted in February 2010 to become one of the first major distributors to sign up to the Primary Authority Scheme. We believe that the Primary Authority Arrangement is about sensible risk management with the regulator and the regulated working in partnership to ensure that the issues most likely to cause injury or work-related ill-health are prioritised and dealt with in a comprehensive, planned way across the whole of our 400+ sites. The BSS Group places health and safety at the very heart of its organisation and by entering into this partnership, we are demonstrating that we do not want to be part of the problem of injury and ill-health at work, we very much want to be part of the solution.

Commitment

The BSS Group's Board of Directors are committed to health and safety and demonstrate their commitment through documented systems of health and safety management. In addition the Executive Committee meets monthly whereby health and safety performance is reviewed at each meeting. Each member of the Board accepts their individual role in providing health and safety visible leadership therefore recognising their personal responsibilities. Our in house Health and Safety department is led by the Central Services Director, who is a member of the Executive Committee. The pivotal role of the health and safety team is to ensure continuous improvement across the Group by acting as health and safety champions, providing pragmatic solutions to the operational risks within the business to all levels of employees with a strong focus on behavioural safety and worker involvement.

Performance

We have continued to carry out a robust accident investigation programme with an emphasis on identifying root causes of accidents and ensuring that we do something to stop them reoccurring. Accident statistics for RIDDOR reportable incidents have decreased by 8.3%.

There have been no improvement, prohibition notices or prosecutions from the enforcing authorities from either inspections or accident investigations that have been undertaken.

The health and safety team have continued to undertake regular health and safety audits to measure performance of our health and safety management systems and have recommended improvements where necessary to ensure that all recommendations have been implemented. The team carried out nearly 300 branch audits / visits in the year ending 31 March 2010.

The health and safety training team have delivered 166 health and safety training days. 1,299 employees have received training on a number of courses commensurate with the Group Health and Safety Policy. In addition a further 427 employees have completed the online manual handling programme within the first week of employment.

Employee Involvement and Working Environment

The importance of good relations and communications with employees is fundamental to the continued success of our business. The Group Chief Executive is the Board member responsible for Human Resources matters and updates the Board on a regular basis.

We employ just under 5,000 people across the business and recognise the key contribution they make to our ongoing growth and success. Our employees' wellbeing and professional development is central to recruiting and retaining high performing individuals. Over the last couple of years product knowledge systems have been introduced across PTS, BSS Industrial and Buck & Hickman, with a number of employees participating in apprenticeships, Builders Merchant Federation modules, and 136 employees receiving an NVQ qualification in the last 12 months. The organisation has a robust talent management strategy in place which incorporates annual performance reviews, development plans and succession planning. Divisional newsletters are published regularly to employees to ensure they are kept well informed. Annual employee attitude surveys are conducted to measure employee motivation and provide an additional feedback facility for employees to communicate with the Company. The Company makes various benefit schemes available to all employees (subject to eligibility) including a Save As You Earn scheme ('SAYE'). A benefits website is in operation with benefits ranging from the Company's defined contribution pension scheme to concessions on gym membership.

We are working in conjunction with a high street bank to provide all our employees with an on-site financial advisory service within the workplace. Our employees do not need to be a customer to take advantage of this free service.

We aim to maintain a progressive equal opportunities policy to ensure equal treatment for all irrespective of race, creed, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, age, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender or disability. Individuals are trained, developed, promoted and treated on the basis of their relevant aptitudes, abilities and skills. We recognise that everyone is different and by valuing diversity we appreciate that people with different experiences, views, opinions and approaches can bring important skills to the business.

The Company is committed to offering development and training to all its employees and offers a wide range of training techniques to enable all individuals the ability to develop and progress within the Group. The Training team offer apprenticeships with over 50 employees completing their apprenticeship in the last two years, all employees have the opportunity of gaining an NVQ level 2, and individuals have the opportunity to gain a City and Guilds.

There have been no breaches of our bribery policy.