WHSmith is a leading global travel retailer for news, books and convenience. We operate in 30 countries through more than 1,000 retail units in airports, railway stations, hospitals, motorway service stations. WHSmith sells convenience foods, travel accessories, books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, entertainment products, confectionery and health and beauty items. 

We are committed to managing the environmental impacts of our operations and the products we sell. We recognise that effective environmental management practice is not only essential for the planet, but also makes good business sense. The following policy reflects our commitment to operating our business in an environmentally-responsible way, and is part of a wider sustainable business programme.

This policy applies to WHSmith group structure including our franchise operations. We encourage our suppliers and other business partners to adopt similar principles.

The aim of this policy and our associated management system is to reduce the impact on the environment from our operations and supply chain. In implementing this policy, WHSmith will:

• Minimise greenhouse gas emissions by conserving the energy used to operate our buildings and for transport, and minimising emissions from refrigerants and air conditioning systems. We will also encourage suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This includes a commitment to work with third party logistics and transport companies to improve environmental performance and reduce emissions.
• Manage the regulatory, reputational and market risks related to climate change, transitioning towards a net zero business in line with science-based targets for decarbonisation.
• Focus on eco-design and resource efficiency in the production of our products and packaging, using as little material as possible, and encouraging re-use and recycling of materials when they are no longer needed. We aim to increase the use of environmentally-preferable materials, moving away from certain hard-to-recycle plastics where alternatives exist.
• Reduce the environmental impact from timber purchases, including paper and wood based products, ensuring all virgin materials used in our products are from certified forests or recycled post-consumer waste.
• Prevent pollution, minimise waste production from our operational activities and re-use and recycle materials wherever possible.
• Ensure water is used responsibly in our stores, offices and distribution centres.
• Comply with all relevant environmental regulations, legislation and the international standards to which we have subscribed.
• Ensure that, wherever possible, environmental impacts are minimised for anything that we purchase, including products for trade or goods and services not for resale that we use in our business operations.    

To meet these commitments, WHSmith will:

• Provide our Board with a regular review of environmental policies and performance and allocate resource for effective implementation.
• Implement an environmental management system which includes assigned roles and responsibilities; objectives and targets; monitoring and measurement; auditing; and training.
• Develop environmental objectives and targets and monitor performance against those targets.
• Make senior managers accountable for environmental management within each area of our business and ensure that environmental issues are considered during decision-making processes.
• Integrate environmental objectives into our business activities and seek ways to continually improve our performance, ensuring actions are undertaken to correct any non-conformances.
• Provide training and raise environmental awareness amongst all our employees and our wider business community by effective communication and support.
• Work with our suppliers and other business partners to drive environmental improvements.
• Share our environmental policy with shareholders, customers, employees and other relevant audiences, consult with our stakeholders on environmental issues and provide annual updates on our performance.
• Communicate internally and externally on environmental issues and our performance against environmental goals and targets.

Approved by the WH Smith PLC Board: March 2022