Home Index, the indicator that Leroy Merlin has activated for assess the environmental and social impact of its products throughout their life cycle. The company has been working for five years with ADEO, the group to which it belongs, on this tool to structure its product offering.
In this way, Home Index, described by the company as a “pioneering and driving” tool, evaluates in a new way andThe impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Following this evaluation, products are ranked from “A” (greatest proven positive impact) to “E” (greatest room for improvement).
Methodology with 30 criteria
“It is a robust, tested and audited methodology that takes into account up to 30 criteria based on the product life cycle, in social and ethical aspects or health of people“, stressed the executive director of Positive Impact of Leroy Merlin Spain, Cristina Sánchez.
Each criterion is rated from -1 to 100 (the latter being the one with the least negative impact) at the end of which an overall product rating is obtained. To be taken into account the impact of each phase of the product life cycleThe 30 indicators are divided into 8 blocks (below) and a bonus if the product has an ecological label:
- Raw materials
- Manufacturing
- Water and energy consumption
- Transportation
- Lifespan and repairability
- Recyclability
- Ethics
- Health
Product life cycle
To take into account the impact of each phase of the product life cycle, the 30 indicators They are divided into 8 blocks (raw materials, manufacturing, water and energy consumption, transport, useful life and repairability, recyclability, ethics and health) and a bonus if the product benefits from an ecological label.
Home Index has a methodology audited by independent organizations, such as the French eco-design center Pôle Eco-Conception and the auditor Mazars, as well as the validation by consulting firms PwC, DNV and HOPthe French Agency for the Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP or UNEP).
Supplier Membership
“At Leroy Merlin, we believe that to address ESG challenges, collaboration is essential to move forward effectively. Therefore, Home Index is a tool that helps us work with internal teams and our suppliers, to create a product offering that meets the demand of our customers and societyand helps them make more informed and responsible purchases,” Sánchez said.
Spain is the second market in which Leroy Merlin and ADEO are launching this project. The first was France a year and a half agowhere 99% of suppliers have already joined the project.
“We believe that large companies like Leroy Merlin must be drivers of change, this tool has been developed in such a way as to allow us to be used and adapted by any other retail business. It can therefore be established as an indicator of the sector,” explains Sánchez.
Continuous improvement plan
This project made it possible to know the progress of all the solutions that Leroy Merlin makes available to its customers, by being able to design a plan continuous improvement with suppliers.
“80% of the environmental impacts of a product are determined in the design phase. That is why we made it clear that for Home Index to become a reality, we had to work hand in hand with our suppliers,” says Sánchez.
75% of the company’s purchases come from national suppliers, including a large number of SMEs. Leroy Merlin thus offers support to its suppliers, so that they have the knowledge, levers and tools necessary to improve their products, whatever their size. In this sense, since the launch of Home Index, The company already has 700 trained suppliers and more than 140,000 classified references.
Collaborative and transversal project
Leroy Merlin specifies that “it is clear that the purpose of a company goes beyond economic impact and, therefore, the business model integrates the Positive Impact strategy.
The company has been taking steps to reduce the impacts of its activity for over 12 yearsaligned with the brand’s purpose: “to create environments that are good to live in”.
In fact, two years ago a new step was taken in this commitment, by increasing the scope of Positive impact on the executive committeeto integrate the aspects ESG in the highest decision-making bodies.
Cultural change
This project represents a historic step for the company in terms of ESG and generates a cultural change for all employees. 18,000 employees of Leroy Merlin Spain.
An example are the sustainable development training and Home Index that Leroy Merlin produces for all the people who are part of the company, with special attention to the sellers, so that they can offer clear and precise information to customers.
Similarly, Leroy Merlin, through the Cultural Transformation division, launched the Positive Ambassadors figure at the beginning of the year. The role of these teams is supporting cultural change around sustainability in all stores, so that they can contribute to the challenges and objectives set by the company.
Empowering consumers
According to a study carried out by Leroy Merlin, 8 out of 10 people are aware of responsible consumptionhighlighted the difficulty of obtaining information on product sustainability.
So, Home Index is a step forward for empower consumers thanks to the fact that information on product qualification is provided in a simple and visual manner.
“We believe that consumers can be agents of change. With information on the impact of products, our customers can introduce this variable into their production process. decision making when purchasing“, commented Miguel Madrigal, marketing director of Leroy Merlin Spain.
Consumer information
Since August 26, Leroy Merlin customers can consult the information on the indicator of each product on the signage in-store and electronic labels, as well as on the web and APP.
In addition, Leroy Merlin has launched The Circularan awareness campaign articulated by a place what are you looking for inspire the population to create a better environment from their own home.
Informed and responsible decisions
With meteorologist Mario Picazo as sponsor, this campaign reinforces the company’s commitment to sustainable development with a very simple premise: “the planet is everyone’s homeand as such, it is our responsibility to take care of it.
Because with almost 19 million homes in Spain, every gesture counts. “Our goal is for our customers to be able to make informed and responsible decisions, trying to democratize access to information as much as possible and being totally transparent,” he concluded.
