We are committed to identifying and managing the environmental impacts associated with our business activities.

Our aims are to promote greater efficiency and progressively reduce our environmental impacts per unit of sales. The most significant of these include:

• Carbon emissions due to the consumption of energy at our facilities
• The use of paper in our printed catalogues and packaging for our products
• The generation of waste
• Water usage

Our environmental performance is managed through a Group-wide reporting and measurement process. We encourage businesses to gain the ISO14001:2004 Environmental Management Standard where this supports our business objectives.

We have participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) since 2008 and in the 2013 CDP FTSE 350 Report were rated as joint top in our reporting category, achieving our highest disclosure and performance scores to date.

We are also ranked in the top 20% of UK companies that participate in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and our UK business has gained accreditation to the Certified Emissions Management and Reduction Scheme (CEMARS) and the Greenhouse Gas Data Verification standard, ISO14064-1.

Energy reductions and the use of green energy are helping to reduce our emissions, and we continue to invest in energy efficient lighting systems and energy management systems. We also work closely with our transport providers to manage the cost and efficiency of our third party transport arrangements.

We proactively reduce and manage waste streams with waste recycled or diverted from landfill to incineration and energy recovery where possible. The use of reusable transit packaging and the inclusion of buyback clauses in supplier contracts for surplus and obsolete products are also helping to reduce waste quantities.

We work closely with our pulp and paper suppliers and printers to reduce the carbon footprint of our catalogue which is now reprinted every two years. The pulp for the catalogues is sourced from either Sustainable Forestry Initiative or Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) accredited forest management schemes, with printing carried out in ISO14001:2004 certificated facilities.

Our water conservation measures include awareness campaigns and proactive maintenance regimes to prevent or rectify leakage.

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We are the global high service distributor with the broadest range of electrical, automation and control (A&C), test and measurement, and tools, safety and consumable products.

Our maintenance portfolio is a key differentiator between us and our competitors.

As part of our maintenance strategy, we are continuously strengthening our global product range, pricing and service offer. This includes a focus on enhancing our portfolio of A&C products.

We are focused on being the main supplier for small and medium enterprises (SME) machine and panel builders, on-site maintenance engineers and buyers.

Our maintenance product offering, design support and service levels are all driven by customer needs.

We work with our key strategic suppliers on range development, joint marketing and sales activities, eCommerce development and customer transfers.

Our eCommerce offering, including online tools and support, and level of overall service are key differentiators in the A&C market.

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Our electronics portfolio incorporates semiconductors, passive and electromechanical components, as well as the associated development systems, test and measurement equipment, and tools needed to support every design.

We are committed to continuously expanding our electronics product range with new technologies to meet the needs of design engineers and buyers.

We offer our customers an easy way to find, design-in and buy the right electronic components for their application.