Corporate Social Responsibility

2012 Update

At Comet, we select one charity to support each year enabling us to consolidate our charitable efforts as a business and make a real difference to that organisation.  Comet's 2012 official charity partner is SportsAid, which helps young sportsmen and women to achieve their ambitions by giving them a vital boost during the defining early years of their careers.

The people the charity helps come from all over the UK. They are typically aged 12 to early 20s, train for 15 hours a week on top of their school work, travel 650 miles a month, and spend more than £5,500 a year on their sport - money that mum and dad have to find.

With Comet's help, these athletes - who are among the best in the country for their age - will be able to train harder, compete better, and hopefully go on to represent Great Britain at a future Olympic or Paralympic Games.

At Comet, we see it as our duty to manage any social and environmental effects of the service we provide and we take this responsibility seriously.

Today’s businesses are expected to have high standards of social conduct and to take increasing responsibility for the direct and indirect effects of their operations. As a company we understand and respond to any sensitivities about the origin and production of the products we sell. It is also clear that ethical business practice makes good commercial sense.

Comet is working to improve the social and environmental performance of its business and is committed to keeping abreast of society’s evolving needs.

 Environment

In addressing our environmental philosophy our policy is to:

• reduce energy consumption
• reduce waste created
• re-use waste remaining and recycle the remainder.

Comet has been educating customers on their recycling capabilities and is proud to recycle over 400,000 products a year. Comet is also responsible for recycling thousands of tonnes of cardboard and paper waste annually.

Programmes such as ‘Renew Trust’ - which Comet helped to co-found when originally established as Renew North East in 2000, and the fridge take-back service demonstrate how Comet can begin to address the indirect outcome of what we sell. Other product stewardship initiatives include offering customers the opportunity to recycle their old inkjet cartridges and mobile phones by placing special envelopes in-store.

Charity Partner

Comet’s official charity partner is Cancer Research UK, a relationship which began in October 2010 and will run for two years. Comet colleagues have been challenged with raising £400,000 during this time, which will go towards finding better ways to diagnose and treat childhood brain tumours.

WEEE

In July 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (“WEEE”) Directive came into force with the aim of minimising the impact of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment when those products become waste.  Designated Collection Facilities are located throughout the UK at local tips for people to recycle their electrical waste and as part of the Distributor Take Back Scheme (DTS), Comet has financially contributed to the development of these WEEE collection points.

In addition, it has worked with Wincanton for a number of years to collect and recycle large electrical items when a replacement is delivered.

From 1st July 2007, Comet expanded its collection and recycling service for large electrical items so that everyone, not just Comet customers can benefit. For a standard charge of £20.00 Comet will take away your item for recycling, regardless of where you purchased it.  Comet is the first electrical specialist to offer this universal service in the UK and believes that by making it easier for customers to recycle unwanted electrical goods it will assist the government’s waste and landfill reduction targets.

To date, through its collection service Comet has recycled more than 3.5 million electrical items, from fridges to dishwashers.

 People

Our aim is to be recognised as a top employer that provides a professional and stimulating working environment for its employees.

Comet fully respects the principles of diversity at work. Our aim is to have the right employee in the right place regardless of gender, race, age or sexual orientation. We work with both of these organisations in order to share best practice to promote the benefits of employing disabled and mixed-age people, to promote the benefits of a diverse workforce and to make discrimination in the workplace a thing of the past. Our stores are also listed on www.directenquiries.com, a web-site which provides people with information about disabled access in buildings and premises all across the UK.

As well as our responsibility to customers and shareholders, Comet also recognise that employees deserve the opportunity to develop their talents and achieve satisfying and rewarding careers. Comet is committed to promoting individual development and regularly assess employees’ abilities, progress and individual training needs.

Comet is also committed to creating a working environment that enables all colleagues to achieve a healthy balance between their work and personal life.

The changes introduced by the Government in 2003 to enable parents to apply for flexible working options have been welcomed and Comet fully supports this initiative.  Whilst this is important, it is recognised that all colleagues want flexibility and our view is that wherever possible we should try to accommodate all colleagues’ needs for flexibility.

Comet believe that by adopting this employment philosophy, it will increase the ability to attract and retain a high calibre of colleagues and in doing so ensure that we are able to give a great service to our customers.

Supply Chain

Whether we are dealing with major brands or sourcing from elsewhere, we ensure our products have been tested for safety, health and environmental compliance. At the same time our policy is to work in partnership with our suppliers to help them reduce their impact on the environment and to manage the challenges of sustainable growth.