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Leroy Merlin China and Leroy Merlin Brazil (Group Adeo) : ridding of harmful products

4. Environment

Biodiversity and sustainable resource management

Context

In 2010 Leroy Merlin China – Group Adeo has decided to withdraw the Merbau (wood species threatened with extinction) from its range for environmental reasons.

Leroy Merlin Brazil – Group Adeo decided in 2009, without any legal obligation to remove asbestos in its stores.

Objectives

These product recalls are motivated by environmental and health concerns and goes beyond local obligations.

APPROACH

Warned by Greenpeace on the threat of Merbau extinction, Leroy Merlin China has taken the decision to stop the marketing of this timber. However, the Merbau was an important part of wooden floor sales and no other species can replace it. While competitors continue to sell it, it was not an easy choice economically and sales-wise. Leroy Merlin China, however, has decided to take its environmental responsibility by going beyond the legal framework.

Informed by the Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development of the future law that classifies asbestos in the category of hazardous and banned chemicals, Leroy Merlin Brazil decided to stop marketing its asbestos products. This decision had a significant impact on the "materials" and "water tanks" departments’ turnover (tiles and roofs, tanks and air ducts asbestos cement). Leroy Merlin Brazil was the first company of DIY to ban the sale of these products, as well as becoming a responsible company that cares about its environment and the health of others.

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

- Pride of employees to belong to a responsible company
- Consistency of the company that assumes its choice: Merbau CA accounted for 30% of the range in China and asbestos products are widely used in Brazil

Benefits

- Working constructively with NGOs
- Consistency of the company that assumes its choices
- Pride in staff

Workforce
63 000 (2013)
Turnover
13 milliards € (2013)
Country
France

Mise à jour le 20/05/2016

Creative Commons Attribution This work by Réseau Alliances – World Forum Lille is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.