Huws Gray strengthens Southern region leadership team. Huws Gray, a national building materials supplier providing end-to-end solutions to tradespeople and the DIY market, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jamie Bunting as Managing Director for its Southern region as part of its continued focus on leveraging its national presence. Jamie is an experienced multi-site leader with considerable experience across a number of retail sectors. Jamie joins Huws Gray after a 12-year tenure with B&Q, most recently as Head of TradePoint, B&Q's trade focused business. In this role, he played a key part in delivering consistent LFL revenue growth each year. Jamie also oversaw the development of the TradePoint BDM role. Whilst also with B&Q, Jamie strengthened its small format programme, and spent 7 years as Regional Manager running East Anglia and London. In his role, Jamie will oversee 75 stores within Huws Gray's national estate. Bringing considerable experience leading regional teams and enhancing customers' in-store experiences, Jamie is perfectly placed to lead Huws Gray's Southern region and drive the ongoing focus on operational excellence and supporting Huws Gray's long-term growth ambitions. Jamie Bunting, Southern Managing Director at Huws Gray, commented: "I am thrilled to be joining Huws Gray at such a pivotal moment in its journey. It is a business that I have long admired, and there is a real opportunity to deliver a best-in-class service, enhance our offering and drive meaningful growth. In my career, I have always focused on putting colleagues and customers first and creating environments where close collaboration with stakeholders will deliver successful outcomes, I look forward to continuing this at Huws Gray." Shaun Allen, Chief Operating Officer of Huws Gray, added: "I'm delighted to welcome Jamie to Huws Gray. His extensive background in regional development speaks for itself, and I look forward to seeing how he utilises his strong focus on delivery as we look to build on and substantiate our existing presence across the South of England."

Huws Gray appoints southern MD. 1 day Huws Gray has appointed Jamie Bunting southern region managing director. Bunting joins Huws Gray after 12 years with B&Q, where he was most recently head of TradePoint. In his new role, Jamie will oversee 75 stores. He brings considerable experience leading regional teams and enhancing customers' in-store experiences, Huws Gray says. Bunting said, "I am thrilled to be joining Huws Gray at such a pivotal moment in its journey. It is a business that I have long admired, and there is a real opportunity to deliver a best-in-class service, enhance our offering and drive meaningful growth. In my career, I have always focused on putting colleagues and customers first and creating environments where close collaboration with stakeholders will deliver successful outcomes, I look forward to continuing this at Huws Gray." Shaun Allen, chief operating officer of Huws Gray, added, "I'm delighted to welcome Jamie to Huws Gray. His extensive background in regional development speaks for itself, and I look forward to seeing how he utilises his strong focus on delivery as we look to build on and substantiate our existing presence across the south of England."

B&Q's sustainability chief on cutting emissions and changing how Britain shops. British home improvement retailer B&Q has been shortlisted in the sustainability category at the Retail Gazette Awards, following a year of work to cut emissions and encourage more sustainable home improvement. Retail Gazette caught up with B&Q head of sustainability Samantha Dyer ahead of the awards to discuss how the retailer is trying to make sustainability part of everyday commercial decisions, from how it buys products and works with suppliers to how customers heat their homes and care for their gardens. Q: "B&Q has cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50.7 per cent. What has made the biggest difference, and what comes next?" A: "It's been a combination of things, particularly in logistics and its stores. Retail Gazette has been looking at how Retail Gazette can reduce the miles travelled across its delivery network, using AI models to make journeys more efficient. Retail Gazette has also moved some of its diesel trucks to hydrotreated vegetable oil, or HVO, and Retail Gazette is continuing to explore electric vehicles. "In its stores, it's about being smarter with energy. Retail Gazette is looking at how Retail Gazette heat buildings, making sure Retail Gazette is not using more heat than Retail Gazette need, preventing heat from escaping and installing more solar panels. Retail Gazette is also starting to electrify heating in some stores. "But Scope 3 is the bigger challenge. It accounts for more than 98 per cent of our total emissions, so we need to look at the whole supply chain: how products are sourced and made, and how customers use them at home. That includes continually improving the energy efficiency of the products we sell." Q: "You've introduced Carbon Literacy training for your buying teams. Has it changed how they deal with suppliers?" A: "Yes, it's been a really good journey. The training starts with the basics of how carbon emissions are created, then gets into what buyers can actually do about them. "It helps them identify where the biggest impacts are in the products they buy and ask suppliers more targeted questions about how they're reducing emissions. That might be about manufacturing, packaging or what happens to a product at the end of its life. "The biggest difference is giving buyers the confidence to have those conversations themselves. My team is there to support them, but sustainability becomes much more powerful when it's part of their everyday decisions, rather than something managed separately." Q: "Refurbished tools, paint takeback and plant pot recycling are all part of your circularity drive. Which has the greatest potential to grow?" "I'd say refurbished tools. Retail Gazette has got the operation in place with its partner, iForce, where returned tools are checked, cleaned, repaired where necessary and prepared for resale. Retail Gazette can put them back on the market rather than lose the value in those products. "The customer reviews have been really positive, and Retail Gazette is already looking at other categories, including showers and taps. There's a lot of potential to expand the model. "Paint takeback is exciting for a different reason. The trial has shown encouraging results, both in terms of customers bringing paint pots back and the practicalities of collecting them in stores and sending them for recycling. "At the moment, we're enabling the pots to be recycled. The real ambition is to develop infrastructure that can recycle the paint itself, too. That will need enough volume to justify the investment, which is why collaboration across the industry is so important." Q: "Are suppliers finding it difficult to keep up with B&Q's sustainability ambitions?" "The vast majority of suppliers Retail Gazette speak to are keen to take action. I think the frustration sometimes is that it's not always a quick win. "These projects can be complicated. Every product and supplier has its own challenges, and sometimes you have to start from scratch to work out what the right solution looks like. "But Retail Gazette has shown time and again that when there's a willingness to work together, Retail Gazette can usually find a way forward. There will be obstacles along the way, but they're not insurmountable. Q: "Sustainable products account for 67.3 per cent of sales participation. How do you persuade customers to make greener choices when money is tight?" "Retail Gazette try to make sustainability part of a better product, rather than something that automatically adds cost. Take water-saving taps: you can have a product that uses less water without necessarily paying more for it. "Where there is an upfront cost, it's about showing customers what they could save over time. Energy-efficient products and insulation, for example, might require an initial investment, but they can help reduce household bills. "At our Cheltenham store, we're testing different ways of communicating those benefits. We want customers to see the whole-life cost, rather than judging a product purely on its price on the shelf." Q: "Looking ahead, what will make the biggest difference to B&Q's sustainability targets? And what would you like to see the wider industry do?" "Taking customers with Retail Gazette is going to be crucial. So much of its carbon footprint comes from how its products are used in people's homes, so Retail Gazette need to help customers make the switch to energy-efficient and water-saving products. Moving from petrol-powered to battery-powered tools is another opportunity. "I'm also really interested in biodiversity and what Retail Gazette can do to encourage more wildlife into people's gardens. At its Cheltenham store, Retail Gazette has a sustainable showcase garden with bee and bug hotels, ponds, pollinator plants, bird boxes and water butts. The feedback from customers has been fantastic. "Gardens can help create corridors between larger natural areas, and Retail Gazette has an opportunity to show people how even their own outdoor space can make a difference. I'd love to see Retail Gazette do more in this area and bring those ideas to more stores. "We're also proud that 99.7 per cent of our wood and paper comes from responsibly managed forests through FSC or PEFC certification. That's an important part of our history, but we want to keep pushing further. Protecting nature and ecosystems is something we need to continue working at."