Kingfisher : A colleague challenge with a green twist for Brico Dépôt France

The Brico Run is an annual sporting event and chance for colleagues to get together and have fun. For the last two years, the event has been held virtually and Brico Dépôt France have added a new element - planting trees to recognise the distances completed by colleagues. Mathieu Richard, Colleague Engagement Manager Project Lead, tells us more.

So, what's the Brico Run and why is it good for the planet?

MC: In a normal year, the Brico Run is a great chance for colleagues from across the business to get together, but in 2020 our usual event wasn't an option due to the pandemic.

We decided to take the event online and use the opportunity to do things a bit differently. Colleagues were able to compete in virtual teams and collectively see how many kilometres they could run, walk and cycle. Then we added a twist - we'd plant trees to recognise colleague's efforts and support our forest positive plans.

In year one of the new style challenge, colleagues completed 250,000 kilometres and we planted 50,000 trees. This year, they ran another 200,000 kilometres and we planted 20,000 more trees. Some of the trees are planted in France, in woodlands near to our stores. The rest are in northern Peru in a region affected by deforestation. We're aiming for 100,000 trees to be planted by the end of 2022.

And what about the business?

MC: Over t​​​​​​​he last two years over 2,600 colleagues have been involved with some great feedback. It's been a really good way to get people active and engaged with our forest positive commitment. Some colleagues have had an opportunity to plant trees themselves, including some of our work experience students, who planted a tree in our Head Office gardens to symbolise our commitment to the forests.

Could this approach work in other banners?

MC: ​​​​​​​For sure. In fact, Castorama France is already looking to do something similar. At Brico Dépôt France we have planted 70,000 trees. If all our banners got involved, we could quickly get to one million or more, which would be a great achievement.

What advice would you give to someone starting out on a project like this?

MC: Choose your tree planting partner carefully and check their environmental credentials. We work with a well-known organisation who've achieved B Corp certification.

Link the project to something relevant to your business and make it real for colleagues. We've planted trees near to our stores and headquarters, as well as in Peru so that in 10 years' time colleagues will be able to walk in a wood that they helped to plant. We're even going to plant an American Red Oak at our Head Office, to match our Brico Red!

What are you most proud of?

MC: ​​​​​​​Colleagues have told me that they're proud to have been involved in this project and proud of Brico Dépôt for supporting it. That's the best bit for me!

Did you know?

• Wood is in a quarter of all the products we sell
• Kingfisher's first signed responsible policy was the timber policy in 1991
• In 1993, we became a founding member of the Forest stewardship council
• We are committed to be Forest Positive (creating more trees than we use) by 2025