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Building A Sustainable Future
Commitment to change
We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint whilst continuing to seek new ways to have a positive environmental impact. It is our belief we must work together to embrace change and protect the environment; to build a future for our people and for the planet.
It’s our vision to create a global woodworking community so we all have a place to share our passion for making and creating. With that comes a responsibility to ensure that building our community doesn’t come at the expense of the environment.
As a retailer delivering worldwide, it can be hard to measure our impact. We’ve taken steps towards measuring our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions so that we can take action toward a goal of net zero.
Our aim is to reduce our scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by at least 5% each year and we have already taken some great steps towards our goal. We manufacture an increasing number of products at HQ, bringing manufacturing back from overseas in many cases. We’re working to eliminate single use plastic in our packaging and we’ve been operating on a zero to landfill basis since 2014. Furthermore, we switched our energy supplier so that the energy we use is 100% renewable.
As a company we're dedicated to helping ensure the future of our UK forests. We've teamed up with The Sylva Wood Foundation to help us consider our own use of sustainable timber as well as working together to educate our customers, suppliers and communities.
Next steps
We’re working on a strategy to reach net zero by 2050. We’re also investigating ways in which we can remove carbon from the atmosphere. In the meantime our dedicated Environmental Committee continues to audit our processes and find ways to improve..
Education
As a business, Axminster Tools are passionate about woodworking and helping to build a sustainable future for the industry. In view of that, we actively seek to support the education of vital woodworking skills. We work closely with schools, colleges and universities as well as a number of charitable organisations who are equally committed to helping to bridge the education skills gap.
If you are part of an educational setting and you, like us, are keen to support the next generation of makers then we would love to hear from you.
Inspiring Talent
Heritage Crafts
Axminster Tools first partnered with Heritage Crafts in 2022, launching with a brand new Woodworker of the Year award. The award aims to celebrate British woodworking and lift the profile of traditional craftsmanship.
Having spent the past 50 years working with makers and creators, we understand the importance of preserving vital woodworking skills. Heritage Crafts is the UK charity set up to support and safeguard traditional crafts. We are working together to encourage practical skills so that an appreciation for woodworking continues through generations to come.
The Young Furniture Makers' Exhibition
For several years Axminster Tools have sponsored The Young Furniture Makers’ Exhibition. The annual event is organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company and features the very best furniture and furnishing design talent from around the UK. Entries come from GCSE and A level students, BA and MA graduates, and young professionals.
The exhibition celebrates the achievements of young makers and gives industry the opportunity to connect with today’s creative talent.
Beat the Boredom
Our Beat The Boredom series was developed as a resource to help teach children new skills and inspire them to become involved with woodworking. We now have a whole catalogue of projects and a space on Woodworking Wisdom for young people to share their achievements..
Supply Chain
Axminster sources products from all over the world as well as supporting a number of specialist UK companies.
With over 14,000 products lines, a multitude of brands and ranges are brought together on the website and in the stores. Axminster has long been recognised as holding the most extensive range of tools, machinery, accessories and consumables in the UK.
Buy British
We know that our customers want to make informed decisions about what they buy, and that they’re interested in the origin and sustainability of products. Local sourcing of products plays a part in that and, as a British retailer, we're proud to support British design and quality.
We are working with a number of UK suppliers in celebration of the nation's skills and craftsmanship, and we mark home-grown brands with the British Made logo to help identify which are made in the UK.
What's more we even manufacture some of our own products in our Axminster engineering facility. We take great care to sort and recycle any waste metal, old cutting tools and tips; plus waste oil is sent for safe disposal.
Ethical Trading
We believe in respecting human rights across every aspect of our operation. To ensure our products are ethically sourced, we make regular visits to our suppliers in the Far East. We have local agents in China and Taiwan who audit the suppliers we use. We are constantly reviewing our policies and procedures so we can be sure that the workforces in the factories we use in these countries are not subjected to unsafe working conditions, forced labour or human trafficking. Read our full Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Act Statement here.