Section 172 Statement
Being a certified B Corporation, World of Books Group is committed to considering the impact of our business decisions on stakeholders. We take actions that improve our business for customers, colleagues and communities. Section 172 of the Companies Act 2006 requires us to disclose our key stakeholders and to consider their interests in our decision making. We have identified the following stakeholder groups:
• Our People are crucial to our success. We support our people in many ways, including training (internally and externally provided), a comprehensive benefits and assistance package and a culture of internal promotions. We are committed to continuously improving the working environment, recognising its impact on wellbeing, health, safety and happiness. We have made significant changes to our sites during the past twelve months to further improve working conditions and to safeguard people against Coronavirus.
• Our Customers are why we have a business. We actively engage with our customers through various channels (social media, email, live chat), taking their feedback into account to identify possible improvements in their experience and take action to improve the service we provide for them.
• Our Partners are vital to our business and include many local and national charities that support worthy causes. We embrace fair supplier payment policies, maintain open and transparent dialogue and work with partners to improve both our businesses.
• The Environment is considered a stakeholder in our business. We actively measure and monitor our energy and water consumption alongside our emissions and waste. We identify areas for improvement and efficiencies in our working practices to reduce our impact where possible.
• The wider Community is considered an important stakeholder in what we do. We support literacy through our book donations and are active in our local communities through volunteering and fundraising.
• We recognise Shareholders as being stakeholders. We maintain regular dialogue with our shareholders, keeping them abreast of significant developments.
The directors confirm that we believe we have acted in good faith to promote the Company's longer-term success for all stakeholders' benefit, in line with Section 172(1)(a-f) of the Companies Act 2006.
Our impact report (published on our website) includes further information on stakeholder engagement.