Verification statement - Acona

Acona Ltd has been asked by Home Retail Group to undertake an independent review of their 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report and provide assurance that;

• The quantitative data it contains is materially accurate, and
• The qualitative statements can be supported by evidence and properly represent activity across the Group.

Acona performed this review during May 2007.

Scope and process
The review covered operations in the UK and Republic of Ireland. In performing the review, we adopted the following approach:

• Desk-top evaluation and detailed analysis of the raw data used to construct the CR Report, including comparisons with prior year and third-party equivalent figures.
  
  
• Review of internal documents relating to CR management, including policies, procedures and stakeholder comments, particularly ensuring that evidence was made available to support significant claims in this Report.
  
  
• Detailed interviews with staff, managers and contractors involved in compiling the Report to test the data and processes.

Conclusions
The data included in this Report covers all of the principal locations and operations and is supported by more detailed evidence from within the Group. In all cases, when tested, the reported figures were found to be materially accurate and supported by internal (and external) evidence.

The year-on-year comparisons made in the data were tested to see if they correlate with known changes in the business. As this report covers the period from 1st April 2006 to 3rd March 2007 - an 11 month period reflecting the change of year end from the end of March - data has been adjusted to be equivalent to a full 12 month year throughout this report. In our view, this is a reasonable adjustment which does not significantly affect trends reported.

Where inaccuracies were found during the verification process these were relatively minor, generally confined to errors in collation and were easily rectified prior to publication. In cases where there was uncertainty in the information presented, it was challenged and either the uncertainties resolved or the data removed from the final Report. In addition, this Report has been subject to a staged process of review and approval by a range of staff in the Group, including the appropriate senior management. It is therefore our opinion that the Report succeeds in presenting an accurate picture of CR activity in the Home Retail Group.

We were pleased to see a number of improvements had been introduced over the course of the year to enhance the robustness of the data collection processes in place. In addition, it is our view that the introduction of new CR management structures within the business, including the CR working groups, means that the majority of information provided in this report will in future be subject to more regular internal review.

Acona Ltd
Acona Ltd is an independent consultancy, based in London but with staff all over the UK. We have broad expertise and advise large, mainly corporate clients on the full range of social, environmental and ethical matters. All of the team has extensive experience in the field.

Acona has continued to provide consultancy support to the Home Retail Group during the year under review. This support included advice on strategy and disclosure and assistance with the implementation of projects. Acona is independent from Home Retail Group, and is impartial from the organisation’s major stakeholders.

Glynn Roberts
Senior Partner
Acona Ltd

May 2007

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