Wimbledon based Domestic & General is an international company that protects, repairs and cares for millions of products and appliances each year – from fridges and washing machines, to TVs and boilers. So how do they go about keeping goods in circulation and prolonging the life of appliances?
We spoke to the team and found out more about their sustainability business priorities, repair first, technology to help fix household appliances and their sustainability strategy. They are part of our repair weekend on Saturday 19 September in Wimbledon Quarter as part of Sustainable September SW19.
Why is sustainability important to Domestic & General?
At D&G our approach to sustainability supports our strategy of protecting what matters. Every day, we help customers repair and protect the household appliances they rely on, and we believe this approach plays an important role in creating a more sustainable future. Sustainability is not a separate topic for us; it is embedded into how we operate, how we serve customers, how we work with partners and how we make decisions for the long term. It helps us build a more resilient business, support innovation, reduce environmental impact and create lasting value for our customers, colleagues and communities.
What are your main sustainability priorities?
In FY26 we published our first standalone Group Sustainability Report, setting out the five priorities that underpin our sustainability strategy:
- Building climate resilience by reducing emissions and strengthening our approach to climate risk
- Embedding circular principles by helping appliances last longer, reducing waste and supporting repair over replacement
- Empowering people and partnerships by working closely with suppliers, engineers and partners to create positive impact
- Caring for colleagues and communities through wellbeing, inclusion and community initiatives
- Delivering responsible growth through strong governance, transparency and ethical business practices
Together, these priorities help us balance environmental, social and business outcomes while creating long-term value.
How do you get your teams and customers on board?
We focus on helping people understand why sustainability matters and how they can contribute. Internally, we have been engaging colleagues through education and awareness campaigns, leadership communications and sustainability-focused events to help build employees understanding of the broad range of sustainability topics, which is supported with our partnership with AMDEA, the UK manufacturing trade body. For customers, we make sustainability relevant through practical solutions.
Our repair-first approach helps to extend the life of appliances, while tools such as Smart-fix empowers customers in their home, to resolve simple issues remotely where appropriate, improving convenience, providing a cost-efficient solution to repairs and reducing environmental impact.
We believe that making sustainable choices easier is the best way to encourage participation. We are also looking to encourage colleagues to get involved through volunteering opportunities and partnerships that support our sustainability ambitions. Through our partnership with The Washing Machine Project in India, we are helping to deliver both social and environmental impact and hoping to create opportunities for employees to engage with sustainability in a meaningful and practical way.
How important is the Sustainability Strategy for your company owners?
Our Sustainability Strategy is supported at the highest levels of the organisation and is overseen through dedicated governance structures, including our Sustainability Committee. Sustainability performance is regularly reviewed and forms an important part of how we manage long-term business resilience and growth. We are proud to have reduced emissions within our control by 20% from financial year 2025 and remain on track to meet our financial year 2030 emissions targets. Sustainability is viewed as an important contributor to long-term business resilience, growth and value creation. As expectations continue to evolve, sustainability helps us manage risk, identify opportunities and strengthen the business for the future.
How is technology helping to deliver your sustainability commitments?
Technology is a key enabler of our sustainability ambitions. One example is our Smart-fix solution, which helps customers diagnose and resolve simple appliance issues remotely, avoiding unnecessary engineer visits and costs while improving customer experience.
We have also invested in a Group-wide sustainability data platform, which helps us collect, monitor and analyse sustainability data more effectively. This gives us better visibility of our progress, supports decision-making and enables more effective tracking of our environmental commitments.
What are the benefits of your sustainability plan on your business?
Our sustainability approach delivers tangible benefits for customers, colleagues and the business. By helping customers repair appliances rather than replace them, we reduce waste while improving customer outcomes. In FY26, Smart-fix resolutions increased to more than 23,000, up from around 7,000 in FY25, avoiding an estimated 58.4 tonnes of CO₂e emissions. *
Our approach to Sustainability is strengthening relationships across our industry. This year, we launched two new sustainability-focused Total Excellence and Quality (TEQ) Awards to recognise and reward partners demonstrating excellence in sustainable practices. We also became a founding member of the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA) Associate Member Group, helping us collaborate with industry partners on issues such as repairability, product longevity and the circular economy. More broadly, sustainability helps us build a more resilient and future-ready organisation by supporting innovation, improving data and governance, strengthening partnerships and helping us respond to changing customer, regulatory and stakeholder expectations.
* Calculated as average emissions per UK repair × Smart-fix volume. Each Smart-fix equates to one avoided average repair visit.
If you had one tip for other businesses on the sustainability journey, what would you say to them?
Sustainability is most effective when championed at the top of the organisation and integrated into everyday business decisions, supported by good data and linked to long-term business goals. Small, practical actions delivered consistently can have a significant impact over time.
We’ve found that starting with what is materially relevant to our organisation and focusing on making progress is often better than being lured into the trap of chasing perfection.
How important is it to engage with your local communities?
Community engagement is an important part of our strategic sustainability approach. As a business headquartered in Wimbledon, we recognise the importance of supporting the communities where our colleagues live and work. Whether through charitable partnerships, colleague volunteering, skills development or local initiatives, we want to make a positive difference in the communities we serve. It’s been fantastic to put that commitment into practice through our work with Love Wimbledon and the wider local business community.
D&G has been in business since 1912 and operate across the UK, Europe, the US and Australia, they collaborate with some of the world’s top appliance and electrical product brands.
D&G is part of this year’s Sustainable September SW19 – a month-long event in Wimbledon curated by Love Wimbledon and Wimbledon Quarter.
