RS Group plc
74 GOVERNANCE REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OTHER INFORMATION Annual Report and Accounts 2025Independent limited assurance report
ESG ASSURANCE
Independent limited assurance report to RS Group plc
ERM Certification and Verification Services Limited (ERM CVS) was engaged by RS Group plc (the Group) to provide limited assurance in relation to the selected information set out below and presented in RS Group's Annual Report and Accounts 2025 and 2024/25 ESG data centre (the Reports).
Engagement summary | |
Scope of our assurance engagement Selected information | Whether the following 2024/25 selected information on pages 47, 50, 51, 52 and 53 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2025 and 2024/25 ESG data centre are fairly presented, in all material respects, in accordance with the reporting criteria:
Our assurance engagement does not extend to information in respect of earlier periods or to any other information included in the Reports. |
Reporting period Reporting criteria | - 2024/25 (1 April 2024 - 31 March 2025) |
| |
Assurance standard and level of assurance | We performed a limited assurance engagement, in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements ISAE 3000 (Revised) 'Assurance Engagements other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information'. The procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement vary in nature and timing from and are less in extent than for a reasonable assurance engagement and consequently, the level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is substantially lower than the assurance that would have been obtained had a reasonable assurance engagement been performed. |
Respective responsibilities | The Group is responsible for preparing the Reports and for the collection and presentation of the information within it and for the designing, implementing and maintaining of internal controls relevant to the preparation and presentation of the selected information. ERM CVS' responsibility is to provide a conclusion to the Group on the agreed scope based on our engagement terms with the Group, the assurance activities performed and exercising our professional judgement. |
RS Group plc
75 GOVERNANCE REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OTHER INFORMATION Annual Report and Accounts 2025Independent limited assurance report continued
Our conclusion
Based on our activities, as described below, nothing has come to our attention to indicate that the selected information for 2024/25 is not fairly presented in the Reports, in all material respects, in accordance with the reporting criteria.
Our assurance activities
Considering the level of assurance and our assessment of the risk of material misstatement of the selected information, a multi-disciplinary team of sustainability and assurance specialists performed a range of procedures that included, but was not restricted to, the following:
Evaluating the appropriateness of the reporting criteria for the selected information
Interviewing management representatives responsible for managing the
selected information
Interviewing relevant staff to understand and evaluate the management systems and
processes (including internal review and control processes) used for collecting and reporting the selected information
Reviewing of a sample of qualitative and quantitative evidence supporting the selected information at a corporate level
Performing an analytical review of the year end data submitted by all locations included in the consolidated 2024/25 group data for the
selected information which included testing the completeness and mathematical accuracy of conversions and calculations and consolidation in line with the stated reporting boundary
Conducting site visits to RS Group sites in Corby (UK), Bad Hersfeld (Germany) and Fort Worth (USA) to review source data, local reporting systems and controls
Evaluating the conversion factors, emission factors and assumptions used; and
Reviewing the presentation of information relevant to the assurance scope in the Reports to ensure consistency with our findings
The limitations of our engagement
The reliability of the selected information is subject to inherent uncertainties, given the available methods for determining, calculating or estimating the underlying information.
It is important to understand our assurance conclusions in this context.
For the carbon and packaging intensity KPIs, we reviewed the accuracy of the calculations based on the final, assured GHG emissions and packaging data for 2024/25 and the audited revenue figure for 2024/25 provided by the Group; we have not separately audited the revenue figure used in the calculation of these KPIs.
For the Scope 3 GHG emissions from categories 1 and 11 and the in-use carbon intensity for
RS PRO products, our work consisted of reviewing the calculations of the GHG emissions and the carbon intensity based on purchase and sales transactions extracted from the Group's financial systems and applying the methodology developed by the Group; we have not separately audited the purchase and sales transactions underlying these GHG emissions and carbon intensity.
Our observations
We have provided the Group with a separate Management Report with our detailed observations. Without affecting our assurance conclusion, we make the following observation:
As disclosed on page 51 of the Annual Report and Accounts 2025 and in the ESG basis of reporting 2024/25, the Group accounts for product transportation (Scope 3 Category 4) GHG emissions from inbound, outbound and inter-site deliveries where these are controlled by RS Group
Our independence, integrity and quality control
ERM CVS is an independent certification
and verification body accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service to ISO 17021:2015. Accordingly we maintain a comprehensive system of quality control, including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with
ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Our quality management system is at least as demanding as the relevant sections of ISQM-1 and ISQM-2 (2022).
ERM CVS applies a Code of Conduct and related policies to ensure that its employees maintain integrity, objectivity, professional competence and high ethical standards in their work.
Our processes are designed and implemented to ensure that the work we undertake is objective, impartial and free from bias and conflict of interest. Our certified management system covers independence and ethical requirements that are at least as demanding as
the relevant sections of the IESBA Code relating to assurance engagements.
ERM CVS has extensive experience in conducting assurance on environmental, social, ethical and health and safety information, systems and processes and provides no consultancy related services to the Group in any respect.
20 May 2025
London, UK
ERM Certification and Verification Services Limited https://www.ermcvs.com
Email: post@ermcvs.com