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Sustainability Report 2014
Officeworks is Australia’s leading retailer and supplier of office products and solutions for home, business and education.
We are an established every-channel retailer. Customers can choose to shop in our 152 stores Australia-wide, via our website or phone and fax. We have more than 6,000 team members and our revenue this year was approximately $1.6 billion.
Material issues
Officeworks’ Positive Difference Plan focuses on the environment, responsible sourcing and people. Key areas of focus within these pillars include:
- Environmental impact of products
- Environmental impact of operations
- Products from sustainable materials
- Ethical sourcing
- Learning and development
- Safety
- Diversity
- Community
Officeworks runs successful go home safe campaigns across customer fulfilment centres. Watch the video.
Officeworks collects school supplies for children in need. Read more.
Officeworks becomes a participant in WWF's Global Forest and Trade Network. Read more.
Environmental impact of products
Officeworks is committed to reducing the end-of-life impacts of the products sold within our business.
Last year, we rolled out package-free pen stands to our store network as an approach to reducing unnecessary packaging. The pen stand significantly eliminated the use of blister packs and reduced the size of packaging required for transportation. This reduced the cardboard required by 74 per cent, and eliminated all plastic packaging for these products.
The end-of-life program for our products continues to grow. Last year, the BringITBack program collected 285,522 kilograms of computers and computer accessories, the equivalent weight of more than 110,000 laptops. We continue to be the largest collector in the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark program having collected 893,164 ink and toner cartridges. As part of the Mobile Muster and Battery Back programs, we also increased our mobile phone collection by more than 170 per cent from last year, collecting 3,327 kilograms, the equivalent of more than 40,000 mobile phones and batteries.
The pen stand significantly eliminated the use of blister packs and reduced the size of packaging required for transportation
Environmental impact of operations
Expanding on the significant energy reductions achieved from LED lighting installations last year, Officeworks retrofitted a further nine stores with LED lighting and fitted five new stores with LED lighting.
This year we recycled 3,327 tonnes of paper, cardboard and plastics from our stores, offices and distribution centres. Our diversion of waste from landfill has risen to 62 per cent in 2014.
Recycled 3,327 tonnes of paper, cardboard and plastics
Greenhouse gas emissions
Energy use
Products from sustainable materials
In May 2014, Officeworks became a participant in the WWF’s Global Forest and Trade Network (GFTN) which will further increase Officeworks’ accountability for the impact some products have on the forest and build upon the existing policy on Responsible Forest Product Purchasing.
Through our participation in the GFTN, we are working towards sourcing products from responsibly managed forests by selecting products with 100 per cent recycled content or credible forest certification such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). All suppliers of forestry products are requried to complete our forest survey.
Ethical sourcing
We have continued to strengthen our sourcing practices through the use of the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (Sedex), a web-based risk modelling database which enables Officeworks' suppliers to share self-assessment information in the areas of labour standards, health and safety, environmental management and business integrity. By then end of the reporting period, 231 of our suppliers were registered on Sedex.
In the past year, 29 of our higher risk factories have been audited to meet the standards of the Officeworks Supplier Code of Conduct.
By then end of the reporting period, 231 of our suppliers were registered on Sedex
Learning and development
More than 65,000 hours of training were invested into team members’ development last year.
Our two accredited Leadership Development Programs are the Future Leaders Program and the Officeworks Leadership Program. Both programs aim to facilitate meaningful personal and professional development, helping the participants to identify and achieve their potential while driving the business’ goals.
We also relaunched our Vision Value program designed to develop and embed a unique culture into every store within the network, as part of the broader framework for Officeworks.
More than 65,000 hours of training were invested into team members’ development last year
Safety
Officeworks continues to drive safety as a behavioural change, rather than a compliance issue. This has led to positive changes that resulted in our Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate being 21.9 for the year, down from 33.9 last year.
This improvement was due to a range of specific safety programs, tools and initiatives such as the successful go home safe campaign at our customer fulfilment centres which resulted in injuries decreasing by more than 30 per cent.
Safety performance
Diversity
Currently 50 per cent of our workforce is female with 35 per cent in management positions. Sixty seven team members (one per cent of our workforce) have self-identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. We are working towards a target of 2 per cent by next year.
For the third consecutive year, Officeworks celebrated National Reconciliation Week with this year’s theme 'Let's Walk the Talk', focusing on turning past conversations into actions. Activities included an Indigenous community group listing with a contact for each store, morning tea with Indigenous Olympian Kyle Vander Kuyp and a Welcome to Country, smoking and traditional dancers at our Support Office in East Bentleigh.
Currently 50 per cent of our workforce is female with 35 per cent in management positions
Community
In January, as a part of our Back to School campaign, we collected almost $80,000 worth of school supplies for donation to children in need through our national partner, The Smith Family. We also donated 82 computers for re-use under The Smith Family’s Tech Pack Program.
Other major activities included our stores' ongoing sausage sizzle fundraising for local community groups, support of The Australian Literacy & Numeracy Foundation’s The Wall of Hands campaign to decrease the literacy gap, disaster relief (NSW bushfires and Queensland floods), and annual national fundraising events such as Remembrance Day and Anzac Day.
Community contributions
