SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS
Officeworks takes charge
Officeworks increased recycling rates from 64 per cent in FY17 to 81 per cent this financial year.
OFFICEWORKS’ RYAN SWENSON HIGHLIGHTS THE COMPANY’S SMART APPROACH TO BACK-OF-HOUSE AND CUSTOMER RECYCLING.
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s a major supplier of office products and solutions for homes, businesses and schools, Officeworks’ customer footprint is by no means small. Its 168 stores buttress more than 8000 team members, in addition to three distribution centres and two support centres. Developing an overarching sustainability plan therefore necessitated smarter thinking about how it manages its waste internally, using concrete data and drawing on waste industry experts to identify environmentally friendly solutions. In 2015, Officeworks launched its first Positive Difference Plan, which set a five-year strategy and targets issues most pertinent to their stakeholders. The plan outlined goals to reduce the company’s environmental impact, sourcing products in sustainable and responsible ways and supporting the aspirations of its team and communities. Four years into the 2020 plan, Officeworks has made significant
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progress against the targets, including reducing carbon emissions by 15 per cent. As part of this, it is also working towards ensuring all paper products are either Forest Stewardship Council certified or made from 100 per cent recycled materials by December 2020. The company follows the principles of the waste hierarchy, avoiding or reducing the amount of waste that is generated in the first place. From FY17 to FY18, it reduced its total waste generated from 6975 tonnes to 5764 tonnes. Of that, waste to landfill decreased from 2513 to 1405 tonnes. Officeworks has also increased recycling rates from 64 per cent in FY17 to 81 per cent this financial year to date and is working towards a target to recycle 85 per cent by 30 June this year. Ryan Swenson, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Officeworks, tells Waste Management Review that reducing the company’s environmental
impact is a priority for the business, its team members and other stakeholders. “Setting a long-term target to send zero waste to landfill, with milestones each year, enables us to establish a roadmap that demonstrates continuous improvement and to monitor our progress along the way,” he says. To support its ambitious targets, Officeworks partnered with Cleanaway in 2017. The partnership allows Officeworks to provide detailed data and reporting to help its teams understand their progress against the targets. Ryan says that Officeworks then looked at three areas where it could have the most influence: service schedules, infrastructure and behaviour change. “By analysing the data, we made changes to the general waste collection schedules across selected stores from weekly to fortnightly. “This drove an immediate change in behaviour as our teams needed
