Our Environment
We really care about our environment. It is incorporated into the way we do business so as to safeguard our environment for present and future generations. How?
Ourselves - by ensuring we comply with all relevant environmental legislation and regulations.
Our Suppliers - by communicating and working with them to comply to our environmental expectations.
Our Customers - by raising awareness of relevant issues and encouraging them to exercise their choice in an environmentally positive manner.
One way in which we support our environment is by offering environmentally sustainable product choices to our customers. We remain the only retailer in New Zealand which insists that our outdoor hardwood furniture range be derived only from sustainable sources.
We’re also delighted to retain our listing on the FTSE4Good Index which identifies companies that meet globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. This shows that we’re meeting stringent social, ethical and environmental criteria. We’ve been members of the FTSE4Good Index since 2001 and we’ve kept our listing even though they’ve tightened their criteria over the years.
We have again been listed within the carbon Disclosure Project’s Goldman Sachs JBWere Climate Disclosure Leadership Index for Australasia.
It was gratifying to receive external recognition for our bag reduction efforts in the form of a win in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Consumer Education Award at the Bi Annual Environmental Packaging Awards.
This Award category is targeted at brand-owners and retailers who have undertaken effective public promotion programmes which encourage the consumer to consider their role in minimising the environmental impacts. Criteria for this award included recognition for the special association between brand identity and consumer education promoting environmental principles; and showing where industry has partnered with the community to promote recovery and recycling.”
In this photo: Hon Dr Nick Smith Minister for Environment (centre) presents the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Consumer Education Award to The Warehouse Sustainability Manager Trevor (left)
Demand for plastic check-out bags has fallen by 82% over the past three years and now only about 14% of transactions, include the purchase of a lightweight check-out bag. The purchase of these 10-cent bags have enables us to distribute a sume of $432,000 to around 68 community groups during 2010. Also, for the last three years we have driven a concerted campaign to reduce waste arising from our store operations resulting in a decrease of almost 50%.
For more information, check out the Society and Environment section on our corporate website.
