Sustainability and Social Connection Newsletter
30 January 2025
At Wilson & Bradley are committed to continually upgrade and update our procedures and processes to ensure we are leaving as little waste and footprint behind. Sustainability is not just a buzz word anymore, it is our commitment to responsible practices that benefit our environment, our communities, and our business in the long run.
Over the next months and years, you will see changes across our business and an increased effort on more sustainable measures and options happening in all our branches, to ensure that we are meeting our obligations as a business with reducing and eliminating our damage to our environment. These changes will include improving our packaging, improving energy efficiency, sourcing materials more responsibly and increasing our supplier demands on the sustainability of their manufacturing processes and packaging. These changes will not happen overnight, and will take time to fully implement, but please note we are taking every step necessary that will contribute towards a greener future.
We are open to suggestions and feedback on ways in which you think we can do things better and want to hear your ideas and suggestions and if you so wish, please send these through to Georgia at sustainability@wilbrad.com.au.
SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES AT WILSON & BRADLEY
During the last 8 months we have been upgrading our lighting in all five warehouses. In all branches we had older style halogen lights which across all five branches cost a huge amount of dollars to run, let alone the impact this is having on our environment. This upgrade means less outlay financially and better impact on the environment in the long term.
The business recently rolled out a new Sustainability Policy to ensure our processes reflect a sustainable mindset. On top of creating our new Policy, our Product Development team have been gathering all suppliers Sustainability Policies to ensure all our suppliers are working to the highest standards when it comes to sustainability.
We recently included a statement around our commitment to sustainability when it comes to printing. “We are committed to a sustainable future, you can too, by considering the need to print this email. Please ask yourself if you really need a hard copy.” We are encouraging all staff and customers to consider the need to print emails and where possible use digital methods rather than paper methods when conducting business.
In October, we began rolling out new recycled Wilson & Bradley boxes with the tagline “We are committed to a sustainable future, you can too, by recycling this box.” We hope by including this we encourage our customers to follow our lead by recycling the boxes shipped to them.
We have made the change from a physical business card to a digital business card. This has been a profound change for us because it means less printing and less wastage of paper/card. Users have reported that is simple and effective, and details can be exchanged easily with our customers. This is a great step towards a digital future and a greener future too.
We have engaged the services of Moorup. Moorup is located close to our head office in Heidelberg West, and are a mobile recycling company, this is obviously a terrific way of contributing to less landfill. Moorup restore the phones and donate at least 5% of the mobiles to people who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing digital exclusion.
We are pleased to announce the launch of new QR code posters for our brochures. These posters make it easy for our customers to access our brochures instantly by simply scanning the codes with their phones. This initiative supports our commitment to sustainability by reducing paper use and making our brochures more accessible for our customers. QR code posters are available for the following brochures:
- Blum Drawers
- L&S Lighting
- Furnipart Handles
- Armstrong Locks
- Docking Drawer
- Wilson & Bradley Brand Overview
Marketing Brochure Strategy
At the Design Show we had Wilson & Bradley specific promotional material that we gave to everyone that visited our stall, as well as staff that worked on the stall throughout the three-day event. We had eight hundred socks made, that were made from Bamboo (90%), and one thousand Bamboo Pens that were all marked with Wilson & Bradley Logo and ‘In-To Every Space’ tagline. Curious as to why we chose bamboo? Bamboo is a renewable and biodegradable material, meaning it has a minimal environmental impact.
We have encouraged our BDMs to map out their day to ensure that the most efficient route is used when visiting customers. This is to ensure that they are not backtracking on roads travelled, thus ensuring we are not emitting as much CO2 into the environment.
However, with Petrol cars that output is still extremely high- in fact our C02 emissions from January to date is 252.8 tonnes. Therefore, as a company we needed to have a look at other options to decrease our carbon footprint. Therefore, we have started adding in to our fleet Toyota RAV4 Hybrid models. We are slowly replacing cars in our fleet that are old and have high kilometres and for all new cars purchased we are exclusively ordering Hybrid vehicles.
SPONSORSHIP AND CHARITY SUPPORT 2024
Each year as a business we contribute to local sporting clubs and charities. See below our Sponsorship and Charity Support for 2024.
Seville Football and Netball Club (Victoria)
The funds that we have donated help with the operation of the Club. This can include purchasing new equipment, awards, end of season trophies, subsidising the cost of participation for the families, social events, programs, and seminars such as Outside the Locker Room Mental Health educational events and building and maintaining infrastructure at the Club.
Variety Australia
The Children’s Charity is an organisation that runs programs to educate and empower children aged between 0-17 years who are living with illness, disability or experiencing disadvantage.
Australia's Biggest Morning Tea
This community event raises vital funds to make a significant difference for those impacted by cancer. Almost 1 in 2 Australians are diagnosed with cancer before the age of eighty-five, and by hosting a morning tea we contributed to making a difference to those whose lives have been altered by a diagnosis.
Maca Cancer200 Ride for the Perkins
One of our customers in WA recently rode 200km to raise funds to beat cancer. This event took place over the weekend of 11th and 12th October. The event is “A life-changing 200km, two-day journey uniting the community by supporting WA researchers to beat the world’s toughest cancers to ensure you and your loved ones have longer, healthier, and better lives”.
10x10 Philanthropy event 10x10 Melbourne is a community-based fundraising event designed to support Victoria's best emerging social purpose organisations (SPOs) and provide them with access to capital and networks to help them grow.
WHAT'S NEXT?
This is only the beginning. Together with your support we can create a world that’s not only greener but also more united.
If you have any suggestions or feedback about things we can do better and implement in 2025, we would love to hear your ideas and suggestions. If you so wish, please email our Sustainability dedicated email address: sustainability@wilbrad.com.au.
We look forward to bringing you more news and information in 2025.
Thank you for being part of this journey with us.