Big Business, Bigger Goals with The Warehouse
Image Supplied by The Warehouse Group
The Warehouse Group are one of New Zealand’s Largest Retail Groups, and are Walking the Talk on Sustainability.
Consumer demand for more eco-friendly products and practices, along with a “top down” drive for more sustainability and social responsibility have motivated The Warehouse Group (TWG), the holding company for The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationery and Noel Leeming to check where they are, measure it, and make goals for where to next.
There is a push to move The Warehouse from ‘where everyone gets a bargain’ to ‘where everyone gets a sustainable bargain’.
The Warehouse Group’s latest Annual Report devotes as much space to social and environmental impact as it does to yearly sales figures. This is because the company, a household name in New Zealand, now has measures for impact which rate alongside profit in terms of importance.
TWG has been reporting on carbon emissions for over a decade, but to put this and its other measuring sticks to the test, they brought in Impact Consultants The Ākina Foundation.
As the market recognises the need to measure social impact, Ākina helped to focus on the most up to date, and relevant framework available for TWG.
Ākina CEO Nicola Nation says it is encouraging to see one of the nation’s biggest retail group setting an ambitious goal and then hard wiring it into its operational practices.
Image Supplied by The Warehouse Group: The Warehouse
Chief Sustainability Officer for The Warehouse Group, David Benattar says as the market changes with new technology, new consumer behaviour, and new regulations, any sustainability and social impact measurement framework must be flexible, not rigid.
The biggest challenge around measuring impact is that many areas are hard to measure – there may be multiple frameworks to select from, and they are not as straightforward as measuring financial performance.
“Ākina was able to hone in on the unique New Zealand market, and more specifically what the government is looking at when they make procurement decisions was incredibly helpful,” Mr Benattar says.
“It’s about how we can use our procurement power to make positive change in the market”
“From a commercial standpoint they told us what we should be ready to report on when we interact with the Government, and other New Zealand businesses. Through them we were able to align with the Government’s wellbeing Budget indicators. It allows us to continue being ahead of the market.”
Mr Benattar says Ākina helped them focus on expanding what was required of suppliers, allowing for more diversity in supply. Sustainability remains a focus with an increase in the number of products sold across the group. At last count (TWG Annual Report to August 2021) there were 11,500 products with at least one sustainable feature on offer across the group.
“It’s about how we can use our procurement power to make positive change in the market,” Mr Benattar says.
“By integrating these measurement devices and the way we look at suppliers, we make our decisions differently. It opened up our minds and also our eyes on expanding the requirements of our suppliers. By measuring success, we keep on changing and expanding our ambitions. The organisation is on a journey.”
And while there is a financial cost to ensuring accurate tracking of social and environmental impact, Mr Benattar says the benefits far outweigh the costs.
“Anybody on a sustainability transformation journey should be working with Ākina.”
With staff satisfaction and retention another issue front of mind in a competitive labour market, Mr Benattar says impact - particularly around the environment - is one of the topics which gets the most engagement from staff.
“Our focus is on the tremendous commercial opportunities coming up. It’s a whole new territory of engagement with customers and with employees. Anybody on a sustainability transformation journey should be working with Ākina.”
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