WoolWorths holdings limited 2013 good BUsiness JoUrneY report

These sustainability initiatives have often been a natural extension
of the longstanding partnerships we share with our suppliers and
corporate partners such as Imperial Group, Mecedes-Benz and
Engen, and specialist non-profit organisations including the World
Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-SA) and Food and Trees for Africa,
amongst others. Our broad range of partnerships has helped
us formulate unique responses to material issues and in turn we
have been able to support the good work already being done
by our partner organisations.
Woolworths and WWF-SA’s broad-based, multifaceted
partnership and our participation in the Network for Business
Sustainability (NBS) are two exciting and significant partnerships
formed in the past year.
CASE STUDY: GBJ CHAMP PROGRAMME
In 2012, at the same time as expanding and re-launching
our sustainability commitments, we launched our GBJ
Champ programme – to ensure that sustainability is
integrated even further into Woolworths’ stores and to help
colleagues understand and live our sustainability value
every day, both at work and at home. Every store has
selected a GBJ Champ to “champion” the Good Business
Journey, responsible for working with their colleagues to
ensure that it is consistently and accurately delivered,
communicated and promoted within their store.
One of the GBJ Champs’ main responsibilities is to share
monthly GBJ newsletters with their colleagues during
a Let’s Talk meeting. These discussions aim to provide
colleagues with the opportunity to grasp issues such
as climate change, water scarcity, food security and
biodiversity, and learn how Woolworths is tackling some
of these issues. Colleagues will also be introduced to new
products and what it is that makes them more sustainable,
and will be empowered with ideas as to how they can
apply GBJ principles in their own homes.
This past year, we hosted our GBJ Champs at the second
annual GBJ Champ Workshops. The highlight
of this year’s workshops was the guest speakers.
GBJ Champs in the Western Cape were invited to the Two
Oceans Aquarium, where they learned why the plastic
bag has such a devastating impact on our marine life.
Greentouch equipped our Champs in Gauteng with 10
simple and affordable ways to ‘green’ their home and
Dr Simon Morgan of Wildlife ACT Fund, one of our limited
edition reusable bag and MyPlanet beneficiaries, spoke to
our Champs in Durban about the importance of wildlife
conservation. These sessions both challenged and inspired
our Champs, growing their understanding of their role in
protecting our environment, both at work and at home.