Woolworths : launches Corporate Responsibility Strategy 2020

Strategy outlines 20 commitments, to be achieved by 2020,
based on People, Planet, Prosperity

Woolworths Group today launched its Corporate Responsibility Strategy 2020, which identifies 20 corporate responsibility and sustainability goals and commitments that Woolworths aims to implement by FY'20. The goals and commitments cover a wide range of Woolworths' stakeholders, including customers, team members, suppliers and the communities in which Woolworths operates.

The Strategy, which can be found here, uses Woolworths' Corporate Responsibility framework of People, Planet, Prosperity, which the company first introduced in 2015. It includes the following commitments:

• People - encouraging diversity
  • Striving for gender equity by targeting at least 40 per cent of executive and senior manager positions to be held by women.
  • No salary wage gap between male and female employees of equivalent positions on a per-hour rate at all levels of the company.
  • Embracing diversity by increasing the number of Indigenous team members in line with Woolworths' commitments under the Federal Government's Employment Parity Initiative.
• Planet - for a healthy Australia
  • Working towards zero food waste going to landfill.
  • Reducing Woolworths' carbon emissions to 10 per cent below 2015 levels.
• Prosperity - founded on trusted relationships
  • Achieving a top quartile ranking in how the business engages fairly and equitably with Woolworths' suppliers as measured by independent supplier surveys.
  • Inspiring customers to consume all of Woolworths' products in a healthy, sustainable way.
  • Investing the equivalent of 1 per cent of a three year rolling average of total Group Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) in community partnerships and programs.

Woolworths Chief Executive Officer Brad Banducci said, 'At Woolworths, we strive to put our customers, team members, and the communities in which we work at the heart of everything that we do.

'We are passionate about the opportunity we have to do the right thing. Every Woolworths team member knows that they have a role to play in achieving these commitments.'

As part of its Corporate Responsibility Strategy 2020, Woolworths will report regularly on the progress it is making towards these goals and commitments. 'While we are excited by what the future holds, we are clear that we should be judged not by what we say we will do, but by what we actually do. This is how we will hold ourselves accountable,' Mr Banducci said.

Woolworths launched its first Sustainability Strategy, called 'Doing the Right Thing,' in 2007. Since then, the company has invested significant time and effort into its corporate responsibility and sustainability programs, and will continue to build on this work in the future. A few examples of what Woolworths has done in the past year include:

Employment Parity Initiative: Woolworths' aim is to drive cultural diversity, and the company currently has 2,200 team members who declare themselves to be Indigenous. As part of its participation in the Federal Government's Employment Parity Initiative, Woolworths hired a further 528 Indigenous team members in 2016, with plans to hire an additional 250 by end of March, 2017.

Gender Equity: As part of its drive to minimize the pay gap between male and female team members, in 2016 Woolworths reviewed the salaries of approximately 18,000 employees and adjusted the salaries of 29% of those reviewed, reducing the salary gap to an average of 0.5% between males and females carrying out like-for-like roles. As many male as female team members received a pay increase as a result of this program.

Free Fruit for Kids: Woolworths aims to inspire its customers to make healthier food choices. Woolworths Supermarkets has put in place a program to encourage children to eat a piece of fruit while in its stores; in the past year, Woolworths gave away more than $9 million of free fruit nationwide.

The Salvation Army: Woolworths has had a long-standing partnership with The Salvation Army that since 1954 has raised more than $25 million. In 2016 Woolworths further cemented its commitment to The Salvos through the launch of the S.T.A.N.D. (Support Through Australian Natural Disasters) initiative. Through every six pack of branded S.T.A.N.D. water that Woolworths sells, the company will donate $1 to natural disaster relief.

Further examples of the results of Woolworths' most recent sustainability initiatives can be found in its 2016 Corporate Responsibility Report here.

For further information please contact Woolworths Media Relations on (02) 8885 1033.

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