Through its sustainable business model, its scale and industry advocacy, Brambles creates positive outcomes for local and national economies and communities.
Preserving and Enhancing Capital on which it Depends
Brambles constantly seeks to reduce the negative impacts of its business, and where possible create a more positive outcome. This section outlines the direct and indirect benefits of the business which underpin Brambles’ social license to operate.
Generating and Redistributing Financial Capital
Strong financial performance enables social value for Brambles’ employees, their families, communities and economies. The direct economic benefits from Brambles’ businesses include employment opportunities and associated financial and non‑financial benefits for ~12,000 employees, payments to local suppliers and the associated generation of indirect employment, financial donations to community groups and taxes paid to governments. More information on Brambles’ tax profile, how it manages its tax obligations and the tax contributions it makes to the countries in which it operates can be found in Brambles 2020 Tax Transparency Report, available in September 2020.
Market Transformation through Certified Sourcing
Brambles has achieved its 2020 sustainability goal to purchase 100% of its timber materials from certified sustainable forests. This achievement is significant because when Brambles set this goal in 2015, certification programmes for forest products were not available in all regions of operation. Brambles has helped transform these markets by driving demand for certified forest management. Forestry certification directly supports those regions and communities connected to forestry operations while conserving the ecological processes of the forest. This supports the objective of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, Life on the Land, which aims for the sustainable use of the world’s forests.
Creating Sustainable Supply Chains through the Circular Economy
Advocating for widespread adoption of a circular economy is central to Brambles’ purpose and is promoted by non‑government bodies, such as the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Ellen Macarthur Foundation (EMF). A circular strategy addresses both economic inefficiencies and environmental issues that have reached a critical junction including waste and climate change. Circular strategies are being increasingly adopted by the world’s leading brands as they aim to remain ahead of pending circular regulations that will require greater responsibility for their end-of‑life products. Brambles’ 70 years’ experience operating through a circular business model positions it as a thought leader that sets a benchmark for circularity at a global scale. This unique attribute was recognised by the Ellen Macarthur Foundation in May 2020, rating Brambles with an A in its Circulytics programme.
Building Community Capital through Social Impact
2020 has been a challenging year to date with Australia’s bushfire crisis quickly followed by the global Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, demand for food relief services has increased dramatically with the added difficulty of social distancing reducing the availability of volunteers to donate time safely. Brambles and its food donation partners, many of whom are customers, have needed to increase their support to food banks to ensure food relief and essentials can flow to those in need. Brambles is the backbone of food relief logistics operations and is constantly supplying in-kind platforms to help redistribute food and essentials. In early 2020, CHEP Australia provided produce bins and pallets for emergency food relief during the bushfire crisis.