Our Approach to Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability

Doing the right thing

At Woolworths we are conscious of our responsibilities as a major retailer - serving millions of customers every day in communities across Australia and New Zealand. We need to understand and manage our impacts, and take the opportunity to help achieve lasting and beneficial change that extends beyond our operations. Our operations impact the way we treat people, serve our customers, invest in local communities, provide returns to our shareholders, manage our supply chain and affect the environment. This report aims to give the reader an insight into how we are performing in all these areas. Simply put, we aim to make sure Woolworths remains a company people want to invest in, work for and do business with, well into the future.

Woolworths Limited's long-term goal is to be recognised as the leader in sustainable retailing in the Australian retailing sector. As such, integrating corporate responsibility and sustainability into our day-to-day business practices is a high priority. Priorities, targets, commitments and initiatives to direct the business towards this goal were established with the publication of "Doing the Right Thing: Sustainability Strategy 2007-2015" in November 2007. In addition all divisions have incorporated their sustainability targets in their five-year strategic plans; and are required to take sustainability criteria and considerations into account in any major investment decisions.

Overall responsibility for, and governance of, sustainability lies with the Board. The Board also oversees the effectiveness of our safety and health program through its People Policy Committee. The CEO and the General Manager Risk and Safety report to the People Policy Committee on Woolworths' overall Health and Safety performance on a quarterly basis. Divisions report to the Board on their divisional safety performance.

Woolworths Safety and Health Executive Committee chaired by the CEO comprises divisional management and meets monthly to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the safety and health vision, principles, policy, standards, strategy, initiatives, procedures and governance across the group (see the Safety and Health section).

The Group Manager Sustainability reports to the Board on a monthly basis on overall Woolworths' performance against targets, policy implementation, regulatory changes and compliance, risks and opportunities. Further details are provided in quarterly presentations to the Board on key performance indicators, emerging issues and reputation. Divisions report to the Board on their divisional sustainability performance against divisional targets.

A Sustainability Executive Committee, comprising the CEO and general managers from the trading and support divisions, has been established to ensure our sustainability strategy is implemented in a timely and cost effective manner. The committee monitors progress in meeting our targets, reviews trends in legislation and public opinion, ensures compliance with relevant legislation, and reviews and approves business cases, policy positions and relevant new technology.

A Sustainability Coordinators Committee, comprising sustainability champions from retail businesses and logistics, identifies business processes that need to be adapted to enable sustainable practices, shares ideas across divisions and facilitates our Eco Ambassadors program (see the Waste and Recycling section).

Finally, our Corporate Responsibility Panel, comprising the CEO and external experts from a wide range of relevant fields, meets three or four times a year to communicate knowledge of national and international best practice and provide advice on Woolworths' corporate responsibility and sustainability strategies and direction, and on effective stakeholder engagement strategies (see the Stakeholder Engagement section).