Sustainability Policy of Australian Hardware: Existing Framework and New Initiatives

This article discusses the existing sustainability policy of Australian Hardware and suggests new initiatives to improve its social and environmental performance. It also includes relevant legislations and regulations. The article highlights the six sustainability principles that the company is adhering to and the scope of changes required to the policy and the related framework. It also provides an evidence-based checklist of the implementation of the new actions.

Running Head: Sustainability Policy of Australian Hardware
Sustainability Initiatives

Sustainability Policy of Australian Hardware 1
Part 1: existing sustainability policy of Australian Hardware
a) Executive Summary:
Australian Hardware is one among the largest retailer of hardware items. The company has
around 140 stores in Australia. Its main vision is to lead the Australian market of hardware
and home-ware items in the coming five years. To achieve the vision company is aimed to
first achieve the sustainable development of its business. The sustainability of a business is
achieved when utilises the valuable resources of nature to meet its present needs in such a
way that it does not have to compromise the ability of further generations to use such
resources to fulfil their needs.
b) Current sustainability framework and its performance
After examining the current sustainability policy of Australian Hardware, it has been
observed that it is firmly committed to the sustainable use of natural resources in its business.
The scope of the sustainable policy of the present company includes all its employees as well
contractors to ensure the appropriateness of sustainability practices as adopted by the
company. The management together with the employees of the company is collectively
responsible for the successful implementation of its sustainability policy. There are primarily
six sustainability principles that the company is adhering to. They are:
1. Actions to reduce environmental risk: Company considers the risk to the environment
as its own risk and therefore includes it as a part of its risk management function. It
sets out that the employees and management must take immediate actions to the
environment risk as they would with any other risk i.e. financial, health or safety risk.

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2. Intergenerational fairness: Australian Hardware ensures that the further generations
are fairly treated in terms of use of natural resources. It makes sure that company does
not deplete the valuable resources that will be needed by the future generations.
3. Sustainable deployment of natural resources: The company ensures that it deploys the
valuable natural resources at the same rate they were originally replenished. Also, it
identifies the ways to compensate for the unsustainable use of natural resources. It
compares its usage with the usage of such resources with the similar businesses.
4. Maintaining biological diversity: biological diversity is the integral part of the
ecosystem that affects the overall health of planet Earth. The company strives to
identify whether it is contributing or diminishing the life of various living beings on
earth. It ensures the prevention of production of manufacturing of such products that
harms the ecosystem. Also, it offsets for the damage caused by its operation to the
ecosystem.
5. Improved socio-economic well-being: This principle helps the company in focusing
on how it attributes value to a particular business activity. It allows the company to
consider how its usage of natural resources affects the social well-being. Also it
considers whether the wastage of company is considered as the environment’s cost or
as cost related to financial interests of the company.
6. Strengthened community: This principle enables the company to ensure that it
positively contributes to the strengthening of the community to which its business
belongs. It allows the company to determine whether the other community members
are connected more closely to the community as an outcome of company’s business
activities (Australian Hardware, 2017).
c) Scope of changes required to the policy and the related framework

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To achieve the vision of becoming the large hardware dealer in Australian market, the
company will have to increase its market share by increasing its sales. It shall have to control
its operational cost, maintain the superior quality of its products and services and maintain its
sound image in terms of socially as well as environmentally responsible business. To support
the achievement of these objectives (especially the last one), the company needs to review the
existing sustainability policy to:
 It must set targets for the reduction in the consumption patter of valuable natural
resources such as fuel, water and energy.
 It must provide for the system of environmental audits to be carried at each and every
store of the company on the regular basis so that environmental risk could be dealt in
the suitable manner.
 Improve the environmental and social performance such as product responsibility,
labour practices as required by the framework of global reporting initiatives
(Meyerstein, 2011).
d) Relevant sustainability legislations, regulations and codes of practice:
 Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999
 National Environment Protection Council Act, 1995
 AS/NZS ISO 14001: 2004: Environmental management system- Requirements with
guidance for use.
Part 2: New sustainability policy (Refer PDF)
Procedure: Reducing the water wastage and energy use:
Australian Hardware must adopt the system of recycling of water resources. The company
must construct water tanks so as to collect the rain-water or water from the roofs and to use
the technology to purify the collected water so as to be used further in its business operations.

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Another procedure that could be implemented is the reduction of consumption of energy by
adoption of use of skylights and solar arrays on the roofs by the end of this quarter of the
current year.
Part 3: The implementation of new sustainable policy of the company
1. Enhancing social and environmental performance of business
 Goal/ Objective:
To improve the environmental and social performance such as product
responsibility, labour practices as required by the framework of global
reporting initiatives.
 Actions:
 The company must establish the standards for its product quality below which
it must not perform in any case. The company must use only those raw
materials that are environment friendly and improves the quality of its
products (Gray & Milne, 2002).
 It must make proactive initiatives towards its employees by arranging yoga
sessions for them, organising events annual family day for the employees,
providing them free heath check-ups in reasonable time intervals.
 Performance measures:
 ISO certified products
 Labour efficiency and turnover ratios

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 Resources required
 Metal, natural oil and petroleum products, land, water etc.
 Resource Accountability
 The manufacturing department must be assigned with the responsibility of
managing the natural resources used by the company.
2. Improving the goodwill and legitimacy of the company:
 Goal/ Objectives:
 To enhance the recognition of company’s business in the community by
maintaining its goodwill and lawful image:
 Actions:
 Involvement in certain charity projects
 Sponsoring of employees for the charitable events
 Performance measure:
 Number of charitable events organised by the company
 Resource Accountability
 Board of directors of the company
3. Application of strategies for prevention of pollution:

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 Goals /objectives:
 To protect the natural resources used by the company such as eater land
forests etc.
 Actions:
 Disposal of wastages of the manufacturing factory in the appropriate places
 Maximise the rain water use
 Performance measures:
 Review the documents that prove the construction of water sewage plants.
 Resource Accountability:
 The use of natural resources like water will be undertaken by the employees of
the company.
Once the sustainable policy is prepared, it is necessary to circulate the entire policy
documents to the employees and other management of the company. The continuous
monitoring of the sustainability plan will have to be undertaken on the consistent basis
(Brown, Jong & Levy, 2009).
Part 4: Evidence to prove successful implementation of sustainability policy
Action plan of Australian Hardware

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Sustainability Policy of Australian Hardware 8
Source: http://australianhardware.simulations.australiantrainingproducts.com.au/
australianhardware.simulations.learn.com.au/uploads/8/5/8/8/85882182/ah_business_plan.pdf
Checklist of implementation of above actions
Plan of actions
Implemented or
not
Use of sky lights and solar arrays at roof. Yes
Creation of water tanks. Yes
Audit of each store on quarterly basis Yes
Conduct of environmental review of the suppliers Yes
Provision of environmental training and to the staff Yes
Conduct of Market survey about the environmental
concerns related to company's operations through
social media platforms. Yes

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References:
Australian Hardware. (2017). Sustainability Policy. Retrieved from:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?
a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxic2I1MDIxNWRpcGxvbWFidX
NpbmVzc3xneDoxYzc1ZmZkMjJlODAxNjU0 Accessed on 18.06.2018.
Brown, H. S., de Jong, M., & Levy, D. L. (2009). Building institutions based on information
disclosure: lessons from GRI's sustainability reporting. Journal of cleaner
production, 17(6), 571-580.
Droste, B. V. (1991). Environmentally sustainable economic development: building on
Brundtland (No. GTZ-76). R. Goodland, H. E. Daly, & S. El Serafy (Eds.). Paris:
Unesco.
Goodland, R. (2000). Social and environmental assessment to promote sustainability: an
informal view from the World Bank.
Gray, R., & Milne, M. (2002). Sustainability reporting: who's kidding whom?. Chartered
Accountants Journal of New Zealand, 81(6), 66-70.
Kolk, A. (2008). Sustainability, accountability and corporate governance: exploring
multinationals' reporting practices. Business Strategy and the Environment, 17(1), 1-
15.
Meyerstein, A. (2011). The New Protectors of Rio: Global Finance and the Sustainable
Development Agenda. Sustainable Dev. L. & Pol'y, 12, 15.