Environment and Sustainability Governance

White’s Grocers is a family-owned independent supermarket retail group, founded by Roz and Michael White with a proud history spanning 30 years.

Our market leading, award winning, retail-tainment destination IGA stores are built and created to engage, excite, and entice our customers, offering a captivating and compelling shopping experience with individuality and purpose.

A core part of the White’s IGA value system is our focus on improving sustainability. As conscientious stewards of our environment, White’s IGA are actively engaged to preserve and protect our natural resources and ecosystems by reducing negative impacts. We are committed to working with our suppliers, shoppers, and manufacturers to find solutions that create a better world around us. This applies to the equipment and technology we use, the partnerships we form and how we support sustainable lifestyles for our team. While a bespoke White’s IGA leadership program paves the way for new, innovative, more balanced approaches to the careers, personal development, and health of our employees.

Caring for people and planet is at the heart of every move the business makes. The choices we make as a business have the power to nourish, support and contribute to our community, team, local families, businesses, and producers as well as the future environment for our children and grandchildren.

Our commitment to face and prepare for continuous change and build resilience for a sustainable future requires an open mindedness to embrace change and take necessary steps to review, monitor and measure our governance with transparency and rigour.

Our ESG Mission

White’s IGA has a commitment to building a better tomorrow therefore prioritising a holistic view of successfully balancing environmental, social, financial, physical, and psychological health equally to set the stage for positive, purposeful, and proof-driven change through best practice to:

✔ Act responsibly to safeguard our planet
✔ Enrich the best for people
✔ Uphold best practice principles, policies, standards and compliance
✔ Align relationships to impact positive change and create value

Our Values

COMMITMENT
Be committed to our standards, culture, customers, and fellow team members.

AUTHENTICITY
Act and communicate honestly and with integrity with fellow team members, customers, suppliers, and key stakeholders.

GROWTH
Achieve best practice standards to create a positive environment which fulfils the needs of the business, customers, community, and team.

Our ESG Goals

Each best sustainable practice is interdependent and mutually reinforcing with our active development goals across four main pillars:

PLANET
PEOPLE
PRODUCTIVITY
PRACTICE

Planet

Environmental sustainability refers to the preservation and protection of natural resources and ecosystems by reducing the negative impacts of human activity on the environment such as reducing emissions and waste, conserving water, and energy, and protecting biodiversity.

White’s IGA works with our suppliers to actively reduce problem plastics and usage, embrace sustainable sourcing to mitigate social and environmental impacts and work with the community to address food insecurity and eradicate avoidable food waste to landfill.

CLIMATE AND ENERGY

Minimising our carbon footprint

✔ Low carbon technology
✔ LED & solar technology
✔ ‘Energy All Star’ rated refrigeration
✔ Low energy consumption equipment
✔ Water loop reheating
✔ LED activation lighting
✔ Low freight supply network

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Keeping food and waste out of landfill

✔ Repurpose ingredients
✔ Organic waste for cyclical reuse
✔ Regenerative action
✔ Battery and phone recycling
✔ Food rescue partnerships

PLASTICS AND PACKAGING

Eliminating problem plastics

✔ Compostable and reusable packaging
✔ Free cardboard box use
✔ Paper bags
✔ No single use plastic bags
✔ No single use plastic picnicware

SUSTAINABLE SOURCING

Ethical and sustainable sourcing

✔ Ethical and environmentally aligned suppliers
✔High welfare and humane choice accredited suppliers
✔ Locavore program
✔Planet friendly food
✔ Fair trade

People

Social and community sustainability refers to ensuring all members of society have access to resources and opportunities to meet basic needs and live a fulfilling life. We recognise that our employees are integral to our success. We have developed a suite of policies and programs to enhance and create a great place to work, feel valued and respected. We prioritise a people first culture and promote their wellbeing through best practices in safety, psychological and physical health, and professional and personal development to inspire healthy people and a prosperous community.

INVESTING IN OUR TEAM

Inspiring our team to optimise their personal and professional fulfilment and support the health of our community.

✔ Inclusive and equal opportunity employer
✔ Personal and professional development
✔ Apprenticeships
✔ Tertiary education
✔ Career pathways
✔ Rewards and recognition
✔ Best business policy and practice
✔Fairness, ethical practice, and standards
✔ Active community engagement

SAFETY AND WELLBEING

Commitment to inspiring our team and shoppers to living healthier, happier lifestyles to support the health of our community and environment.

Promoting wellbeing through best practices in safety, psychological and physical health

✔ Health & wellness program
✔ Risk management system
✔ Benestar employee support service
✔ WH&S communication and consultation
✔ USC Alliance Program partner
✔ Disaster response plan
✔ Workplace Code of Conduct

RESPONSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS

Fostering good relations with trade and industry partners

✔ Supply chain responsibility
✔ Collaborative and mutually beneficial partnerships
✔ Purpose driven partnerships with local food and agribusiness
✔ B2B support of local providers

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY

Commitment to supporting the local community that supports us.

✔ Contribute to the welfare of society
✔ Community and charitable partnerships
✔ Cohesive and collaborative relationships
✔ Staff Volunteer program
✔ Creating a heart space for the community
✔ Promote socialisation and inclusion
✔ Donations and sponsorships

Productivity

Economic sustainability involves ensuring that economic growth and development are sustainable in the long term.

✔ Measurable targets
✔ Budgets and forecasting
✔ Performance analysis
✔ Margin, stock, and people management
✔ Knowledge and upskilling
✔ Loss prevention
✔ Best business practice
✔ Paperless validation
✔ Technology

Practice

In today’s retail environment, consumers have a desire to shop sustainably and are demanding change. Conscious and mindful shoppers are purchasing products that align with their personal values, especially sustainable products across categories. Customer betterment experiences ignite the senses and bring joy and connectivity to create a high value experience for modern shoppers.

✔ Market leading destination stores
✔ In store sensorial experiences
✔ Seasonal quality and hand cut fresh
✔ Culinary delicacies and cuisines
✔ Lifestyle and artisan
✔ Food and health education
✔ Brand Integrity
✔ Shopper rewards
✔Locavore culture
✔ Farm to store sourcing
✔ Connection to source Diverse and handpicked ranging
✔ Trusted everyday prices
✔ Healthy choices
✔ Free fruit for kids instore
✔ Hyper-personalisation
✔ Omnichannel shopping & rapid delivery