FWR News
Recent finalists in the QLD Sustainable Industry Awards 2009, one Queensland business that has been very successful in harvesting and cultivating 'green' intrapreneurs is James Brockhurst's The Good Guys (Capalaba, QLD). Read on to hear more of their story and their success with staff attraction, retention, and culture building. They really are Good Guys!
Here's a snapshot of the James Brockhurst The Good Guys Story:
The old saying goes - “If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got.” Well, James Brockhurst The Good Guys Capalaba (JB TGG) are not a team to rest on their laurels. They know there is a better way and are leading the charge nationally among The Good Guys stores in our efforts to improve our triple bottom line. Improving their environmental performance goes hand in hand with positive developments to our social/community performance, as well as an improved traditional bottom line. Their innovative program of change has been a great success, seeing them accomplish more than they had anticipated. Due to their excellent example, the program is being replicated in a pilot project across five other The Good Guys stores, as a precursor to a national roll-out. Their Team are proud that their example can be followed by others, as their aim has always been to educate other business owners and inspire them to embark on their own sustainability journey.
So what is it they're doing that is so different? For starters, they are committed, top-down and bottom-up, to industry and business leadership in sustainable practice not just because it makes good environmental sense, but because it makes good business sense. As part of this commitment the Team have, and will continue to, develop innovative, achievable actions that lead to more sustainable environmental, economic, and social outcomes.
The Good Guys Capalaba takes their responsibility as a retailer very seriously. As a seller of goods, they have the ability to guide their clients to help them to make a more environmentally sustainable purchase. However, they know their efforts in this regard are almost meaningless if they don't also clean up their own act and that of their supply chain. This is why they are the first electrical retailers in Australia to develop a Sustainable Electrical Retailers Business Induction and Training Guide (SERB) for their business.
Clients who make a purchase from their store not only get a great product and great service (at a great price) they are also educated on environmental efficiency, enabling them to make better choices when they leave the store.
In the time that they have been on their sustainability journey they have :
Recycled their Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) by partnering with Leo Sines (Global Interests who use EPS to make items such as picture frames) thus reducing their landfill waste by over 2.5 Tonne per year (with the waste management sector responsible for 4% of our GHG emissions this equates to a large saving); 75% of total James Brockhurst The Good Guys waste is EPS and is reduced as a result of this program;
Encouraged others on their journey to reduce EPS waste in Capalaba Park Shopping Centre by over 3.175 Tonne in just a 12 week period;
Reduced their clients green house gas emissions by;- Washing machines – 490,711kg CO2 in 2006, with increased savings from increased sales in 2007 & 2008
- Air-conditioners – 153,920kg CO2 in 2006, with increased savings from increased sales in 2007 & 2008
Saved their clients ;
- 56ML of saved water in 2006
- A further 71Mega Litres of saved water in 2007
- A further 64ML of saved water in 2008
• Hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs; and
• Reduced staff turnover due to continued training and a better sense of purpose.
These results have occurred because of their innovative, targeted and committed approach to becoming more sustainable. The Good Guys Team dedication to their sustainability journey has seen them increase sales of efficient front-loader washing machines and inverter air-conditioners, reduce paper usage and waste and recycling where possible. Not only have they made these significant and impactful changes, but they have also embarked on an innovative recruitment campaign, reducing their collective greenhouse emissions by encouraging recruitment from the local community, thereby reducing staff car travel.
Wow, what a great sustainability story! Contact us at FWR Group to find out more about our client, The Good Guys, and further sustainability stories
