Citizen CR

Integrating corporate responsibility into the day to day operations of your business could be the difference between meeting your customers' expectations and exceeding them.

Effective environmental, quality and occupational health and safety management is fundamental to being a responsible corporate citizen.

Our corporate responsibility strategy is based on establishing meaningful relationships with all stakeholders, our customers and the larger community.

In 2007 we made the forward thinking decision to employ a fulltime Corporate Responsibility Coordinator ro manage the day to day implementation of our strategy.

This position is also responsible for coordinating Whirlwind 's ISO 9001:2000 (Quality), ISO 14001:2004 (Environmental) and AS/NZS 4801:2001 (Occupational Health and Safety) systems at the Melbourne manufacturing and sales sites.

The decision to include corporate responsibility into your business should go beyond simply jumping on the green bandwagon, as you must be acountable for the claims you make.

For example, our strategy focuses on defining Whirlwind's environmental footprint, reducing energy consumption and investing actively in the community.

We have devised an effective structure of formal corporate responsibility reporting and are developing sustainability into a genuine brand value.

Education is the key when it comes to gaining support from your staff, key stakeholders in the strategy.

After all, they're the ones who will be spreading the word internally and to the outside world on a daily basis. To ensure the integrity of the strategy, Whirlwind recently launched an internal engagement program to collect feedback from staff on existing initiatives.

The program also revealed ideas staff and customers would like implemented. The feedback from staff has been encouraging.

"It was great to be at the forefront of Whirlwind's environmentally conscientious brainstorming - and reassuring to see that everyone was so enthusiastic and had plenty of ideas," New Business Account Manager, Danielle Collins said.

We also see opportunities to make a difference through sponsorship by targeting organisations with similar values that will benefit from our expertise.

For example, our business services franchise is able to offer its skills in design and print, and we support socially responsible projects that align with our corporate values - such as continuous learning.

By implementing the right corporate responsibility strategy for your business, you have the opportunity to differentiate yourselves from the competition in the eyes of your customers, improve your environment and community, and significantly enhance your bottom line.

By Greg Cester - CEO, Whirlwind