MEDIA RELEASE 7 AUGUST 2006

More and more companies are discovering the value of corporate social responsibility in the marketplace as they evaluate the integrity of their suppliers.

While corporate social responsibility provides a comprehensive framework to integrate the social, environmental and commercial, supply chain integrity looks at the wider footprint that a company has in recognizing and managing its core values and principles in its strategic relationship to others, specifically, in the purchase of goods and services from suppliers.

Dr Simon Longstaff, executive director of St James Ethics Centre, says supply chain integrity takes an integrated concept of business.

“Product stewardship involves not only taking responsibility for your business, but others supplying to you. We need to do this because stakeholders will fail to make a distinction between what your business does and those people you source from,” Longstaff said.

“Supply chain integrity is the best guarantee for us to trust the reliability of goods and services we purchase. We provide a certain amount of trust in an organization we are purchasing from and we want to know who we are dealing with. It would be intolerable if we were dealing with a company that didn’t care about the source or quality of the inputs.

“Companies are considering supply chain integrity because of visibility, but also for their stakeholders. They need to be able to manage risk – and issues from a supplier will rub off on their brand to others.

“Monitoring the supply chain is a bit like trying to get a family resemblance between you and your suppliers. It’s building a chain of relationships where the core of your organizations’ practices are reflected and complimented. You can’t afford to risk a mismatch.

“The advancement in communications technology means however remote you happen to be from those who supply to you, there is nowhere to hide if the company you source from has issues that are not in line with your own core values. The almost immediate and direct reporting will bring those issues back into your sphere of concern,” he said.

According to Dr Longstaff, companies who practice supply chain integrity will have an influence on the businesses they source goods and services from, whether onshore or offshore.

“If a company gets to a point where they cannot rely on the integrity of their supply chain then the risk will be so great they will need to reintegrate some of their supply chain back under their direct control.

“If other companies want to retain business they will need to have sufficient flexibility to uphold what those contracting companies impose – going beyond price to questions of culture,” he said.

Grant Harrod is CEO of Corporate Express, Australia’s leading supplier of office products and business supplies. The company is listed among the 44 socially-responsible companies in Australia on the Socially Responsible Rating Index.

“One of our key goals is to offer businesses a risk free partnership by being socially responsible. Our sustainable and ethical behaviour is important to them,” Harrod said.

“We recognise we can add value by being a socially responsible partner and keeping the integrity of our supply chain.

“The paper we source is a good example. It’s used daily in offices around Australia, but how many people really think about its source? We did and we are proud to be working with Australian Paper knowing they produce products of the highest quality and social environmental credentials,’ he said.

RepuTex listed Corporate Express as an ‘A-rated’ company in its latest Social Responsibility Investment (SRI) Index.

Corporate Express moved their paper supply from an offshore source to supplier Australian Paper who upholds the same ethical standards.

Simon Talbot is Corporate Relationship Manager at Australian Paper.

“All Australian Paper products are produced from renewable sources and can be recycled,” Talbot said.

“We have also supported the Australian economy by providing more jobs for Australians.

“Most importers don’t have the same societal standards in manufacturing as we do, nor do they have the same environmental credentials and we deliver a modern ecologically sustainable product and provide jobs for Australians.

“Certainly, the synergies of working with Corporate Express mean we have an ethical supply chain that provides high quality Australian products.

“We’re proud to be working with a well regarded partner that has very high environmental credentials,” he said.

But supply chain is only the beginning for Corporate Express according to Harrod.

“We recognise that environmental and social management programs are among the highest corporate priorities today, we remain a valued business partner to suppliers and customers who are seeking to add to their corporate citizenship goals,” he said.

”Our commitment to the environment is demonstrated in many ways, including the formation of ‘GreenXpress’, an environmental management committee. The committee has been charged with developing an Environmental Management System based on the international standard ISO 14001, as well as realising objectives and targets already set in the company’s environmental policy.

”We also developed the EarthSaver brand to differentiate environmentally-friendly products from original brand items. Each year, we work closely with suppliers to increase the number of products in the EarthSaver range and this is a clear demonstration of our commitment to provide environmentally-responsible products.

”In the Business Furniture division, both the EXP range of office chairs and the ENVIROdesk are accredited and rated as environmentally-friendly by EcoSpecifier - Australia’s reference site for environmentally friendly and responsible building products.

”We also offer the Corporate Express EXP brand of premium OEM equivalent toner cartridges, which are manufactured using up to 20 times less energy and tested to ensure the highest print quality and page yields. In partnership with Cartridge Rescue (formerly The Recycling Centre), we encourage customers to participate in the Toner Cartridge Recycling Program, which involves the collection, disposal and recycling of toner cartridges in an environmentally-responsible fashion,” he said.

Corporate Express is now in its 11th year in Australia, has 45 branches around Australia and New Zealand. For more information about Corporate Express please call 13 26 44 or visit the website at www.ce.com.au


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Released for Corporate Express by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations.
For further information contact Nicola Rutzou or Kim Larochelle on (02) 9413 4244.