Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Brands Commited to Gender Equality
Latest Gender Equality Brand Actions
Womens' Development Programme
The Women’s Development Program (WDP) was established to empower marginalised women and young girls with skills development and entrepreneurship training. The WDP is active across Sri Lanka at the Moratuwa, Kalkudah and Weligama Centers empowering 1400+ women with vocational skills to pursue their goals.
Evidence
Vocational Training Programme
Vocational training provided for nearly 7,000 youth in carpentry, dress making, IT and graphics. In their efforts to inspire female youth entrepreneurs, the MJF Center, Kalkudah launched a beauty culture program for young women. In just 6 months, the course has graduated 25 young women who are makeup artists and salon owners. Their new Aari work embroidery and needlework course has also graduated 60 young women with the skills to become professional designers and seamstresses.
People's Market - Small Entrepreneur Programme
The People's market falls within the scope of the Small Entrepreneur Program. It was initiated in the aftermath of COVID-19 to help revive small enterprises and support individuals who were made unemployed by the pandemic. Today the Peoples Market takes place every quarter at the Moratuwa or Weligama Centers. Each market supports up to 100 small businesses, female-led enterprises and entrepreneurs with disabilities. The Markets attract a footfall between 700 to 1700 shoppers, allowing small enterprises to grow their networks.
i=Change Partnership
In 2022, Enbacci partnered with i=Change. An organisation that helps e-commerce businesses support a range of local or global projects. A minimum of $1 from every online purchase is donated towards one of three projects of the brands choice. The three projects we support are Empower with Literacy, Protect a Woman and Clean the Seas. Through just these three projects, we are supporting a number of the UN sustainability development goals.
Protect A Woman
As part of our partnership with i=Change, one of the projects we support is Protect a Woman. The Women's Community Shelters experienced a 25% increase in inquiries for safe accommodation for women and children who are homeless or escaping domestic violence during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Existing services were already at full capacity, with more than 50% of women seeking shelter turned away due to a lack of beds. Across Australia, around 56,000 women are homeless each night, many with young children. Now, there are many more. Women unable to access shelters are left vulnerable, and disconnected from community and support networks. Women’s Community Shelters is dedicated to providing women and children with a safe place to stay and an opportunity to rebuild their lives. $50 provides a hot meal and a safe, comfortable place to stay for one night.
B Corp Certified
B Corp Certification confirmed that our community and the environment are stakeholders in our impact-driven business model and our commitment to balancing social and planetary good in everything we do against the highest standards of transparency and accountability. We are now part of a global network of businesses shifting our global economy from a system that profits few to one that benefits all.
Evidence
Ethical Manufacturing
The garment workers that make our products are paid 60% above the living wage, by a BSCI certified factory that uses solar to help power their manufacturing. We also do regular factory visits and assessments of systems to ensure good working conditions.
Underwear Recycling
Each year, Australia sees 204 million imported underwear items, will all eventually destined for landfill at the end of life. Underwear for Humanity has pioneered recycling in Australia to address this waste. We work with Social Engine to sort all collected underwear. Wearable bras are given to our charity partner, Support the Girls, while the rest, including unwearable bras, are repurposed into insulation. This initiative not only reduces waste but also supports the community by redistributing useful items and converting unusable ones into valuable materials.
Indigenous Collaboration
We're deeply concerned about the unfair treatment and displacement of Indigenous people from their land. At Underwear for Humanity, we believe it's our duty to give back, so we contribute 50 cents from every sale to support Indigenous programs on the lands where we live and work. Our recent initiative included sponsoring a youth Culture Camp with $9,000 from our collection, run by Country as Teacher, a Bundjalung organisation that helps young people celebrate and connect.
Plastic Free Packaging
At Underwear for Humanity, our commitment to sustainability extends to our packaging. We've minimized packaging size to conserve natural resources, using recycled kraft board and vegetable-based inks, eliminating the need for fossil fuel-derived inks and completely avoiding plastic. Our products are transferred into recycled kraft pick boxes and shipped in small, compostable mailers, ensuring that every aspect of our delivery process upholds our environmental values.
One-for-one Underwear Donation
We believe that access to clean, new underwear is a fundamental human right, essential for maintaining dignity. Sadly, underwear poverty exists in Australia, and we are committed to addressing this through our one-for-one program—donating a pair of underwear for every item sold. We are incredibly proud of the impact our one-for-one campaign has made. And it became even more powerful on day when we discovered surplus elastic destined for landfill at one of our factories. Now, we utilise deadstock materials like leftover elastic and fabric from other orders to produce the underwear we donate, each pair unique. Our relationship with the factory producing our donation underwear spans over a decade, built on mutual trust and a commitment to sustainability. They consistently use BCI and organic cotton and non-toxic Oeko-Tex certified dyes to ensure the fabrics are safe. We donate to Aboriginal Health Centres, women's shelters, and homelessness charities.
Evidence
Social Traders Certified
This certification shows that our business, as part of our constitution, has a social, cultural or environmental purpose as its primary objective, and ensures that our primary efforts and resources are invested into this purpose.
The Family Bond by Volvo Cars - Equal global parental leave for all
The Family Bond by Volvo Cars is our all-gender global paid parental leave policy – with this, we give all Volvo Cars employees with at least one year's service 24 weeks of parental leave at 80 per cent of their base pay by default. This global policy applies to either parent and is suited for a diverse variety of family types, as it includes adoptive, foster care and surrogate parents, as well as non-birth parents in same-sex couples. Learn more about The Family Bond at https://www.volvocars.com/au/about/family-bond/
Women and Minorities in Leadership
Sustainable Choice is female founded and operated, we’re pro-LGBTQIA+, believe in equal opportunity and are actively pursuing cultural diversity in our staff, supporting SDG 5 (gender equality) and 10 (reduced inequalities).
Employee well-being
Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond environmental concerns; it encompasses the well-being and safety of our employees and stakeholders. We are focused on fostering a working environment where employees feel comfortable and can perform at their best through employee-centric sustainability practices. ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety): This achievement reflects our dedication to upholding the highest standards of occupational health and safety. ISO 45001 not only ensures a safe and healthy workplace but also contributes to a positive social impact and fosters a culture of respect and consideration for all. By prioritising the well-being of our workforce, we aim to reduce accidents and enhance employee satisfaction. Workplace safety: Continuously reducing the number of workplace accidents. In 2022, we reduced the number of occupational accidents per 200,000 production hours by 8.8 % to 3.39 compared to 3.72 in 2021. Employee turnover reduction: Reducing the employee turnover ratio. In 2022, we also reduced our employee turnover ratio by 3.4 percentage points year-on-year to 15.4 %. Human Rights Policy: Adopting a Human Rights Policy that enshrines a corporate culture of respect and consideration for all people in the company and business relationships. Access to education: To ensure that each employee has access to equal opportunities, we offer worldwide options that include apprenticeship and young talent management programs.
Social and Environmental Responsibility
We require all of our suppliers to abide by our standards in relation to human rights, environmental and ethical business practices and uphold the principles within the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which we abide by. As we do, all our suppliers and partners must have a formal policy that outlines their approach to managing environmental impacts within their control. They must comply with local and national laws related to environmental standards and adhere to the principles set out by the Greenpeace Detox Movement which is committed to a toxic free future for people and the environment by the removal of hazardous chemicals from the entire production process for household textiles, garment textiles and footwear.
Sustainable Design Approach
By highlighting sustainability as important in our business this has fed into everything we do. This includes designing our building to reduce and improve our sustainable footprint wherever possible. Small examples of this include, laying the factory out to facilitate natural lighting to reduce reliance on electricity, utilising rapid-open/close roller doors to naturally manage air flow and temperature regulation, and using a lean approach to operations which leads to a more efficient flow of goods, and in turn saving electricity. We believe that making incremental changes can make a significant difference as little things add up.
Evidence
Social and Environmental Responsibility
We require all of our suppliers to abide by our standards in relation to human rights, environmental and ethical business practices and uphold the principles within the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which we abide by. As we do, all our suppliers and partners must have a formal policy that outlines their approach to managing environmental impacts within their control. They must comply with local and national laws related to environmental standards and adhere to the principles set out by the Greenpeace Detox Movement which is committed to a toxic free future for people and the environment by the removal of hazardous chemicals from the entire production process for household textiles, garment textiles and footwear.
Sustainable Design Approach
By highlighting sustainability as important in our business this has fed into everything we do. This includes designing our building to reduce and improve our sustainable footprint wherever possible. Small examples of this include, laying the factory out to facilitate natural lighting to reduce reliance on electricity, utilising rapid-open/close roller doors to naturally manage air flow and temperature regulation, and using a lean approach to operations which leads to a more efficient flow of goods, and in turn saving electricity. We believe that making incremental changes can make a significant difference as little things add up.
Social and Environmental Responsibility
We require all of our suppliers to abide by our standards in relation to human rights, environmental and ethical business practices and uphold the principles within the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which we abide by. As we do, all our suppliers and partners must have a formal policy that outlines their approach to managing environmental impacts within their control. They must comply with local and national laws related to environmental standards and adhere to the principles set out by the Greenpeace Detox Movement which is committed to a toxic free future for people and the environment by the removal of hazardous chemicals from the entire production process for household textiles, garment textiles and footwear.
Sustainable Design Approach
By highlighting sustainability as important in our business this has fed into everything we do. This includes designing our building to reduce and improve our sustainable footprint wherever possible. Small examples of this include, laying the factory out to facilitate natural lighting to reduce reliance on electricity, utilising rapid-open/close roller doors to naturally manage air flow and temperature regulation, and using a lean approach to operations which leads to a more efficient flow of goods, and in turn saving electricity. We believe that making incremental changes can make a significant difference as little things add up.
Pre loved candles lighting up a new home for survivors of domestic violence
We welcome donations of good quality and clean used candle containers. We refill and currently donate to Sydney based organisations supporting survivors of domestic violence and refugees, when setting up a new home.
The Gidget Candle
Gidget Foundation exists to promote emotional wellbeing for expectant and new parents and to raise awareness of perinatal depression and anxiety (PNDA). CandleXchange collaborated with Gidget Foundation to create this sentimental Jasmine and Mint candle, named in honour of Gidget's daughter Jasmine. All funds raised from the sale of the Gidget candles are directed to the Foundation’s Gidget House program which provides free psychological support (up to 10 sessions) for families experiencing emotional distress during pregnancy and early parenthood.
Northern Beaches Women's Shelter
CandleXchange have partnered with Northern Beaches Womens Shelter to create a custom branded candle to support their fundraising efforts. You can buy a 300g Australian Bush NBWS candle from Luscious Kiki Cakes at 16 Sydenham Rd, Brookvale and support the great work NBWS continue to do supporting women rebuilding their lives.
HopeStreet Women's Services Candle Making Workshop
HopeStreet Women’s Services provides specialised support for women who have experienced trauma in Sydney. They support women who have experienced domestic violence, mental health issues, homelessness and substance abuse.
Social and Environmental Responsibility
We require all of our suppliers to abide by our standards in relation to human rights, environmental and ethical business practices and uphold the principles within the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which we abide by. As we do, all our suppliers and partners must have a formal policy that outlines their approach to managing environmental impacts within their control. They must comply with local and national laws related to environmental standards and adhere to the principles set out by the Greenpeace Detox Movement which is committed to a toxic free future for people and the environment by the removal of hazardous chemicals from the entire production process for household textiles, garment textiles and footwear.
Sustainable Design Approach
By highlighting sustainability as important in our business this has fed into everything we do. This includes designing our building to reduce and improve our sustainable footprint wherever possible. Small examples of this include, laying the factory out to facilitate natural lighting to reduce reliance on electricity, utilising rapid-open/close roller doors to naturally manage air flow and temperature regulation, and using a lean approach to operations which leads to a more efficient flow of goods, and in turn saving electricity. We believe that making incremental changes can make a significant difference as little things add up
Social and Environmental Responsibility
We require all of our suppliers to abide by our standards in relation to human rights, environmental and ethical business practices and uphold the principles within the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which we abide by. As we do, all our suppliers and partners must have a formal policy that outlines their approach to managing environmental impacts within their control. They must comply with local and national laws related to environmental standards and adhere to the principles set out by the Greenpeace Detox Movement which is committed to a toxic free future for people and the environment by the removal of hazardous chemicals from the entire production process for household textiles, garment textiles and footwear.
Sustainable Design Approach
By highlighting sustainability as important in our business this has fed into everything we do. This includes designing our building to reduce and improve our sustainable footprint wherever possible. Small examples of this include, laying the factory out to facilitate natural lighting to reduce reliance on electricity, utilising rapid-open/close roller doors to naturally manage air flow and temperature regulation, and using a lean approach to operations which leads to a more efficient flow of goods, and in turn saving electricity. We believe that making incremental changes can make a significant difference as little things add up
Closing the gender pay gap
As an all-female law firm, we champion a workplace culture rooted in equity and fairness. We’re committed to closing gender pay gaps by ensuring every member of our team is valued and compensated equitably for their skills and contributions. By fostering an environment that prioritizes equal opportunities, we not only break down barriers but also set an example for the legal industry.
Walk Club!
Law Team Walk Club is business mentoring on the move on the Central Coast. Every Tuesday we walk and talk with inspiring female CEOs, Directors, Executives and Founders about all things business and entrepreneurship. Attendees get to swap knowledge with other aspiring women, form meaningful connections that can help them grow and stay motivated with their very own all female hype crew. Every walk is an opportunity to connect your mind, body and aspirations. Learn more here: https://www.lawteam.com.au/law-team-walk-club
Saving lives while meeting your ESG and CSR requirements with DV Safe Phone
Victims of domestic violence often have their primary phones smashed, monitored or stolen. Your old phone can save a life. It's also extending the live of the phone through this circular economy. Any phone we cannot use is recycled through a an official e-waste program, so we ensure nothing goes into landfill. You can help us by donating FUNDS, donating PHONES, running a VOLUNTEER day, or even STAFF GIVING programs... all of which counts towards your ESG and CSR requirements. Involvement in our program directly correlates to the United Nations Sustainability Gender Equality goals 5.2 and 5.b. and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions goal 16.1
Energy-conscious phone charging
Here at DV Safe Phone, we ensure your old mobile phones are given another life, by testing, repairing and giving mobile phones to victims of domestic violence, to use in an emergency. Any phone that is beyond repair is recycled to ensure nothing ends up in landfill. Charging hundreds of mobile phones a time uses significant electricity, so we have master switches in place that can shut down all the charging banks when we leave the office each day, ensuring there’s no energy wasted when we’re away from the office. You can donate your old phones to us through over 600 drop-off locations Australia wide. See www.dvsafephone.org for more information.
Proud partners of The Hunger Project Australia.
We have a Grant Agreement with The Hunger Project whereby a portion of our commission from the sale of each property is donated to The Hunger Project. The Hunger Project’s goal is to end world hunger. We understand first-hand the powerful impact the work of The Hunger Project has to end world hunger on a global scale and are passionate advocates for their incredible work. The Hunger Project believes in empowering people to become owners of their own development. Not based on handouts, but built on female empowerment through education, generating knowledge, capacity and capability that has a long-term sustainable impact. Women in rural disadvantaged arrears are trained to be elected to represent their communities over a 5 year term to become effective, respected leaders in their communities. As a result, they bring water, electricity, sanitation, education and more, to their villages.
Gender Equity
For many years, Banksia Gardens Community Services has been a local pioneer in the push for gender equality and ending violence against women through its Good People Act Now (GPAN) project. In 2019, BGCS made gender equity an organisational key priority area, establishing a gender equity working group to help drive this change across all of the organisation’s operations. The GPAN Project was established in 2014 in response to the high rates of family violence incidents in Hume. Since 2014, GPAN has trained hundreds of young people to be gender equity champions and active bystanders in their communities. We promote our message through community campaigns, local events, sporting clubs and schools in a variety of ways, including live performance, info sessions, movie making and social media.
Supporting our Community
Each of our stores has an annual budget, where they choose to donate to a cause, charity or fundraiser for local events. Please pop into your nearest Bed Bath & Beyond store to complete a donation request form to be considered. For a complete list of each store's current causes, visit https://www.bedbathandbeyond.co.nz/bb-and-b/community/donations
Bed Bath & Beyond Supports Jammies in June
The Middlemore Foundation helps the counties Manukau community by raising funds for projects that highlight health and wellbeing. Jammies in June is an annual campaign to provide thousands of children in need across South Auckland. We are proud to have contributed to the Jammies in June campaign in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. To learn more about the Middlemore Foundation and the amazing work they do for the community, visit https://www.middlemorefoundation.org.nz/
We develop and manage the strictest standards in the industry.
These standards include hundreds of requirements covering the potential impacts of aquaculture – including water quality, responsible sourcing of feed, disease prevention, animal welfare, the fair treatment and pay of workers and maintaining positive relationships with neighbouring communities. To become ASC certified, a farm is assessed by an independent organisation against every single requirement in the relevant standard. If it passes the audit, seafood from the farm can be sold with the ASC logo, which allows consumers to reward these responsible farmers by purchasing their products.
