Corporate Social Responsibility

OVERVIEW
This Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy outlines how 4WD Central is implementing practical measures to improve the planet and our society. To do this, we:

Comply with, and exceed where practicable, all applicable legislation, regulations and codes of practice.
Integrate environmental sustainability considerations into all our business decisions.
Encourage others to adopt sound CSR practices.
Pay our staff above the government mandated wage for their occupation, which fairly compensates their effort.
Restrain management remuneration and business profit to levels that are both viable and equitable.
Provide a flexible workplace, which allows our people to pursue their non-work interests and responsibilities.

Principles
Accountability
Transparency
Ethical behavior
Respect for stakeholder interests
Respect for the rule of law
Respect for international norms of behavior
Respect for human rights
These Principles are consistent with ISO2600 Guidance on Social Responsibility.

Human Rights and Labour practices
All humans have the right to fair treatment and the elimination of discrimination, torture, and exploitation.

4WD Central takes all reasonable efforts to ensure our supply chain is free from discrimination, torture and exploitation. From Conflict Minerals compliance of our products to Fair Trade coffee in our lunch room, we strive to eliminate exploitative practices embodied in the products we purchase.
Those working for us are not a commodity. We strive to prevent unfair competition based on exploitation and abuse.

We meet or exceed all relevant Australian labour laws, offering generous, flexible working conditions and fair wages. Our colleagues are our friends and neighbours, and are treated accordingly.
We celebrate linguistic, cultural and ethnic diversity - it enriches both the workplace and our broader community.
We work openly and collaboratively to provide the best possible work environment for the health and safety of our staff.
We encourage our people to undertake workplace training and to pursue ongoing learning opportunities that will assist them to reach their full potential.
Environment
4WD Central has a responsibility to reduce and eliminate unsustainable volumes and patterns of production and consumption and to ensure that resource consumption becomes sustainable

More than 97% of our packaging is already reused, recycled, biodegradable, or compostable material. We have a strategy to bring this to 100% by 2025.
More than 30% of our electricity consumption is produced by solar panels on our warehouse roof.
Our building requires zero heating.
Large, openable windows in our building enable most staff to work using only natural light for much of the day. All office lighting is low energy consumption (LED or fluorescent) and either individually switched or controlled by sensors and/or timers. Where possible, lighting fixtures are mercury free.
We encourage flexibility in location of work, reducing staff commute requirements.
Internal office communication is paper-free. Paper stock used in client transactions is recycled.
Fair Operating Practices
We believe that fair competition, preventing corruption, and promoting the reliability of fair business practices helps to build sustainable social systems.

We do not engage in practices that misrepresent tax or customs liabilities.
We strive to make our product information and marketing material factual.
We don’t outsource customer support services to low-wage jurisdictions.
We protect consumer data and privacy.
We pay our invoices on-time and in full. Invoicing terms for our customers are reasonable, even where we know we are the only supplier.

Community Involvement and Development
We will continue to be a good corporate citizen in our local community and in the professional community of our consumers.

We employ locally, selecting the most capable applicants and investing in their skills development through education and training.
We foster a strong local economy by
Paying a fair living wage to all staff.
Sourcing from local businesses where possible.
Offering products at competitive prices to local consumers.
We will continue to actively engage with the professional community with whom we trade. This includes:
Financial support and attendance of trade and professional development events.
Sponsoring emerging scientists to directly engage with their peers.

Last updated: 15/03/2022