The School is proud to announce new partnerships with WWF-Australia, Wyndham City Council, Whittlesea City Council and Port Phillip City Council.
Maintaining our commitments to environmental sustainability by establishing new industry collaborations with old friends
WWF has been a leading voice for nature for more than half a century, working in 100 countries across six continents with the help of over five million supporters. WWF-Australia firmly believes that our planet, landscapes, animals, and even our health is increasingly vulnerable. Relying only on others, like governments, to act is no longer an option and we have to step up and act together. WWF-Australia works with businesses, governments and communities to accelerate the solutions and speed up Australia’s transition to ecologically sustainable and socially just future.
When asked about why WWF Australia decided to become a School Partner, Monica Richter, Senior Manager-Low Carbon Futures says “As the world rapidly decarbonises we believe it is important to collaborate with industry partners where our values are aligned to build capacity, educate and support one another along this journey. WWF has a commitment to support companies to set science-based Paris Aligned targets across all three scopes and are keen to support organisations that are a part of the Supply Chain School to create more sustainable supply chains for property, construction and infrastructure industries.”
School CEO, Hayley Jarick, is thrilled to have WWF join the School, “The growth of social sustainability awareness certainly hasn’t come at the expense of environmental sustainability. Our Partnership with WWF demonstrates our ongoing commitment to bettering our environmental and to collaboration with industry as the path to success.”
Our award-winning collaboration has paved the way for three local governments to become official School Partners
To assist local governments to meet their sustainability objectives, the School collaborated with Wyndham City Council, Whittlesea City Council, Port Phillip City Council and ECO-Buy to establish the Local Government Sustainable Supply Initiative, an online portal pilot project which was awarded the LGPro 2020 Award for Excellence – Sustainability Initiative.
The online portal helps Councils and their suppliers improve their supply chain by providing free learning pathways and resources on sustainable procurement and general sustainability topics. The portal improves suppliers’ sustainability understanding, skills and capacity, leading to improved environmental, social and economic outcomes through procurement.
“The geographical spread of local governments has long been a barrier to gathering economies of scale for initiatives but as we are an online platform, we have been able to collectively provide an efficient training platform for local government suppliers, staff and residents. This truly is an exemplary demonstration of innovation and ingenuity at the local level,” said School CEO, Hayley Jarick
Director of City Design and Liveability, Ludo Campbell-Reid said, “Wyndham City is committed to achieving sustainable outcomes and ensuring Council’s operations and procurement activities have a positive impact to the City in which we live.”
“Council understands that every purchase has an impact on the environment, society and economy.”
“Wyndham Council will continue to work with the Supply Chain Sustainability School and partnering Councils and organisations to further develop learning resources and strengthen Councils supply chains.”
City of Whittlesea views sustainable procurement as integral to achieving organisational sustainability goals, whilst also tackling broader social, economic and environmental problems. Whittlesea believes that the School’s relevant, free resources help support the growth of sustainability knowledge of their staff and suppliers, thereby driving more sustainable choices and innovation in the procurement of goods and services.
Whittlesea Council recognises that we must protect and enhance our natural and built environments if we want a sustainable, productive and liveable future and is working towards becoming a sustainable city. Whittlesea 2040: A place for all is the long-term vision for the City of Whittlesea, guiding all of Council’s work and future partnerships.
City of Port Phillip is committed to working collaboratively with their suppliers to embed sustainability into their procurement policy and practices. “We know that meeting corporate social responsibility requirements isn’t always easy, particularly for small to medium enterprises. Becoming a School Partner allows us to provide support to our suppliers through the development of tools and resources that make it easy for them to improve their own sustainability outcomes” said Lachlan Johnson GM at City of Port Phillip. “We are looking forward to working with the School and representatives from industry and other local governments to increase the suite of resources that are specific to our suppliers and support their sustainability journeys.”
Learn more about becoming a School Partner here.
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About WWF-Australia
WWF has been a leading voice for nature for more than half a century, working in 100 countries across six continents with the help of over five million supporters. WWF partners with government, businesses, communities and individuals to address a range of pressing environmental issues. Our work is founded on science, our reach is international and our mission exact – to create a world where people live and prosper in harmony with nature.
About Wyndham City
Located between Melbourne and Geelong, Wyndham is currently home to more than 288,000 people. Wyndham is a diverse City, almost half of Wyndham residents are born overseas and they are from 162 different countries.
Wyndham is home to many open space areas including the Werribee River and the Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary.
The local economy is diverse with 20,000 businesses and there is a major industrial area at Laverton North and Truganina.
Wyndham is home to a significant medical, food research, educational and technology precinct in East Werribee. This includes three major universities, major technical trade institutions, and a Biotechnology precinct.
Wyndham features major tourism attractions including the Werribee Open range Zoo, Werribee Mansion and the State Rose Garden.
About the City of Port Phillip
The City of Port Phillip is an inner-city council in Melbourne covering the area from Port Melbourne to Elwood. Delivering more than 100 programs and services to our residents, businesses and visitors, community is at the heart of everything we do. One of the smallest yet most densely populated municipalities in Victoria, Port Phillip is defined by an extensive 11 kilometres of foreshore, heritage buildings, strip shopping precincts and tree-lined streets. Our neighbourhoods, each with its own character, are known and treasured by many for their urban village feel and artistic expression.
About the City of Whittlesea
The City of Whittlesea is located in Melbourne’s north, about 20km from the city centre. It is one of the largest municipalities in metropolitan Melbourne, covering an area of approximately 490 square kilometres. The population of the City of Whittlesea is 229,791 (2019). About 70 per cent of the City is rural, characterised by farming, forested areas and historic township communities including Whittlesea. The other 30 per cent of the municipality is urban. The majority of the population live in the urban areas which comprise both established areas, such as Epping, Lalor and Thomastown, and growth areas, such as Mernda, Doreen and Epping North.