Managing People and Organisations - Brambles Limited - Case Study Example

Running Head: MANAGING PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS Managing People and Organisations Name: Institution: Lecturer: Course: Date: Commitment to Sustainability Brambles Limited operates as a supply-chain and logistic company. The firm is headquartered in Sydney Australia although it has various branches stretched across 60 countries. In her category of products, Brambles operates under CHEP as well as IFCO brands. Brambles Limited is actively committed in the enhancement of consumer experience through mutual collaboration and assistance in product logistics via the company’s supply chain, which ensure products are handled efficiently, sustainably as well as safely. The company strives to provide reusable unit-load tools (pallets and containers) which are shared by the different categories of stakeholders across the supply chain. This is achieved under a model known as pooling. The company therefore concentrates in the provision of fast moving consumer products such as dry food, fresh produce and beverage, covering extensive retail and manufacturing industries. This makes the firm to emerge as the best known global brand among her wide spectrum of consumers (Klettner, Clarke & Boersma, 2014). Through her sustainability program, the company emphasize on the need to preserve the environment amid her busy operations. The supply chain that Brambles adhere to contains unique features; that is, it is global, circular and environmentally friendly. The chain mandates extensive sharing and reuse of over 550 million equipments amongst her consumers. This system ensures smooth flow of products and reduction of waste, making global trade efficient and sustainable. According to the company, the sharing and re-use circular model diminishes the demand for natural resources among the consumers. The wide network coverage enjoyed by the firm yield enormous benefits to the consumers through the reduction of costs making the model more sustainable. Thus, the company strives to create sustainable value for all the stakeholders within (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths, 2014). Brambles value her customers’ contribution and feedback. The company understand that consumer base is an important element of the company. In this regard, the company collaborate with the consumers to build networks and bring a transformation of the supply chain geared at benefiting the planet. Through the customers’ insight program conducted by the firm, a substantial number of clients were responsive to the company’s commitment to sustainability efforts. The company embraces consumers’ insight as a positive sign to do what it does best; that is, value optimisation, innovation coupled with supply chain boost. Through the feedback program, consumers continue to recommend the company’s product to the widespread global market (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). Brambles partnered with Wholesum Harvest an American company that deals with organic fruits as well as vegetable products. The company adopted CHEP (Brambles brand) in its operations, in a bid to review its shipping handling practises. This was geared at identifying efficiency as well as sustainability opportunities within the supply chain. According to Hannah La Luzerne who acts as the company sustainability manager, the adoption of CHEP not only boosted efficiency in handling products but also acted as a way to collaborate company’s values to environmental stewardship as well as corporate responsibility. The company’s sustainability efforts are intensified through mutual collaboration with logistic partners. Brambles understand that it cannot operate as an island without the input of supply chain collaborators. The company therefore partnered with different international players such as Coca-Cola, Colruyt as well as Van Dievel. This was aimed at boosting efficiency of its supply-chain. The mutual collaboration addressed some of the critical sustainability issues including handling of empty trucks, unavoidable carbon emission as well as wasted distance coverage. The efforts paid by reducing overall cost well as the carbon emission by 30 percent (Garvare & Johansson, 2010). Brambles Limited perceives her staff as a vital component of the company. According to the company, employees act a unique source of value behind the overall re-use-share business model. The company therefore strive to provide right work environment which bind employees together to achieve the company’s objectives. This is achieved through investment in staff safety, learning initiatives as well as employees’ development. The company encourages employees’ inclusion and diversity in the business which promotes teamwork and collaboration. This efforts boost productivity and performance (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). The teamwork culture instilled by Brambles enhances recognition and reward of employee’s efforts. The need to strive for a better workplace ensures that staff feedback is valued and promptly responded to. Thus, the company ensure that her staffs assume the pride of their contribution to the firm. The firm launched employee sharing scheme where its staff share in the success of the firm (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths, 2014). Through inclusion and diversity, Brambles is on the opinion that a well inclusive working environment yield a level playing ground where employees get to realise their potential without emphasis of gender, sexual orientation, ability and ethnic diversity. The company strive to maintain its uniqueness, inclusivity and diversity as far as its human resources is concerned. There is mutual comprehension that where the business is inclusive and diverse, the needs of consumers are well responded to (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). Brambles Limited ensures that the working environment is safe for the different stakeholders that the firm deals with. This includes its customers and the community. Moreover, the company boost the talent of her employees through adoption and extension of learning and development programs. This normally fosters staff abilities, engagement as well as enthusiasm amongst her staff which culminate to development of leaders within the company’s circles (Klettner, Clarke & Boersma, 2014). Brambles limited operate with the confines that simulate better ecosystem. The company fosters secure supply of forest resources which culminates sustainable value of the company. These initiatives curb the risks that come with deforestation. Through the use-share business model, the company ensures that there is less demand towards natural resources. The foundation of the sustainable sharing as well as re-use kind of model crops from the need to exercise restraint in terms of raw-materials sourcing. The company’s commitment to better her logistics plus the use of share-reuse model reduces carbon emission and waste significantly, hence instilling better planet (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). The success of Brambles Limited is bestowed on the community in which it operates. The firm widely operate in 60 countries of the world with 850 locations acting as it primarily base. Through the communities within these locations, the company obtain talent that result to her success. Brambles understand the need of giving back to the community. The company therefore reward the community through supply-chain initiatives, provision of career opportunities, food stuff, environmental restoration as well as education programs (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). Innovation Brambles Limited engages in a number of innovative initiatives which promotes sustainability within the firm. The company’s Better Business 2020 goals embrace innovation via circular business model as well as collaborations across the supply chain. Brambles ensure that innovative practises are in line with the UN sustainable development goals. Thus, the company better the supply chain through environmental improvements. It also fosters collaboration through consumers’ collaboration projects (Edwards, 2009). Brambles utilises recycling procedures in the waste reduction. It uses up cycling as an initiative of ensuring that waste is eliminated through transformation to finished high-value products. The company predicted an offset of 26,684 tonnes of carbon dioxide regarding carbon free products used in the US and Europe, in the year 2016. Through mutual collaborations with industry players such as Ellen MacAurthur Fundation, the company initiated packaging tools that aimed at reducing solid waste, greenhouse gas and water consumption levels. CHEP brand developed Returnable Transit Packaging which turned out to be efficient as compared to single-use cardboard box. RTP demonstrated numerous benefits in regard to packaging parameters and dimensions (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). In her bid to foster better environment for the staff particularly regarding safety, learning, inclusion as well as diversity, the company developed the initiatives to be implemented in all her strategic locations in conformity with the UN sustainable development goals. The initiative hence advocated for 25 percent reduction in injuries, 30 percent of leadership position to be held by women to curb discrimination. The company also committed to embrace international best practice engagement for employees as well as corporate governance (Garvare & Johansson, 2010). Brambles appreciate employees’ engagement. The company therefore initiated employees’ engagement survey which ascertains employees’ participation and enablement on an annual basis. The engagement measures the overall staff commitment. On the other hand, enablement ascertains whether the organisation’s ecosystem is right to warrant better performance of the employees (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). Through her efforts to instil a better planet, Brambles strives to create an environment with zero deforestation, zero emissions and zero waste in line with the UN sustainable development goals. In this regard, the company source for wood in those sustainable managed forests. Moreover that company utilises share-reuse model which will reduce carbon emission by 20 percent by 2020. Through CHEP Canada, the firm utilise her significant knowledge regarding timber lifecycle to achieve zero waste objectives. Brambles also use Data Monitoring Systems which efficiently monitors the input and output processes and thus keeping trail of usable water levels, electricity as well as chemicals. This instils processes efficiencies and reduction of environmental impacts (Klettner, Clarke & Boersma, 2014). Brambles partnered with Global Food bank Network that strives to assist the communities’ access to adequate supply of food materials. Through this community investment, the company assisted in delivering food to the benefit of vulnerable and needy people. Organisational Performance and Recommendations Brambles initiatives are aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development goals of year 2020. The firm is fully committed to achieve corporate responsibility as well as sustainability goals within the stipulated period. Bramble’s goals as well as commitments cover broad range of her stakeholders which includes consumers, employees, suppliers, as well as the community in which it operates (Garvare & Johansson, 2010). The strategy that Brambles is using is all inclusive. This is because it covers the organisation itself, people, the planet and the overall prosperity. In regard to people, the firm is encouraging diversity. It is apparent that gender balance is strived for where the firm advocates for 30 percent for all the positions held by women both at the junior and senior levels of the management. The company further advocates non-existence of salary discrimination amongst employees holding similar positions. Moreover, the firm is boosting diversity by embracing the local communities at all it 850 locations spread worldwide (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). In regard to the planet, Brambles is committed to exercise extra caution in her practises that could endanger the world. The firm is therefore committed to zero food waste flowing to landfill. Furthermore, the company strives to reduce the carbon emission to 20 percent by the year 2020 (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). Brambles understand that prosperity of her affairs will be achieved through trusted relationships. The company is operating in a fair and equitable ecosystem that goes in line with the needs of the suppliers. The firm also ensures that the consumers consume her products in a healthy as well as sustainable manner. The company is investing a sizable portion of her profits in the community partnerships as well as substantial number of programs (Gadenne, Mia, Sands, Winata & Hooi, 2012). Brambles Limited is fully committed to responsible sourcing of her products. The company is ensuring that the raw materials for her products don’t endanger the planet. This move of acting responsibly inside and outside the company’s confines is geared at earning trust and respect of consumers. The company is enabling her customer base make informed decisions. Therefore, the firm is buying and selling responsibly. Furthermore, it is sourcing sustainably as well as ethically (Edwards, 2009). Brambles Limited recognises the environment as well as the impact that it portrays across the supply chain. The company is then committed to have successful working relationships with her service providers and the suppliers. The company is embracing innovative schemes directed at establishing a healthy planet. In addition, Brambles is committed to embrace circular economy, obtain environmentally friendly products as well as respond to the climate change (Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review). The company is packaging her products in a way that transportation of goods is eased for consumers. More so, packaging of products is being done on re-usable components which eliminate waste and reduction of carbon emission that emanate from burning the non-reusable components. In its bid to maintain a circular economy, the company is committed to increase the quantity of food waste that is normally diverted from landfill. This commitment is achieved through improvement of waste management practises as well as boosting awareness of food rescue program (Garvare & Johansson, 2010). The organisational sustainability programs revolve around different components. This includes the organisation itself, people, environment and the planet. The lack of three of these components means that the organisation is never sustainable enough. In regard to Brambles Limited, a number of these components are taken into consideration. Bramble can therefore be perceived as sustainable in its operations. However, there existing a couple of emerging issues that the company should be wary of (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart & Wright, 2003). This is discussed below. With the growing level of civic activism and the influx of corporate commitments coupled with decisive actions both at the national, regional and international levels, international climate change agreement is illuminating signs of life. There is therefore a genuine and cautious optimism that the international community may initiate lasting framework regarding decarbonisation by the year 2020. This will affect majority of companies. The advancement of technologies, shift in consumer preferences as well as rising movement regarding social entrepreneurs are yielding a disruption to the non-modern business models which is then altering existing markets. In the recent past, a number of companies in the different sectors of the economy including retail and food came in terms with viable threats towards their businesses. While not all companies have been disrupted in their sustainability capacities, new generation of latest products as well as approaches such as sharing economy are ostensibly finding hiked credibility making realization of more sustainable economy a reality (Gadenne, Mia, Sands, Winata & Hooi, 2012). The shifts of global demographics are forcing companies to reconfigure their labour practises and hence accommodate multigenerational diverse workforce. This means that the proportion of staff levels within the company circles are increasingly becoming questionable. Moreover, the living wage queries are increasingly becoming part of the conversation regarding fair employment practises. Firms are gradually realizing that wages as well as contracts requirements are becoming part of the problem (Benn, Dunphy & Griffiths, 2014). Despite the fact that gender and the issues regarding gender parity continues to lead in the discussion regarding workforce diversity, a number of companies are shifting their focus on other supplementary dimensions. This includes race, ethnicity as well as sexual orientation. This means that the recommended stake for women may end up to be overtaken by events overtime. This then calls for firms to exercise caution in the sustainability goals (Gadenne, Mia, Sands, Winata & Hooi, 2012). Corporate-sustainability-dominating firms have realised that achieving prudent change calls for embracement of company-wide initiatives. This means as firms define innovative ways to lure consumers, millennial is a key demographic. A sizeable number of youth initiatives as well as environmental initiatives are rising steadily. With the increasing number of social media users, innovation is expected to skyrocket by the year 2020. This means that new initiatives will lead to new sustainable consumption patterns. Firms will gather evidence for backing up marketing initiatives as well as expand their efforts in reaching out to the younger generations (Klettner, Clarke & Boersma, 2014). References Benn, S., Dunphy, D., & Griffiths, A. (2014). Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge. Brambles: Accessed on 15th August 2017, http://www.brambles.com/about-brambles#section-span-classlevel-1span6span-sustainability-span--4244 Garvare, R., & Johansson, P. (2010). Management for sustainability–a stakeholder theory. Total quality management, 21(7), 737-744. Edwards, M. G. (2009). An integrative metatheory for organisational learning and sustainability in turbulent times. The Learning Organization, 16(3), 189-207. Klettner, A., Clarke, T., & Boersma, M. (2014). The governance of corporate sustainability: Empirical insights into the development, leadership and implementation of responsible business strategy. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(1), 145-165. Brambles 2016 Sustainability Review: Accessed 15th August 2017, www.brambles.com/.../sustainability.../BRL179_S31_Sustainability_Report_for_web.... Gadenne, D., Mia, L., Sands, J., Winata, L., & Hooi, G. (2012). The influence of sustainability performance management practices on organisational sustainability performance. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, 8(2), 210-235. Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2003). Gaining a competitive advantage. Irwin: McGraw-Hill. Read More