17 October 2012 The Manager Company Announcements Office Australian Securities Exchange Dear Sir, Wesfarmers 2012 Sustainability Report Please find attached the Wesfarmers 2012 Sustainability Report. The report is also available on the company’s website at www.wesfarmers.com.au. Yours faithfully, L J KENYON COMPANY SECRETARY Enc. For personal use only Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2012 Sustainability Report 2012 For personal use only Contents About Wesfarmers Managing Director’s welcome 2 The durability of our company is reflected in our history. With origins in 1914 as a Western Australian Message from the Chairman 3 farmers’ cooperative, Wesfarmers has grown into one of Australia’s largest listed companies. Our Sustainability at Wesfarmers 4 diverse business operations now include supermarkets; department stores; home improvement and Scorecard 6 office supplies; coal mining; insurance; chemicals, energy and fertilisers; and industrial and safety Engaging our stakeholders 10 products. We are one of Australia’s largest employers and have a shareholder base of approximately Reconciliation Action Plan 17 500,000 direct shareholders. Looking after our environment 18 Sustainability is an important part of our history and is a critical element in our future success. Driving our performance 26 Coles 28 Home Improvement and Office Supplies 34 Securities exchange listing Target 42 Wesfarmers Limited is a company limited by shares that is incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Kmart 46 Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listing codes: Insurance 50 – Wesfarmers (WES) Resources 54 – Wesfarmers Partially Protected Shares (WESN) Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers 58 Industrial and Safety 62 Other businesses 66 About this report 67 Data Bank 68 Independent Assurance Statement 70 Glossary 72 Group structure and feedback form 73 years of reporting our sustainability performance For personal use only Like to know more about our story? 15Please visit www.wesfarmers .com.au or alternatively, use a smartphone with a QR reader app to scan this symbol www.wesfarmers .com.au WESFARMERS LIMITED ABN 28 008 984 049 The Wesfarmers story Wesfarmers has long recognised the value of sustainable business practices. Sustainability is integral to how we do business, and we continue to strive for innovative and efficient approaches to improve our social, environmental and economic performance. For personal use only Dancer Brooke Widdison-Jacobs, West Australian Ballet photographed by Jon Green Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2012 1 Managing Director’s welcome Our commitment to sustainability continues to underpin all our efforts and while I’m proud of the progress we have made in our environmental, social and economic performance, the expectations we and others have for continuous improvement mean we still have plenty of work to do. For us, the challenge of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions has always been driven by much more than the prospect of legislative change. We have been motivated by doing what is right for the environment, for our customers and for our businesses. We have steadily improved our preparedness for a world in which carbon is priced by continuing to invest in energy efficient technologies and systems. Greenhouse gas emissions from processes at our Chemicals, Energy and Fertilisers business have been reduced thanks to the introduction of new technology, without restricting productive output. Coles supermarkets continue to roll out in-store initiatives which improve their energy efficiency and enhance the shopper experience. These are just two examples from within our businesses of significant initiatives that lower our emissions. With the new carbon price laws now in place, our focus is on compliance, further improving our energy efficiency, and greater reductions in direct emissions where we can do that sensibly. Quality people Our commitment We recognise that as a major All the initiatives and programs Wesfarmers has long recognised employer and participant in outlined in this report are driven the value of a holistic approach business in many communities by our innovative, resourceful to managing our businesses. We across Australia and New Zealand and creative team members. started reporting on sustainability- we have serious obligations to The sustainability and underlying related matters back in 1998 when operate in a sustainable way. success of our operations is, in we stated that we were ‘committed every sense, in the hands of our to continuous improvement in Carbon price people. Their skills constitute our our environmental, health and One of the most contentious issues only true competitive advantage For personal use only safety performance’. in Australia over the past year has and are our most important been the introduction of carbon sustainable resource. This commitment continues to pricing and formal carbon emission underpin all our efforts and while With an employee base of some caps through implementation of the I’m proud of the progress we have 200,000 people, one of the biggest federal government’s Clean Energy made in our environmental, social challenges facing our organisation, Future legislative package. and economic performance, the like many others in Australia and expectations we and others have We have stayed out of the political New Zealand, is attracting and for continuous improvement mean debate, but Wesfarmers has retaining quality team members. we still have plenty of work to do. consistently supported putting a price on carbon as a policy objective. 2 Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2012 Each of our business units operates Collectively, these programs make its human resource function a significant difference to local autonomously and has its own communities all over the country. Message from programs to invest in team members’ Wesfarmers understands that our skills and capabilities, complemented businesses only exist with strong the Chairman by a number of Group programs customer and community support As Chairman, I believe our objective must for executives. and our programs are designed to be to ensure Wesfarmers is successful in However, the broad Wesfarmers ensure we remain an integral part a sustainable way, not only for the benefit objective is to ensure we provide of the communities in which we of our half-a-million shareholders, but fulfilling and safe workplaces, live and work. for our 200,000 employees, millions of we reward good performance customers and thousands of suppliers in While the customer is at the core of and provide opportunities for the communities in which we operate right all our business endeavours it is the advancement. This remains our across Australia and New Zealand. case that the suppliers of our goods most significant contribution to and services are also a vital part of A key aspect of that sustainable business the communities we serve. making Wesfarmers the company model is safety and, regardless of current This year we have made some that it is today. Our over-riding performance, we should seek every important improvements in our safety objective is to ensure our suppliers opportunity to improve safety in all performance, but we are still a long are treated fairly and with integrity our businesses. way from our goal of zero harm and so that their relationship with our To that end, we have implemented a we will redouble our efforts to achieve businesses is mutually beneficial. Group-wide review, led by John Gillam, safer workplaces in the years ahead. Managing Director of Bunnings, focused Through our Reconciliation Action My thanks on safety performance, real workplace I would like to thank all the Plan (RAP), launched in 2009, we safety behaviour and improving outcomes. employees of the Wesfarmers Group committed to a number of initiatives who have contributed to the positive I am confident this will provide us with aimed specifically at increasing progress we have made with our a platform for even better results in this employment opportunities for sustainable business strategies over critical measure of success into the future. Aboriginal people within our the past 12 months. businesses. Pleasingly, we are improving in this area, and many of I am very proud of our actions our businesses have implemented and achievements. Last year, our specific Aboriginal employment reporting efforts were recognised programs ranging from cadetships when we won the Sustainable to pre-employment training courses. Company of the Year at the 2011 There is, of course, more work to Australian Sustainability Awards. Bob Every AO, Chairman be done, but as our businesses This achievement aside, I trust that continually look for ways to the readers of this report are able improve we expect better and to find the information necessary better outcomes. for them to form their own view of our progress. Partnerships Another important area we continue to focus on is our community partnerships.For personal use only All our businesses have extensive community contribution and support programs, many of which are outlined in this report. Richard Goyder We are major sponsors of the Managing Director arts, health and medical research, Indigenous initiatives like the Clontarf Football Academy, education programs from school to university, and a range of national charitable organisations. Wesfarmers Sustainability Report 2012 3 Sustainability at Wesfarmers It’s our responsibility. From our origins in 1914 as a Western Australian farmers’ cooperative, Wesfarmers has grown into one of