ANZRP is excited to announce it recently attained B Corporation certification.

It is the first e-waste recycling organisation in Australia to be accredited as a B Corp certified service provider.

Certified B Corporations meet higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, balancing profit and purpose.

CEO Warren Overton said that perseverance through the rigorous certification process will set the company apart from other players in the industry.

“Our team worked tirelessly over months to complete the assessment and provide the evidence required to achieve certification, and we are thrilled to have that effort rewarded,” Warren said.

“The process however really began seven years ago upon inception of the business, as ANZRP’s mission and governance procedures built from the beginning paved the way for the impact we have been able to achieve.”

B Corps are leaders of the global movement of people using business as a force for good. There are over 2,700 Certified B Corporations from more than 150 industries in 60+ countries with one unifying goal – to redefine success in business.

The certification comes just in time for B Corp Month, an awareness campaign promoting B Corporations and what it means to be part of the community.

ANZRP joins an impressive community of global for-purpose brands including Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Australian Ethical, Intrepid Group and Klean Kanteen.

The performance standards B Corps meet are comprehensive, transparent and verified. Unlike traditional corporations, Certified B Corporations consider the impact of their decisions not only on their shareholders, but also on their stakeholders (e.g., workers, suppliers, community, consumers, and the environment).

As a not-for-profit organisation operating to the highest health, safety and environmental standards, ANZRP’s vision is to ensure maximum amounts of precious resources are captured and used in the manufacture of new products, and materials are handled in a way that does not cause harm to the people managing them.

Warren says this certification also means recognition among new markets.

“As a multi-industry benchmark of performance known and understood beyond the e-waste industry, attaining B Corp certification will open doors for ANZRP.”

Key activities which contributed to certification include:

Governance

Mission – We are a not-for-profit company and the objects of our constitution focus on being a Co-reg under the Product Stewardship Act, performing product stewardship and promoting recycling. If the company winds up, any surplus funds are to be transferred to a similar organisation who applies profits to similar objects.

Decision-making – Social and environmental performance is integrated in Board decision-making processes and Board and staff KPIs.

Ethics and transparency – We employ formal governance processes managed by the Board and the Board’s three sub-committees (Audit, Risk and Governance sub-committee, Sustainable Business Growth sub-committee and Nomination and Remuneration sub-committee).

Community

Diversity, equity and inclusion – We celebrate a diverse team of staff in terms of gender, age and ethnicity, and strong female representation at the Board level.

Local suppliers – High proportion of suppliers are local with a significant amount employing workers who are disadvantaged (low income communities, long-term unemployed, disability sector).

Advocacy – Strong advocacy program at the Federal and State level to improve and implement product stewardship and recycling programs and improve industry standards.

Supply chain – Rigorous supplier evaluation, selection and due diligence program.

Environment

Product stewardship – Collection, transport and recycling of e-waste across Australia through our TechCollect program.

Resource conservation – Independent life cycle assessment of our supply chain demonstrates significant avoided greenhouse gas emissions, energy and water usage and particulate matter emission as a result of our TechCollect program.

 

As the B Corp program focusses on continuous improvement, the recertification process plus the guidelines, templates and tools provided by B Corp will help ANZRP to continue to improve its performance and impact.

Check out ANZRP’s Impact Score card here: bcorporation.net/directory/australia-and-new-zealand-recycling-platform

To find out more about B Corporations and B Lab, go to bcorporation.net.