As a result of its new ranking, Primedia Outdoor's clients can now claim 125% of their procurement spend with the company towards their own BEE scorecards.
"We are immensely proud to have achieved such a significant increase in our BEE rating," says Snow Mokgalabone, HR Manager at Primedia Outdoor. "Three years ago we put a strategy in place to upgrade our score and this is the fruition of that plan."
The outdoor giant is now just a few points away from achieving the highest BEE level possible - Level One - which CEO Dave Roberts says is next on the agenda. "Any business, regardless of its size, would be wise to work steadily toward B-BBEE compliance if they hope to remain competitive," he says. "We will now strive to improve our scores across all the BEE sectors and at the very least, maintain our current levels of compliance."
RAISING THE BAR
To reach the required 95-99 points needed for a level-two accreditation, Primedia Outdoor concentrated on making improvements in all seven components on the Generic B-BBEE Scorecard.
OwnershipThe Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC) has a substantial stake in the company, thus meeting a large percentage of the BEE ownership requirements. Primedia Outdoor has 43.28% black ownership, and 19.36% black female ownership.
Enterprise and Supplier Development, and Preferential ProcurementTwo other high-scoring sectors were Enterprise and Supplier Development, and Preferential Procurement.
Primedia Outdoor has provided all its subcontractors with the means to run their own businesses, channeling all its work in the field exclusively through these subcontractors in order to create sustainable concerns.
All the company's major suppliers have been vetted to ensure they subscribe to the Preferential Procurement criteria. Smaller suppliers who conform to BEE guidelines are also supported, albeit on an ad hoc basis.
Skills DevelopmentFor the past two years, Primedia Outdoor has engaged with the Media, Information and Communication Technologies (MICT) SETA, taking on interns who have all successfully completed their tenure in various departments of the company.
These skills development programmes have also contributed effectively to Primedia Outdoor's Employment Equity pillar.
Employment Equity, and Management and ControlInternally, the company has employed a targeted strategy to promote staff, and narrowed the Employment Equity gap by increasing the number of employed black people, specifically black women, and other designated group such as people with disabilities and the youth.
Socio-economic DevelopmentFinally, socio-economic endeavours, such as tree planting and the creation of food gardens at selected schools around the country, have allowed Primedia Outdoor to make a positive contribution toward curbing global warming, and supporting the national school feeding through providing effective nutrition.
