Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA) latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey indicates that the country’s unemployment rate stands at a staggering 33.6%. At the heart of any business are its people, and many South Africans are confronting a difficult reality. This is why Empact Group, a food services and support solutions company, focused on its employees in its first sustainability report.
The report outlines the organisation’s intention and commitment to embed sustainability across its operations and supply chain, while detailing key initiatives implemented to achieve its goal of making a meaningful impact.
The group says the report reflects its alignment with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals and outlines its intentions and key initiatives to transform its business by addressing its environmental impact, creating internal and external opportunities for social and economic inclusion, and implementing robust processes to strengthen governance structures.
Empact’s group sustainability executive Lara Barlow spoke to Bizcommunity about how the group will achieve its goals in the report, how it will foster more diversity and inclusivity in the workplace, and how the company is empowering its people to prosper.
“Sustainability starts with a genuine commitment to want to achieve meaningful impact,” says Empact’s group sustainability executive Lara Barlow. Image supplied.
How is Empact transforming its business to invest in environmental, social and governance (ESG)?
In 2021, we began a deliberate process of embedding sustainability across every aspect of our operations, anchored in five strategic pillars: empowering our people to prosper, reducing and improving the management of our waste, leveraging our supply chain for social and environmental impact, improving energy efficiency and embedding diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.
Our commitment to sustainability is evidenced in the fact that sustainability now falls within the mandate of the SETS (social, ethics, transformation and sustainability) committee of the board and that executive remuneration is linked to clearly defined sustainability KPIs.
What are some of the key initiatives that will achieve this?
To reduce our Scope 1 emissions and decrease our use of non-renewable energy, we are looking to increase the capacity of the currently installed 224.6kWp hybrid solar PV system at our Linbro Park head office.
A pilot electric-vehicle project has been scaled up in our Supercare division to reduce our Scope 2 emissions.
The daily measuring and recording of food waste across all food sites has allowed us to adopt a data-driven approach to reduce food waste, and the implementation of in-unit operational initiatives ensures that we are on target to achieve our commitment to reducing food waste by 20% by 2030.
We have also implemented composting and anaerobic fermentation methods at approximately 40% of our food sites to divert food waste from landfill.
At sites where we deliver services to clients, we stay at the forefront of equipment innovation, implementing energy- and water-efficient technology where possible and guiding clients on best practice in equipment selection.
Our Supplier Development Programme continues to grow and develop emerging suppliers, ensuring that 45% of our listed suppliers are QSEs and EMEs and that 51% of our annual supplier spend is directed towards Black-owned enterprises.
How will the “We Care - Doing Right by You” philosophy be implemented, particularly in diversity and inclusivity in the workplace?
Our workforce is 73.4% female and 88.8% African, reflecting our commitment to building diverse teams that mirror the communities we serve.
Programmes like our eDeaf partnership, which has produced Empact’s first deaf trainer, our National Women’s Day event raising awareness and addressing gender-based violence, and our Men’s Wellness Day, which brings men’s mental health and men’s wellbeing into the open, show that our commitment to inclusion extends across every dimension of our people.
Our Mandela Day activities are a further expression of this ethos, creating ongoing opportunities for our staff to actively engage and participate in community-based initiatives, through organisations like No More Victims, The Litterboom Project and Food and Trees for Africa.
How is Empact empowering its people to prosper?
Our employees receive training across learnerships, management development and professional skills programmes, reflecting our belief that skills development is one of the most meaningful contributions we can make in a country where youth unemployment stands at 46%.
We have introduced Paymenow, which reduces reliance on informal and often predatory lending, and Randgo, which enables employees to save up to R750 per month on household essentials — and we are already seeing a reduction in garnishee orders as a direct result, telling us these programmes are having a real impact on day-to-day financial stability.
We are committed to creating genuine opportunities for both personal and professional growth, because when our people prosper, so does the business.
People, of course, are central to the just energy transition in South Africa. How is Empact innovating for energy efficiency?
The just energy transition debate centres largely on moving away from coal and fossil fuel dependency, and while that national conversation is important, our focus is on the tangible steps within our own operational control.
We are reducing our carbon footprint through a combination of solar energy at our Johannesburg head office, which supplies approximately 37% of the facility’s electricity needs, and an electric vehicle pilot currently underway within our Supercare business, with the understanding that a full EV fleet is not feasible given infrastructure constraints across our national footprint.
Beyond our owned sites, we actively guide clients on energy-efficient equipment selection and sustainable operational practices, because our influence extends to the hundreds of locations where we deliver services daily.
Is it possible for all South African businesses to embed and implement sustainability across operations and supply chains?
Sustainability starts with a genuine commitment to want to achieve meaningful impact.
It then requires the willingness to invest time and resources, and finally, it requires the courage to innovate.
Innovation should be seen as an enabler, allowing an organisation to achieve transformational change needed to address the social and environmental challenges we face as a country, while at the same time helping them to differentiate themselves from their competitors and implement real solutions for their clients and consumers.
