As a consultant, I often tell people that a sustainability program is not just about helping to address risks or burnish reputation, it can also uncover opportunities that could make their business more competitive, or bring in more revenue. I get the feeling that most of the time, people don’t believe it.
Well, here’s a story from a small West Australian company that could change minds.
WestRef is business you’ve probably never heard of, in an industry you may not even know exists.
I’m talking here with Managing Director, Jimmy McGregor.
Jackie:
Now WestRef is a family business but it’s in a fairly niche area, one that I don’t think many people will be familiar with. So could you tell me a bit more about the WestRef business: what you do and who your customers are?
Jimmy McGregor:
So WestRef is, as you say, a family company that was started around 25 years ago by my father. And then my mother got involved some years later. We supply the fire assay industry across the globe. So that is laboratories that test gold samples for the gold content. So we supply chemicals, ceramics, machinery and the like for, for that industry. Most people haven’t heard of fire assay. So it is, as you say, a bit of a niche business. And in more recent years, we’ve also started a procurement service. So we we service mines in remote locations, places in in Africa and South America and the like that really need someone to help them get what they need when they need it.
The big customers are commercial laboratory groups. So they’re basically global companies that run laboratories often on the end user or the mine sites’ site.
We’re a relatively small business by employee numbers these days, a lot of our manufacturing is now done with overseas partners rather than in Australia, because quite high volume but low value products in the ceramic part of the business. So there’s the seven of us in the in the main business and two new staff members in the waste business.
Jackie:
And what got you started thinking about sustainability and on what WestRef could do in that regard? What was the catalyst?
Jimmy:
We went through a strategic planning process. Umm that process highlighted that that [sustainability] was a growing concern. This was six or seven years ago. So that was a growing concern of our customers and of the market in general. And I guess the other thing was also some, some direct pressure from some of the major customers. Because we’re dealing with global companies with the resources to focus on sustainability and and what their suppliers are contributing in that respect. We were starting to get asked some questions that we we weren’t able to answer at that stage.
Jackie:
Questions about your carbon footprint for example, is that is that the sort of thing that that was happening?
Jimmy:
Yeah, that’s probably the most obvious example. But then, because we’re manufacturing in multiple locations over the world and some countries that I guess you would call developing, there’s also a focus on supply chain risks. And modern slavery is something that we we hear a lot about these days through, through our customers. Child labour, all that sort of stuff. We were being asked, you know, whether we’re aware of it, what we were doing about it, whether we had any policies. Big businesses, like… like to see that you have, as a start, a policy. So all those sorts of questions made us realise that sooner or later we’re going to have to be able to answer those questions rather than saying look, ‘we’re a small family business, we just don’t have that level of oversight’. So that’s what prompted us to get started.
Jackie:
And what were the first steps you took? What actions did you start out with?
Jimmy:
It took a bit of research really to find another business out there that could assist us to do that when we didn’t have the in-house resources. And most companies with less than 10 employees would be in the same position. We had to get external advice. And a consultant to learn about our business, learn about what our customers were concerned about, what we were concerned about, and help us to come up with a strategy and the supporting policies to address those issues as much as we could as a business our size.
Jackie:
And you were lucky enough to be able to get a grant to get that work done, is that right?
Jimmy:
Yes, yes, we were. So just an opportunity to halve the cost of doing something like this, that wasn’t necessarily immediately revenue producing or, you know, there’s no straight line between doing this and, and the business being able to make more money. But as with with many things, you know, the things that came out of it, I guess, were were quite surprising.
Jackie:
What did come out of the of that initial work?
Jimmy:
We identified three main areas to focus on, which was stakeholder engagement. So that was around minimizing our environmental impact and reducing risks in our supply chain. The next area was around systems and processes. So that included how we support our people within the business, look after our staff and other stakeholders, and also around how we drive innovation with a sustainability focus. And then the other area was around reporting. So that included statements around ethics and integrity, and what and how we deliver for our customers.
Jackie:
Jimmy went on to explain that, as a result of setting those three key focus areas, the company began engaging more deeply with its suppliers to understand their practices and policies. They also started looking at how to reduce the amount of plastics they were using, particularly in packaging. And when they did that, they talked to their customers to ensure they could continue to deliver exactly what was needed – just in a more environmentally friendly way. And you know what? Often that meant that they could deliver at a lower cost. Win – win!
On the second focus area – systems and processes – they identified that a positive impact they could have was developing a wellness program for staff. While that’s pretty unusual for a business of this size, Jimmy says it’s been really well received. And on the reporting side, being able to articulate what they were doing through documented policies and procedures meant they were better equipped to answer customer questions.
Jimmy:
So yeah, quite quite a few things came out of it. I guess one glaringly obvious one that I haven’t covered is carbon footprinting. And that’s something we’re actually undergoing at the moment. It’s …it can be quite a complicated process, depending on what your business is like, because ours is stretching over such a wide global scale, even though we’re still a small to medium sized business, we’re in many different locations. That’s quite a big process for us.
Jackie:
And what’s been the reaction from your customers and your employees and you know indeed the market generally?
Jimmy:
Certainly positive. I would say because of the nature of the customers we’re dealing with being big, global companies, they’re often looking to make sure that they’re right, dealing with the right sort of companies so that they can feel comfortable in what they’re then reporting downstream. I guess what it’s what it’s done for us, which isn’t, as I guess obvious is, when we’re addressing big global tenders we’re able to give these companies what they need to feel satisfied that they’re dealing with the right sort of business. So whilst the reaction isn’t quite so obvious, or straightforward – no-one’s actually coming and saying, ‘Hey, amazing job on that!’ – it’s more of a more of a result where we’re able to compete at a higher level, because we’re able to answer those questions as they come up.
Jackie:
As a result of your experience in the sustainability program, you also uncovered a pretty significant opportunity for the business in helping customers to become more, more sustainable. Can you tell me about West, West Enviro?
Jimmy:
WestRef Enviro, certainly. So that that again, came around when we were looking at how we can minimise our environmental impacts. The strategy also identified that working with our customers on on what happens to the products, when they’re finished with them would be something extremely interesting to do. The products that we make all end up being a type of controlled waste. So the, the products all become contaminated by the chemicals that are used in the process. And there’s things that can be be done with those products, some of them do need to just go to specialised treatment and landfill.
But in in doing the process of looking at our sustainability strategy that came up with something that was really quite an interesting piece, because from what we could see, at that time as outsiders, there wasn’t much focus anywhere in the industry on what to do with those products other than to make them disappear as quickly and cheaply as possible.
There’s quite a bit of value locked up in in those waste streams. I’ll tell you how it came about, I was sitting at the back of my house with one of my good friends and I said to him, ‘Look, we’re we’ve been thinking about what we can do to help our customers with our products once they finished using them. And that’s a real challenge.’ And just by pure chance, he’d been doing some work with another business that was starting to do some work in that space. And he said,’ Oh, you know, have you spoken to these guys?’ And I had not, but made a few phone calls. And then within a few months, we were starting up a business in that space because we’ve we’ve found the little niche that would give us the chance to start doing positive things with with our customers’ waste.
And from there we’ve started developing a strategy to …a stewardship program for, for our own products. So as far as we’re aware, is the first of its kind in the world, in the fire assay industry. And it’s, as I say, still under development, you don’t find solutions to this type of problem in five minutes, but it’s something that our customers have been really pleased to see us doing.
Jackie:
So it sounds like it’s really helping keep you in the game at a global level in that in the industry that you’re in?
Jimmy:
Yeah, and I think it’s important for the industry as a whole, there’s changes in the industry in terms of the methodologies that are out there, and some methodologies can be greener than others. And so, by supporting the industry with this sort of solution, you know, we believe we’re helping keep ourselves competitive. Plus, we’ve got the added benefit of having a new business with a new set of revenue streams.
Jackie:
What would you say is the biggest challenges you’ve had in establishing this sustainability program?
Jimmy:
It would have to be resources I’d say. Being the size of company that we are in terms of the number of people it’s, it’s always a challenge to do the do the extra work, which, like I said earlier, isn’t always directly revenue producing type work to push these sorts of things forward. So it can take a lot of time and energy from, from focusing on the core business. To develop these types of strategies and actions.
Jackie:
And if you could go back to when you first started on this sustainability journey, what advice would you give yourself?
Jimmy:
Don’t be too hard on yourself, I think I wanted to do everything at once. I can be a bit impatient like that, I guess. And it would be you know, pick one area and take small steps – progress not not perfection. If you can do it a little bit each week, or even each month to improve one of these areas that you’ve identified that your business would benefit from. The years go by quickly. And before you know it, you’ll you’ll have made some really big leaps forward.
Jackie:
What would you like to do next in terms of sustainability for the business? What’s what’s the next step for WestRef or is it really focusing on WestRef Enviro?
Jimmy:
There is a big focus on WestRef Enviro being a waste business, what we’re trying to do is create better environmental outcomes from the products that we deal with. We’re also looking to carbon footprint that business in the near future. And I’d like to actually get that business to the point where we can ISO certify it and possibly B-Corp certified down the track.
Jackie:
Big plans! Well, I wish you all the best in that journey. Jimmy as you continue on, and thank you very much for your time.
Jimmy:
Thanks, Jackie. It’s been a pleasure talking to you
Jackie:
Well, you can see that a sustainability perspective, combined with a genuine desire to meet customer needs, is really beginning to pay off for WestRef. That’s the sort of opportunity you might be able to uncover in your own business.
See you next time on Leapers!