Management Message

Brother has a long-standing belief in respecting the environment and caring for anyone related to our company. These principles are captured in the Brother Group Global Charter, which was crafted in 1999 based on the concept of "Tomoiki" (co-existence). Through our CSR Management activities, we hope to establish a mutually beneficial relationship in which our stakeholders trust and respect us and our employees take pride in working for the company.

CSR at Brother

Brother believes that CSR should be managed just as any other business activity, and should be integrated into daily business operations. To this end, we have formed a committee to increase awareness of CSR within the company and formulate strategies and initiatives to involve everyone in the company in how we can contribute back to society and the environment in which we live, work and play.

At Brother, we are committed to providing our customers with products and services of superior value that they can trust. We are continually looking into innovative ways to recycle our products and ensure that our recycling programme continues to expand and improve.

We provide our employees with an environment in which they can fulfil their aspirations and have a well-balanced work life, we can be sure that they in turn will take care of our customers and the environment.

We recognise that CSR is a journey. It is to us a fulfilment of our motto "At Your Side". And we are proud to undertake this journey because we know that we are creating an organisation that our stakeholders can respect and our employees can be proud to be a part of.

Our Team

The Brother Group Global Charter recognizes that our employees are important stakeholders in our business. We are committed to providing a workplace in which our employees are respected and are proud to be a part of.

At Brother International Australia we believe a healthy workforce means presence of positive feelings in our team in which they can be positive members of society, continually learn and improve, strive to achieve their goals and contribute to our success.

We commit to provide a workplace where our employees work cheerfully, joyfully and vigorously enbodying our company motto that we will always be "At your side".

Employee Engagement

Communication between management and employees is important to the company, as Brother recognises that communication is an important driver of employee engagement.

In promoting constructive dialogue between management and employees, our quarterly communication session is a channel for sharing company information with employees and also for them to raise concerns through open discussion with management.

In demonstrating management commitment to engaging our employees, Brother engaged Mercer HR Consulting to conduct the Employee Engagement Survey, to which 75% of our employees responded.

Brother is committed to providing a workplace in which our employees are respected and in which they take pride.

Leadership Development

Brother recognises the importance of having talented leaders at all levels of our organisation. We invest in the development of all our employees. Our leaders attend leadership training in the areas of Performance Management and Appraisal, Building and Leading Teams and Leadership Competencies.

We recognise strong leadership is critical to organisational success and employee engagement. Training helps to develop this critical capability and allows our talent to grow.

Employee Wellness

At Brother, the health and well-being of our employees are important. We recognise that employee wellness is a fundamental component of creating work-life balance for our employees.

Brother has a Workplace Wellness Programmes to create a happy and healthy workplace. Employee wellness programmes include health screening, health surveys, and nutritional advice to fitness activities such as yoga. These are designed to ensure the physical well-being of our employees. These programmes also raise awareness of important health issues, which we believe benefits employees in their overall wellness.

At Brother, we know that behind our success, it's our people who make the difference.

The Environment - Brother's Contribution

Global Environmental Activities

Click here for Brother's Global Environmental Activities.

Australian Environmental Activities

Protectors of the Earth

As an environmentally responsible corporate citizen, Brother's printing solutions are all friends of the earth. Brother is the first and only printer manufacturer to achieve the coveted TCO standard-the toughest environmental standard in the world-since 2002. This is a globally recognised benchmark for excellence in ecology, energy, emissions and ergonomics.

The Brother Group in Japan established the 5R concept, which lays the foundation and sets the guidelines for active participation in global efforts. As a member of the Brother Group, Brother International Australia is also guided by these environmental policies, and we have adopted the 5R concept as a basis for our own environmental activities:

1. REDUCE waste material by recycling

2. REUSE products and waste material

3. REFUSE to buy environmentally unfriendly products

4. REFORM materials and use again

5. RECYCLE rather than scrap

Our machines' eco-friendliness is determined by the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) Directive. There is restricted use of certain hazardous substances-such as lead, mercury and calcium -in the manufacture of our products. On top of that, our machines are labelled Energy Savers, which means they consume less power, and therefore contribute to our holistic approach to being environmentally friendly. At Brother, we provide the ideal solutions that exceed expectations now and into the future. We aim to be "At Your Side" every step of the way.

ISO

Brother consumables are manufactured to exacting, environmentally friendly specifications. Brother worldwide is committed to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, and through these controls we ensure that quality and reliability are built into every consumable and machine we manufacture. Furthermore, everything we manufacture is produced to worldwide health and safety standards.

Energy Star Approval

Our Laser Printers, Multi-Function Centres (MFCs) and Faxes comply with the International Energy Star Program. As a long-time Energy Star partner, all Brother Group companies worldwide have strong social and environmental responsibilities to contribute to a cleaner planet.

Brother's Environmental Protection Measure

Our printers and MFCs have adopted a printing system that reduces consumables wastage. This printing system ensures that users no longer have to throw away a drum or inkjet printheads every time the toner or ink cartridge has been depleted. Toners and ink cartridges may now be replaced separately. Additionally, all our models have a draft print mode to reduce the amount of toner or ink required for standard prints.

Brother's Green Purchasing Policy

Brother promotes activities that are environmentally friendly. Such practices include purchasing products using a recommended product list, which includes items ranging from toilet paper to company vehicles.

Brother International Australia

In Australia, Brother goes above and beyond the majority of the corporate world when it comes to environmental issues. With a three fold strategy to prevent Global warming and pollution, and to foster a recycling-orientated society, Brother ensures its ecological footprint is just a shadow in the sand.

Supporting Earthwatch

Brother International Australia has an exciting, long-term partnership with EarthWatch Australia, to facilitate critical conservation efforts focused on Climate Change and Sustainable Resource Management. Through this partnership, Brother will directly support research being conducted by Earthwatch into Climate Change in the Southern Great Barrier Reef.

Because Brother wants to see their staff engaged with environmental issues – not just following company policy, Brother employees, stakeholders, customers and business partners, have the opportunity to be part of an environmental volunteering program where they become a 'Scientist For a Day'. This includes a one-day in-field project across five Australian states.

We have also committed to donating part of the proceeds from every sale of our Colour Laser and Colour LED printers and MFCs to Earthwatch supporting science based conservation and their scientist all around Australia.

ISO 14001 Accreditation

All of Brother International Australia's offices have been accredited with the strict ISO 14001 conservation standards for the environment. EMS Policy download.

Brother and Planet Ark

Brother is proud to be a Major Sponsor of the 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' recycling program. This Australia wide program is designed to reduce the 18 million printer and fax cartridges (equivalent to 5000 tonnes) of waste which are sent to landfill each year.

Cartridges that are put into the specifically designed collection bins are then processed by the innovative "Green Machine" and every bit of our cartridges are then recycled into new products such as rulers and other plastic product to help ensure zero waste to land fill.

This program covers both laser and ink cartridges.
Brother is committed to supporting initiatives which help to ensure the long-term sustainability of our environment.

Byteback Partnership

Brother is a proud partner of Byteback Australia. This take-back program helps end users dispose of their unwanted Brother business machines responsibly. The main aim is to keep old hardware out of landfill. Equipment deposited at Byteback sites is broken down into components for recycling.

National Packaging Covenant Signatory

As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting the environment, Brother is a signatory to the National Packaging Covenant. This voluntary commitment will ensure our due consideration of environmental impacts associated with the materials used to package our products. Actions will include the internal adoption of the Environmental Code of Practice for Packaging and annual reporting of packaging related initiatives designed to minimise environmental degradation.

The Environmental Lifecycle of Brother Products

Brother aims for sustainability is every step of their products’ lifecycles, from design, development and manufacturing, to customer usage and disposal.

Design

In the design process the parts and materials used to make Brother products are thoroughly screened to ensure that they do not contain hazardous substances, and that they were made via eco-friendly processes.

Packaging

The next step ensures that these green products don’t get placed in packaging that yields high levels of pollution. Brother is a signatory to the National Packaging Covenant. This voluntary commitment ensures the internal adoption of the Environmental Code of Practice for Packaging, and annual reporting of packaging related initiatives designed to minimize environmental degradation.

Disposal

And last of all, Brother makes sure the product life-cycle doesn’t end up in landfill, by using the following programs to create a culture of recycling.

Brother is a proud partner of Byteback Australia. This take-back program keeps old hardware out of landfill. Equipment deposited at Byteback sites is broken down into components for recycling.

Brother is also proud to be a Major Sponsor of the 'Cartridges 4 Planet Ark' recycling program, designed to reduce the 18 million printer and fax cartridges (equivalent to 5000 tonnes) of waste which are sent to landfill each year.

Cartridges are recycled into all sorts of innovative products – ranging from the steel in a fridge, to the ink in a ball-point pen!

Recycling locations can be found at www.recyclingnearyou.com.au