Our sustainability approach

Our people and teams around the world are aligned in our strong vision to be the operating system for global logistics.

Technology innovation is transforming almost every process across the supply chain. We recognize we have an important role to play in creating breakthrough products that support and enhance the sustainability of global supply chains.

WiseTech Global is built on over 25 years of commitment to making a positive contribution to the communities in which we operate. Our people, customers, and communities are central to our vision and mission.

Our culture of innovation and productivity means we tackle the complex problems and challenges of the logistics and technology industries with a ‘test first, fail quickly, and improve rapidly’ approach. Our work environment stimulates creativity and innovation, with a focus on freedom and responsibility.

Our credo, mantras, and values give us focus and purpose. They are our deeply held beliefs, highest priorities, and the fundamental forces that drive us forward every day. Our strong cultural foundations stem from our productivity systems and operating principles which make up The WiseTech Way.

Our approach to sustainability centers on four pillars, our people, communities, the environment and marketplace.

We are committed to transparency and are focused on identifying opportunities to enhance our approach to environmental, social and governance (ESG), and addressing these through updates to our principles, policies, and procedures. 

Learn more about:

 


Corporate governance

WiseTech’s Board and management are committed to high corporate governance standards and to actively managing our risks and opportunities.

The Board Charter sets out responsibilities for approving strategy, business plans and policies, the system of Corporate Governance and our values. 

Our corporate governance materials, including key principles, policies, codes of conduct, and Board committee charters, can be found in the corporate governance section of our website.

We also issue an annual Corporate Governance Statement in line with the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations. This Statement sets out our main corporate governance practices for the financial year. This is published in our Annual Report and also on our website.

Information on our Board of Directors and Senior Management Team can be found on our website.

WiseTech participates in policy development and advocacy in a non-partisan manner that is open, transparent, and compliant with all relevant laws. We do not make political donations. We may attend events or forums run by politicians and political parties, and if we do, this is overseen by the Chief Executive Officer and the General Counsel in accordance with applicable electoral laws.


Sustainability governance

The Board Charter sets out responsibilities for approving strategy, business plans and policies, the system of Corporate Governance and our values. It also establishes the Board’s responsibility for overseeing the implementation and management of WiseTech’s sustainability and ESG practices and initiatives, including our sustainability reporting.

Board Committees such as People & Remuneration Committee and the Audit & Risk Committee, support the Board to meet its responsibilities.

The PRC Charter reflects its responsibility for making progress towards pay equity and setting measurable objectives for achieving gender diversity in the composition of senior management and the workforce.

Information about our approach to risk management is set out on our website in our Risk Management Principles, and our Corporate Governance Statement discusses our approach to ESG risk management. The Chair and CEO regularly meet with investors and other stakeholders on a range of topics which include ESG matters.

The ESG & Sustainability Team leads the development and implementation of the sustainability strategy and the company’s ESG disclosures, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

Day-to-day management of sustainability-related risks and opportunities is coordinated by the ESG & Sustainability Team and led by the Senior Management Team and relevant business leaders.

A number of cross-functional working groups support further progress in our sustainability agenda.


Contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)

The UN SDGs seek to address the most significant challenges our world is facing today.

We have mapped the UN SDG framework against our activities to understand the role we play in addressing these challenges.

Our activities directly contribute to progress towards a number of UN SDGs. Read more about this here.


Code of Conduct

WiseTech recognizes the importance of ethical conduct by all its directors, management and employees. Our Code of Conduct sets out our commitment to maintaining high levels of integrity, legal, moral, and ethical standards in our business practices.

All of our team members commit to our Code of Conduct. This contains key information our people must understand to comply with applicable laws, employ a consistent approach to key integrity issues, and conduct ourselves appropriately in our interactions with stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, team members and local communities.

We are committed to continuous improvement, transparency, and accountability. We do not tolerate workplace misconduct.

As part of onboarding, all employees (including temporary employees and contractors) are required to review the Code of Conduct and pass a related training module to assess understanding and application. After this, our people complete refresher training once every two years.

The WiseTech Senior Management Team, chaired by the Chief Executive Officer, provides management oversight of the effectiveness of our Code of Conduct and policies. Our Code of Conduct is available on our website here.

Also available on the Corporate Governance section of our website are the following policies, which set out further standards of behavior that we expect of our people:

  • Anti-bribery and Corruption Policy
  • Securities Trading Policy
  • Market Disclosure and Communications Principles
  • Diversity and Inclusion Principles
  • Human Rights Principles
  • Modern Slavery Statement
  • Whistle-blower Protection Principles

Human rights

Conducting our business with utmost integrity is vital to build trust with customers and suppliers, avoid risks and comply with laws set by the countries in which we operate.

We are committed to maintaining ethical standards in how we conduct our business activities and stakeholder relationships. These expectations are set out in our Code of Conduct, which our people commit to abide by. See the Code of Conduct section for more information.

Our Human Rights Principles set out our commitment to upholding and respecting human rights as articulated in the UN Guiding Principles of Business and Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.

The Principles are upheld through clear policies, communication, and due diligence with specific reference made to preventing child labor, forced labor and discrimination.

Our Human Rights Principles are reviewed by the Board on an annual basis, with any material amendments to be discussed by the Board.

Policies apply to all business activities and operations including businesses we acquire. The full suite of policies and principles are available on our intranet which employees are instructed on how to navigate as part of onboarding. 

We prepare an annual Modern Slavery Statement addressing the mandatory criteria set out in Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). WiseTech’s modern slavery statements can be found on our website or on the Australian Border Force modern slavery statement register.


Industry participation

We partner with industry associations around the world to promote the collective interests of the logistics industry and share global best practices.

We are members of a number of  industry associations including the following:

Geographic reach
 
Industry Association
Global   International Air Transport Association
FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations
The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) 
Australia  

Freight & Trade Alliance
The Tech Council of Australia
Australian Society for Computers and Law
Association of Corporate Counsel
Group of 100
Shipping Australia

Canada   Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association
Canadian Society of Customs Brokers
China   China International Freight Forwarders Association
International Shipping Enterprise Alliance
Shanghai International Freight Forwarders Association
Shenzhen International Freight Forwarders Association
Tianjin International Freight Forwarders Association
New Zealand   Customs Brokers & Freight Forwarders Federation of New Zealand
South Africa   SAPICS, the professional body for supply chain management
The South African Association of Freight Forwarders
Switzerland   The Interest Group Air Cargo Switzerland
United Kingdom   Association of Freight Software Suppliers
British International Freight Forwarding Association
The United Kingdom Warehousing Association
United States   International Air Cargo Association of Chicago
National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America

Our approach to materiality

For the purposes of developing a strategic approach to managing sustainability and aligning with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, we have determined our key issues by adopting the following four step process:

 

1. Identification

We identified key stakeholder groups (employees, customers, investors and community partners) and specific organizations and individuals within these groups.

 

2. Assessment

We undertook desktop research using third-party guidelines such as the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), peer benchmarking and our own analysis of environmental, social and economic topics.

 

3. Materiality verification

We determined which issues were relevant for our business by further discussing the outcomes of our engagement with relevant stakeholders.

 

4. Prioritization

We asked each stakeholder group to prioritize the sustainability issues based on the importance to them in the context of their relationship with WiseTech. We then shared the results with our business leadership and prioritized these issues.

 

Key ESG topics

  • Diversity and inclusion
  • Health, safety and wellbeing
  • Learning and development
  • Talent attraction and retention
  • Community engagement
  • Education and skills
  • Responsible sourcing


  • Climate change and decarbonization
  • Environmental management

  • Business continuity and resilience
  • Data security and privacy
  • Fair and ethical business
  • Products and customers

Detail on our performance in these areas can be found in the sustainability section of our annual reports from FY21 onwards.


Stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder engagement is key to our approach to sustainability. We have many different stakeholders we engage with in various ways on a regular basis every year.

We have dedicated staff in our corporate head office who respond to retail shareholder questions and feedback. We also communicate regularly with our retail shareholders via our website, email, mail‑outs and at our Annual General Meeting, which provides retail shareholders with the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback directly to the Chairman, Board, and CEO.

Our Investor Relations Team, CEO, and CFO are available to answer questions or receive feedback from institutional investors. We meet with our institutional investors on a regular basis as part of our:

  • post-results domestic and international roadshows
  • broker hosted investor briefing sessions, and
  • regular meetings on an ‘as requested’ basis throughout the year.

Investment analysts are invited to participate via webcast or phone call in our half and full year results briefings during which they can ask questions of our CEO and CFO. These briefings are available to all shareholders to listen to live or on replay through the website.

Our Global Support Team manages the relationships and engagement programs with our customers. The Global Support Team obtains feedback in our customer system and connect real-time with our customers.

We also engage with our business customers via workshops, industry forums, training sessions, our website, online portal with our community forum and our social media platforms (Facebook and LinkedIn).

We place great importance on engaging with our people via a range of means including:

  • our weekly internal newsletter, The Buzz
  • our intranet site, The Source
  • virtual and in person cake days with our CEO, Richard White, and internal team members
  • welcome sessions for acquisition team members
  • our internal corporate communication and collaboration tool, Stack Overflow;
  • regular touchpoint conversations between our People Leaders and their team members
  • regular professional and development reviews
  • email, and
  • social and community events held regularly at our offices

As an industry leader, WiseTech collaborates when appropriate with government consultation processes.

Our community initiatives focus on three key areas: skills development, technology education, and general community support. We engage with various community partners focused on each of these areas at both a corporate level and at an employee level via volunteering programs.

We engage directly with suppliers as part of general vendor management and due diligence for relevant organizations.

We are members of the industry bodies outlined in the Industry Participation section above. Through our memberships, we participate in discussions regarding issues facing the industry and related lobbying activity.