Bunnings

🎄 The bells were jingling and the sleighs were slaying at our Christmas Family Night on Thursday, with over 100,000 people joining in the festive spirit! It didn't matter where you were; every Bunnings store had a special guest from the North Pole as well as countless fun activities for the whole family. Thanks to all of our customers, local community groups, store teams, and of course Saint Nicholas for helping us celebrate the season and bring smiles to thousands of little faces!

The community behind our FSC® certified Merbau decking Our customers love our Merbau timber decking (also known as ‘Kwila’ in NZ) for its great look and fantastic durability – but there's so much more to this product. We’ve had the privilege of working closely with our West Papua-based supply partner, SWPI, for over a decade and together have been able to make meaningful change for sustainable logging practices across the region. In 2016, SWPI became the world’s first Merbau producer to achieve Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certification – a milestone that reflects their commitment to responsible forestry. For those unfamiliar with FSC, it is an internationally recognised certification for responsible forest management, ensuring that forests are managed in a way that protects ecosystems, respects the rights of local communities, Indigenous Peoples and workers, and maintains economic viability. The community now enjoys a strong source of local employment and essential new infrastructure, including construction of new roads, schools, medical facilities and a water treatment plant. Our team recently visited SWPI in West Papua and saw firsthand the incredible progress they’ve made across their forestry and milling operations. We were touched to receive a warm welcome from the local children and grateful for the opportunity to sit down with community representatives to discuss the ongoing and positive development of their region. We’re incredibly proud of our longstanding partnership with SWPI and look forward to continuing to work together to champion responsible forestry moving forward. FSC®-N001889 SWPI (PT Sinar Wijaya Plywood Industries) FSC Australia and New Zealand

Today is International Day of People with Disability where we acknowledge the dignity, rights, and contributions of people with disabilities.   We know it’s important to be accessible so all our customers can get the essential items they need for their home and we strongly believe this benefits everyone.   That’s why we’re actively working to improve inclusion and accessibility for our team and customers including: ● Wheelchairs and wheelchair trolleys in our stores ● Sensory maps to help people with sensory restrictions navigate our stores ● Identifying Bunnings team members who can communicate in Auslan or NZ Sign Language ● Striving to meet Website Content Accessibility Guidelines   We want to acknowledge our partners Amaze and the Australian Disability Network who are helping us identify and act on areas for improvement so that we can meaningfully support people with a disability.   Find out more on our website: https://lnkd.in/g3RDYiiM and read about our commitment to digital accessibility here: https://lnkd.in/grfnzgju.

We introduced the #LionelAwards earlier this year to celebrate our team members who represent the best of the Bunnings culture. This is why we were only too happy to recognise Kylie – an Activities Organiser who went above and beyond to help out her local community in Robina after a cyclone last Christmas. After seeing a social media post from the Mudgeeraba Lions calling for assistance as community members went without power, Kylie launched into action by: 🎁 organising gift vouchers 📞 contacting local businesses 🌭 putting on community BBQs 🔗 establishing a connection with local government officials. On top of the Lionel Award provided to Kylie at the Bunnings Conference earlier this year, she was also the proud recipient of a ‘Division 9 Community Hero Award’ hosted by the Mudgeeraba Show Society back in February. We couldn’t be prouder to have Kylie on our team and hope she can continue to inspire the rest of her team to look out for their local community like she does. 

We're giving young basketballers the opportunity to shoot hoops with their favourite National Basketball League (NBL) players through our Bunnings Backing Ballers program. This once-in-a-lifetime experience will provide 1,850 junior basketball players with: 🏀 complementary tickets for them and their families to NBL games 🏀 the unforgettable opportunity to take the court with the stars of the NBL 🏀 exclusive Bunnings Backing Ballers merch. We are extending our deal as a major partner with the NBL for a further three seasons as part of our commitment to supporting grassroots sports.

Look at some of the beautiful collection boxes our teams have created for Share the Dignity's It's in the Bag campaign! We'll be collecting donations up until December 1, so make sure you drop your bags into any Australian Bunnings store before the end of the week. Short on time? Purchase a virtual bag through our website: https://lnkd.in/giH6tzWX We are proud to support the important work done by the Share the Dignity team to help make Christmas brighter for women, girls and people who menstruate and are experiencing homelessness, domestic violence or period poverty.

Bunnings’ use of facial recognition technology     Every day we work hard to earn the trust of our team, suppliers and customers and this includes keeping people safe in and around our stores – it is our highest priority and a responsibility we take very seriously.       We introduced Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) on a trial basis into selected Bunnings stores in Victoria and New South Wales between 2018 – 2021 to keep team and customers safe and prevent unlawful activity, with strict controls around its use.      Unless matched against a specific database of people known, or banned from stores for abusive, violent behaviour or criminal conduct, the electronic data of the vast majority of people was processed and deleted in 0.00417 seconds-less than the blink of an eye.          The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has determined that Bunnings interfered with the privacy of individuals through the use of FRT.  We’re disappointed with the OAIC’s findings and genuinely believe that customer privacy was never placed at risk.      Bunnings will now seek a review of the Commissioner’s Determination before the Administrative Review Tribunal.    We’d hoped that based on our submissions, the Commissioner would fully appreciate and balance the safety needs of our team, customers and suppliers against the ongoing exposure to violent and organised crime perpetrated by a small number of known and repeat offenders.      The Commissioner acknowledged that FRT had the potential to protect against serious issues, such as crime and violent behaviour. This was the very reason Bunnings used the technology.      Our use of FRT was never about convenience or saving money, but was all about safeguarding our business and protecting our team, customers, and suppliers from violent, aggressive behaviour, criminal conduct and preventing them from being physically or mentally harmed by these individuals.     Abusive and threatening encounters in stores continue to rise with a 50 per cent increase experienced at Bunnings last year alone.      Everyone deserves to feel safe at work. Our team should not have to come to work and face verbal threats, physical violence or have weapons pulled on them.      More information on the trial and why it was important is available here: https://lnkd.in/gKntm6fr, and you can read our media statement in response to the decision here: https://lnkd.in/gW2pF9a.      We will keep doing everything we can to keep our team, customers and suppliers safe.

👮♂️ 👮♀ We’ve just wrapped up Crime Prevention Week in our stores, educating customers on how to enhance the safety of our homes and vehicles to prevent theft and fraud. In stores across Australia and New Zealand from 6 – 12 November, customers could have: ☕ Shared a coffee and a chat with cops 🌭 Enjoyed a trade BBQ to learn about keeping their worksites secure 🚗 Had anti-theft screws fixed to their number plates, or 🏅 Played some games to win prizes. Our store teams are amazing at finding fun and innovative ways to connect with their communities and bring these important campaigns to life. Thank you to all of the local police units, Neighbourhood Watch Australasia (AU), Neighbourhood Support New Zealand, and other local organisations for helping us share the importance of staying safe in our community.

At Bunnings, we know that providing best experience to our customers doesn’t just end when they walk out of the Big Green Shed. That’s why we were thrilled to hear from a customer earlier this week thanking us for sending them a reminder letter about an unredeemed exchange voucher.   There are a million reasons why our vouchers might slip your mind, but it doesn’t take much effort for us to send out a quick reminder to help whatever DIY projects are on the horizon.   Our team prides ourselves on offering amazing service for all customers regardless of whether they’ve entered our stores, shop on our website, or even when they’re checking their mailbox at home. Thanks to our customer for expressing their gratitude and reminding our team why we do these small acts that can make a big difference.

Help brighten Christmas for women and girls experiencing homelessness, domestic violence, or period poverty by donating to Share the Dignity’s ‘It’s in the Bag’ Appeal. 👜Friday 15 November to Sunday 1 December 👜Every Bunnings store in Australia 👜Donate bags filled with essential items such as period products, shampoo, conditioner and toiletries 👜Short on time? Purchase a virtual bag through our website: https://lnkd.in/gxnbBTCk We are proud to once again support the amazing work done by the team at Share the Dignity. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/d8GxA4yy #ItsInTheBag #ShareTheDignity