Sustainable Wood Fibre Sourcing Policy
1. Purpose
Officeworks is committed to putting people and planet at the heart of everything it does. This includes sourcing wood fibre1 products, from sustainable and responsible sources. Officeworks recognises that deforestation, which is defined as conversion (whether legal or illegal) of natural forests to agriculture, tree plantations, livestock production, or other land uses, as well as severe or sustained degradation is a critical issue, it must play a leading role in addressing. Officeworks is committed to protecting forests and does this through complying with relevant laws, minimising negative environmental impacts, maintaining high conservation values, respecting the rights of workers and Indigenous people, maintaining positive community relations, protecting workers health and safety, and implementing ecologically and socially appropriate forest management and restoration techniques.
1. Wood fibre relates to any fibre obtained from the trunk or branches of a tree or shrub.
2. Scope
This Policy applies to all suppliers of product to Officeworks.
3. Related Documents
4. Policy
4.1. Officeworks' wood fibre target
To align with its sustainability goals, Officeworks' target is for all wood fibre products it sells to meet the following criteria:
- Virgin fibre to be independently certified to credible, international standards of responsible forest management (FSC, preferably 100% not Mix);
- Virgin fibre to be independently shown to provide a solution to global environmental challenges, with supporting evidence that it has been legally and sustainably harvested (i.e., bamboo, rattan, cork); or
- Non-virgin material to be 100% recycled.
- Additionally, some national brand products may be made from PEFC certified materials, if approved by the Sustainability Manager.
If products supplied to Officeworks are not made in line with the above criteria, the product will not be approved by the sustainability team.
4.2. Officeworks' approach
Officeworks has a zero-tolerance to illegally logged timber in its supply chain and is committed to supply chain transparency to measure progress against its wood-fibre sourcing target and to inform sourcing decisions. Officeworks traces its supply chains to the point of origin for its most material deforestation risk commodity being wood fibre.
Monitoring compliance
To monitor compliance, Officeworks requires all suppliers of wood fibre products to disclose detailed information, including chain of custody information, timber species, forest type, conversion date and country and region of harvest. Products that are not deemed low risk after a written risk assessment is conducted, are excluded from Officeworks' range. Suppliers are required to ensure all relevant data is valid and properly maintained, and suppliers must notify Officeworks immediately if a forest source changes as a new risk assessment will need to be conducted before importation.
Officeworks does not range products that do not meet the requirements set out in this policy.
Partnerships
Officeworks has a partnership with FSC and is a signatory to the Vancouver Declaration, which is an international declaration to work towards more sustainable sourcing of forest products. It encourages its suppliers to become a signatory. This policy aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land (SDG 15), by protecting forests, strengthening natural resource management and increasing land productivity.
Officeworks will continue to explore the use of emerging technologies that support the requirements of this policy, which include wood fibre testing, satellite mapping and blockchain.
Officeworks goes beyond its wood fibre sourcing target, to having a positive impact through the Restoring Australia initiative. In partnership with Greening Australia, Officeworks is restoring woodland ecosystems and improving habitat for threatened species whilst supporting rural communities. Since 2016 Officeworks has been planting approximately 200,000 trees and shrubs across Australia annually with two million trees expected to be planted by 2025.
Reporting
To aid in public reporting of progress towards its wood fibre sourcing target, progress is outlined in its audited People and Planet Positive Report, Officeworks monitors the volume of wood fibre from each country in its supply chain and the direct and indirect suppliers of wood fibre.
5. Definitions
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| FSC | Forest Stewardship Council |
| PEFC | Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification |
6. Awareness
This policy will be made available on the Officeworks website, Onet and the Supplier Portal.
7. Consequences of non-compliance
If products supplied to Officeworks are not made in line with the criteria set out in this policy, the products will not be approved by the Sustainability Team and won't be able to be ordered.
8. Document Information
| Document Owner | Chief Financial Officer |
| Document Delegate | Head of Sustainability, Product Safety and Corporate Affairs |
| Policy Level | Level 3 |
| Document Approver | Chief Financial Officer |
| Frequency of Review | Every 2 years |
| Wesfarmers Policy | N/A |
Legislation
N/A
| Version | Date | Author | Type of change | Description of Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | June 2025 | Alex White | Minor | Removed references to "zero deforestation" and updated to new policy template and numbering system. |
