Thriving Communities
Creating connection and opportunity for communities to thrive.
Thriving communities are critical for the health, resilience and fundamental future of our business. This encompasses not just the communities where we operate, but communities we touch along our full supply chain including partners, chefs and consumers.
This pillar will be realised through the creation of connection and opportunity for our people, the communities we touch and critically, in active, co-developed partnerships with the First Nations Communities we are connected to through a shared custodianship of land.
Themes
At the heart of our organisation is our most important asset, our people and we believe in their profound potential. At AACo we are committed to creating a workplace where our people have the opportunity to develop, grow and be the best versions of themselves. A place where they feel safe and that no matter who they are, where they are from or what is personally important to them, they belong.
Looking to the Future
We will build on a culture of inclusion reflected in sustained improvement in our Diversity & Inclusion, with improvement in representation in our workforce in the following areas:
– Women in Leadership > 25% and overall Female representation held at 40%
– Increased ethnic and cultural diversity (to be baselined)
– Increase First Nations People represented in our workforce – increase to 3%
Actively engaging in community capacity is critical to our success. It means supporting our communities, building partnerships and working hand in hand with our suppliers and our customers to make sure that everyone in our value chain can thrive.
We recognise and acknowledge the long and continuous connection First Nations Peoples have to the land on which we operate. It is a privilege to be the current custodians and we want to demonstrate our respect by working side by side with the First Nations Peoples who are connected to the lands we steward.
This is an important area that we want to get right so our first step will be to understand, listen and learn so we can build strong foundations and authentic partnerships with the First Nations People we are connected to through a shared custodianship of land.
Looking to the Future
By 2022 we will develop a complete First Nations Engagement Strategy that defines a pathway to:
– Building cultural awareness and safety within AACo to ensure that we can partner authentically with First Nations communities;
– Partnering with Traditional Owners to incorporate Traditional Management Practices into the stewardship of the stations we manage
– Co-designing partnerships that deliver shared value and business opportunities for First Nations communities with a connection to the stations we manage
– Providing employment opportunities and career pathways on country for First Nations youth and future leaders
One of our first priorities is to investigate employment opportunities within AACO’s Rangelands Program, providing employment opportunities for First Nations People.