Corporate Citizenship and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment

Bidvest Waltons is a proud South African company and seeks to uplift the communities in which we operate in a meaningful way. 

We are proud to have achieved a Level 1 BBBEE Status in our most recent assessment.

We aim to give back by recruiting from the communities in which we operate, developing our staff and partnering with local suppliers to empower local businesses.

We know that this is not enough and therefore seek to educate and uplift communities through meaningful partnerships with suppliers, customers and community organisations.

The education and upliftment of the youth is a cause we hold dear and we aim to contribute to this through our Intern- and Learner-ship programmes giving young, talented people opportunities to learn and grow within our business.

We recognise the importance of education in uplifting our society and our country as a whole.

We are proud to have given back over R 125 million to our partner schools over the last 25 years and continue to find ways in which we can add value.

We understand the important role we can play in preserving natural resources and reducing our, and our customers', carbon footprints.

We actively seek out suppliers who manufacture using environmentally responsible means and look to offer compelling environmentally responsible products with an emphasis on ISO-accredited suppliers.

Internally, we aim to educate and encourage our staff to be responsible citizens in their personal and professional lives and be cognisant of the environmental impact of their actions. We partner with responsible recycling and waste removal companies to ensure any items that cannot be re-used or re-purposed and recycled or disposed of in a responsible way.

We are aware of the structural inequalities that exist in our country and acknowledge we have a role to play in the redistribution of wealth and upliftment of the previously disadvantaged.

We are a proud Level 2 BBBEE Contributor but acknowledge that there is always more to be done.

We are proud of annual internship and learnership programmes that aim to uplift and upskill young people through hands-on experience in our business that is relevant to their career aspirations and education. 

We aim to create an enriching and nurturing environment and are fortunate to retain promising candidates in permanent positions in our business.

Bidvest has invested in the development in SMEs and EMEs with a majority Black Female Ownership and has successfully coached and mentored these emerging entrepreneurs to participate in the mainstream economy. More opportunities to create positive, meaningful change are always being explored.

We strive to align our procurement policies with our BBBEE policies, and source products from BBBEE compliant businesses. We continue to source from compliant companies and put pressure on our suppliers to do more to improve their rankings through meaningful change.

We aim to create a workforce fully representative of the South African community and create an environment where all staff feel welcomed, valued and are given an opportunity to grow within our business through certified development programmes and reach their full potential.