This ethos is built into our organizational culture, and is a cornerstone in our workplace policies and decision making processes. As Australia’s largest pharmacy-led network, we have extensive reach across Australia, putting us in a fairly unique position, and providing scope and opportunity for Sigma to support the broader community.

National Charity Partners

National Partners are reviewed on a biannual basis to ensure the visions and objectives of all parties are met through the partnership. Sigma is committed to partnering with the following national charity partners:

• Corporate – The Summer Foundation
• Retail Network – Carers Australia

Employee Programs supporting the Community

Sigma team members play an important role supporting our customers and the community. As a result, Sigma has allocated a set amount of funding that can be distributed to support our team members, and support the charities chosen by our team members.

In recognition of team member excellence, the winner and runner up of the Sigma team member of the year awards “Shine at Sigma” are allocated a set amount of funding to nominate the charity of their choice, to which Sigma will donate. The Shine at Sigma award winners are announced each December, with the funds allocated by 31 January, and is at the sole discretion of Shine at Sigma award winners.

Other Discretionary Programs

Sigma does retain some capacity to support other charities. These will be reviewed and assessed by Sigma at the sole discretion of management, using the following criteria:

• Does the charity align to Sigma’s vision;
• Does the charity have a national presence;
• Does the charity have local community engagement;
• How will the charity engage with our pharmacy network;
• How can the charity be embraced by our Sigma team members; and
• How can the charity benefit from, and contribute to, Sigma’s network.

Whilst we do endeavour to support the community wherever possible, there are limits to what and who we can support. Local causes that do not satisfy the above criteria are able to approach their community pharmacy for support at a local level. Any such support is at the sole discretion of the pharmacy business owner.

Caring for Our Environment

Sigma is committed to maintaining a sustainable business that continuously strives to minimise our impact on the environment. Sigma is the first pharmaceutical wholesaler in Australia to become a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC). The APC is a sustainable packaging initiative that aims to change the culture of business to design more sustainable packaging, increase recycling rates and reduce packaging litter.

As Sigma embarks on a major investment program to renew our distribution centres, environmental cues are critical in the design and implementation. Further updates will be provided as we progress on this exciting initiative.