Steel Blue wins Award for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility.
Steel Blue named the winner of the AIM Pinnacle Award for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility.
“It is empowering to see so many organisations leading and committing to change for a better tomorrow” stated Steel Blue CEO, Garry Johnson as he accepted the award on Steel Blue’s behalf. “Steel Blue has a long-standing history of caring; it’s core to our DNA. We care about our team, our suppliers, our customers, the environment, and we care about the communities we are part of. This award acknowledges the impact we make in the community every day through our key partners at Breast Cancer Care WA and Beyond Blue.” He adds, “doing good is also good for business – over 50% of our team have been with Steel Blue over 10 years and 96% of our team are proud that Steel Blue operates in a socially responsible way.”
About the Awards
The AIM WA Pinnacle Awards are Western Australia’s premier business leadership excellence awards, recognising and rewarding outstanding organisations across the corporate, government, community and not-for-profit sectors in Australia that have a significant footprint in Western Australia.
Now in its eighth year, the awards have become an integral part of the business calendar.
Each winner of the Award will receive $20,000 worth of learning and development to give towards the charity of their choice. Steel Blue nominated Breast Cancer Care WA as the recipient of the $20,000 training and development credit with AIM.
Breast Cancer Care CEO, Zoe McAlpine said “We are so excited to receive the AIM opportunity for our team. $20,000 worth of development is quite simply out of reach for us, and this will be life changing for our team and the opportunities we can offer them. We can’t thank you enough for this, and all of your amazing ongoing support.”
The Hawaiian Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award provides recognition for an organisation that has achieved outstanding results through key initiatives that demonstrate leadership and commitment to excellence in corporate social responsibility.
Overview of Steel Blue’s CSR Strategy
A key focus of the Steel Blue CSR initiative is supporting communities.
Improving Mental Health in Australia
- Raised more than $300,000 with over 38,000 pairs sold to fund 6,250+ contacts to the Beyond Blue 24/7 Support Service.
Supporting Breast Cancer Care WA
- Raised more than $1.5M with over 300,000 pairs sold to create education initiatives for awareness and early detection of breast cancer.
Partnering with Clontarf Foundation
- Not-for-profit foundation mentoring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to improve their education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem, and employment prospects.
Sponsoring Swan Districts Football Club
- Sponsor since 2004, demonstrating Steel Blue’s early commitment to its community.
- Our support helps the club run many community programs to connect and engage marginalised people and communities, including at-risk youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and First Nations People and culturally diverse communities.
Other initiatives we support annually include:
- Donating to Ngalla Maya.
- Sponsoring a soccer academy in Jakarta.
- Ongoing contributions to WA Charity Direct.
- Providing footwear and funding for environmental disaster recovery.
Expanding Industry Leadership
Our CSR focus is anchored by two long-term partnerships with Breast Cancer Care WA (BCCWA) and Beyond Blue.
Steel Blue donates $10 from every pair of boots sold from the respective charity ranges to BCCWA (ladies’ pink and purple) or Beyond Blue (men’s and ladies’ blue). The eye-catching colours are a deliberate feature standing out amongst typical work clobber. As the first boots of their kind, their arrival in traditionally masculine work environments started conversations about mental health and breast cancer detection — conversations that continue worksites today.
Breast Cancer Care WA (BCCWA) Overview
The partnership started in 2007 at an event with Dr Ros Worthington, Founder of BCCWA. Ros mentioned to our board that BCCWA received no Government funding (they still don’t) and asked us to make purple boots to support them.
The range originated with a men’s purple boot, evolving to the current offering of ladies’ Pink and Purple boots. The colours are synonymous with breast cancer and stand out in traditionally male dominated industries like mining and construction.
Education and early detection initiatives
The packaging for the pink and purple boots includes a waterproof shower tag with instructions on how to do regular breast checks. The community has experienced a real impact through early detection like the case of Jan, for whom the purchase of charity boots led to a life-saving discovery.
Donations support education initiatives including:
- A youth education program aligned with the curriculum and designed to reduce fear, raise awareness, and highlight support services.
- Online campaigns to improve community knowledge of breast cancer, dispel outdated myths, and teach people how to be breast aware.
- A PhD research project to develop a national online community supporting people affected by breast cancer, particularly those in regional and remote areas.
- Community promotion across key BCCWA events (Purple Bra Day, Spring Day at the Races, Jump for Jane, and Long Table Lunch), we provide boots for fundraising as well as to media and social influencers.
Beyond Blue Partnership Overview
Inspired by the success of the BCCWA range, our Beyond Blue partnership started in 2014 with a similar strategy. Steel Blue’s core market is male tradesmen aged 18-54. Evidence shows mental health isn’t readily discussed in this group, which is a barrier to men accessing help. We knew we could help change that.
Steel Blue’s men’s and ladies’ Blue boots raise funds for the Beyond Blue 24/7 Support Service for those affected by anxiety, depression, and suicide. The money from blue boots has funded more than 6,250 calls to the Beyond Blue 24/7 Support Service. In a COVID-19-world – with the impacts of lockdowns and travel restrictions – the services of Beyond Blue are crucial. National call volumes have increased 23% compared to 2019. Our team takes comfort knowing our boots contribute to such a valuable service.
Education initiatives
The packaging of our blue boots includes an information brochure from Beyond Blue. It provides information on their services and tells people how to seek help for mental health while reminding them they are not alone. Every August, Steel Blue raises awareness for Beyond Blue in conjunction with the Australian Physiotherapy Association’s “Tradies National Health Month”. It highlights the importance of Tradies taking care of their physical and mental health. We share personal stories from Beyond Blue speakers and insights from Steel Blue Ambassadors (sporting legends in their respective fields) and remind people that together we can boot the blues and the stigma around mental health.
Click through for full details on our Community initiatives that form part of our In Our Stride sustainability roadmap.
