“I truly believe the world is a better place if we look out for one another and our country.”
Deborah Guion is the Head of Corporate Responsibility at Winc and has worked in the CSR and not-for-profit space for over ten years. Her interest and passion to make a difference and help others has always been there. “Human rights, equality and sustainable development have always been passions of mine. That’s why I really enjoy working in CSR – it’s an interesting mix of aligning business objectives and community needs while working to create value for both. It gives me a real sense of purpose each day.”
Partnerships at the heart
Deborah’s job involves speaking to customers about how to meet their social procurement objectives, identifying Indigenous businesses for potential partnerships, working with community partners and engaging our people along the way. One thing is clear: partnerships are at the heart of it. “Partnership and shared values are critical to outcomes. The issues being tackled in CSR are often complex, so a real sense of collaboration and understanding to reach the goal is really important.”
Supporting Indigenous businesses
For Deborah, partnerships with Indigenous businesses are a crucial part of building stronger communities and making an impact. “Our partnership with Integrity Health and Safety is a great example. Advice and mentoring from the team at Winc allowed Integrity Health and Safety to expand the range on offer and leverage the scale of our business and customer base. This support resulted in significant growth for Integrity Health and Safety in 2019, with one of Winc’s large customers at the centre of that growth. “I really love talking to customers who are aligned with our vision and see the difference their spend can make to communities – it makes our partnership with both the customer and the Indigenous supplier really hum.”
Sustainable donations
Caring for country through sustainability initiatives is another element Deborah stresses the importance of. “I’m proud that we work with Good360 and Foodbank. That way we ensure that our end-of-range goods are put to use by people who couldn’t otherwise afford them. This also means we avoid sending product to landfill, and instead utilise that product in disadvantaged communities. Each of these commitments contributes to more socially responsible outcomes.”
Inspiring community outcomes
Finally, we asked Deborah what inspires her, and she says it’s seeing other people engage and deliver good outcomes. “I love meeting Indigenous students and seeing the impact that the support of our partners at the Clontarf Foundation and Girls Academy have on their lives. Or hearing the stories from the families that Foodbank supports, seeing the passion of our own people when they’re out volunteering. These people all give so much to help make our communities a better place – how could I not be inspired!”
To find out how your workplace can create more socially responsible outcomes, please check out our supplier diversity range on winc.com.au or speak to your Winc account manager.
“I really love talking to customers who are aligned with our vision and see the difference their spend can make to communities”
