Meet Cindy Cupri – Sustainability Lead
Our objective at Viva Energy is to grow a sustainable business that aligns with our values and meets the expectations of the communities in which we operate, our customers and stakeholders, and our employees.
Operating sustainably drives us to tackle the challenge of Australia’s energy transition and actively contribute to its solution, solidifying our role as a trusted energy provider in the shift to a low-carbon future.
In line with this, we strive to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability through various initiatives, such as the Sustainability Champions employee program. This program, founded by Cindy Cupri, Viva Energy's Sustainability Lead, along with other dedicated colleagues who share a passion for sustainability, reflects our efforts.
“We created the Sustainability Champions program in 2022 to raise awareness about environmental related matters and empower employees to drive sustainability outcomes and improve our sustainability culture,” Cindy said.
Mission
Inspire Viva Energy people to think, do and drive Sustainability
A likeminded community where everyone can make a difference
From starting with just five members, there are now over 30 Sustainability Champions across Viva Energy, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability initiatives and education across the organisation.
The group’s objective is to raise awareness, identify opportunities to improve sustainability performance and engage Viva Energy’s employees through education and activities, empowering the belief that no matter the size of an activity, everything counts and everyone can make a difference.
Focussing on a quarterly sustainability theme – such as waste, recycling or biodiversity – the group identifies opportunities to educate employees, partner with experts, and run activities for people to ‘walk the talk’ to achieve the mission to inspire Viva Energy team members to think about sustainability in everything they do.
“Sustainability is an interdisciplinary area; one area can’t do it all. You need to engage with different stakeholders,” said Cindy.
“As our business has grown and diversified, we facilitate a lot of internal communication to ensure a broad understanding of different sustainability issues. Someone working in Retail may not have an understanding of our new energy projects – being a diverse group and staying connected helps everyone work collaboratively as well as building pride in the organisation by knowing the activities we are involved in.”
What we achieved in 2023
Around one-tonne haul Cleaning Up Australia in 2024
Earlier this year, the Viva Energy Sustainability Champions organised
cleanup events across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western
Australia. With the help of more than 100 Viva Energy volunteers across
the country, we prevented hundreds of kilograms of litter from ending up
in our waterways.
Proving that small efforts make a big difference, we collected around one tonne of rubbish.
Why sustainability programs matter as an employer
It’s become increasingly important for employers, including energy providers, to offer a culture of sustainability. While sustainability is embedded in Viva Energy from a governance perspective, as well as Board committees that are focussed on sustainability performance, the Sustainability Champion program is a little different.
“We take a top-down and bottom-up approach – driven by our team members as well as our leaders across the business. This approach empowers individuals to drive sustainability, share their experience and collaborate with others,” said Cindy.
“It’s a diverse and energetic group from across the business that’s full of collaborative spirit.”
“Our own employees are key stakeholders and I think it is important that as part of our employee value proposition we offer the Sustainability Champions program as a place where they feel that can make a difference.”
Beyond sustainability compliance to value creation
For industry at large, change is coming – including new mandatory requirements for sustainability reporting.
“For corporations, expectations continue to increase. It’s not enough to stay compliant [with sustainability reporting requirements], you also need to create that value,” Cindy said.
“As the government poses mandatory requirements for sustainability reporting, and climate related disclosures, there will be more accountability – and the profile of Sustainability will rise even further. A program like this helps to embed a sustainability culture through every business unit.”
The Great Global Nurdle Hunt – Zero pellet loss
In 2023, we joined around 100 other industry members and our own Polymers team to participate in The Great Global Nurdle Hunt as partners and industry advocates of Operation Clean Sweep®.
Two industry events were held with Tangaroa Blue and Chemistry Australia in Sydney and Melbourne, where participants collected plastic pellets from river banks thereby preventing them from polluting the environment.
Imagine how much difference we could make
Cindy said engaging with the Sustainability Champions program is one of her favourite things about her job.
“It’s great to see everyone roll up their sleeves and get such a sense of community satisfaction and receive positive feedback,” she said.
“I find it very rewarding to find solutions and embed a sustainability culture and actually make a difference in the community and in the environment.”
Cindy has her eyes on expanding the program in 2024 and beyond.
“The big goal is for all our team members to be champions of sustainability. We now have more than 14,000 people with Viva Energy across Australia, so imagine how much difference we can make.”
Key Sustainability Champion projects in 2024
- National Sustainability Week – sharing knowledge and promoting employee engagement
- Biodiversity – activities in line with our biodiversity approach to support conservation and education
- The Great Global Nurdle Hunt – as part of Operation Clean Sweep® to encourage zero pellet loss
Track our sustainable growth and transformation in the Viva Energy 2023 Sustainable Report.