About Us - Sustainability

Throughout our almost 100-year history, we have prided ourselves on being part of the community of Brisbane's inner-north, not just a feature of the local landscape. For that reason, we take the whole conversation about green issues very seriously. The green issue is not just for "tree-huggers" anymore, and has grown to encompass the whole issue of sustainability. As a family-owned business, the executive team at Bretts is heavily invested in the idea of building a sustainable business. At Bretts we promote sustainability in two different ways: through Community and through the Environment. And this year we again supported Planet Ark's National Tree Day as our key sponsorship opportunity, as it encompasses both pillars of our sustainability efforts. We are committed to developing genuine relationships with local community groups and aim to have a positive impact on the broader community. So, we are happy to continue supporting National Tree Day. To read more about the program this year, click here. Bill Nutting Jnr, Bretts Managing Director

Let's talk community

As a business that's been operating in Brisbane since 1913, Bretts understands the value of building solid and lasting relationships with the people who operate in our local community. And we aim to have a positive impact on the broader community.

We like to contribute in different ways, including providing donations and in-kind support, and contributing to programs that deliver targeted social benefits. However, underpinning our community efforts programme is a sponsorship portfolio that focuses on providing regular support to local schools and other community groups in our own neighbourhood.

You can read about some of our recent community involvement projects here:

bretts supports: clean up australia day

Bretts supports "Clean Up Australia Day" again this year with a donation of gloves, t-shirts and hats to protect the participants at the Enoggera Creek "Clean Up Australia Day" site.

Hundreds of thousands of volunteers around the nation participated in "Clean Up Australia Day", cleaning up Australia's major rubbish hotspot areas and clear the most frequently dropped items, including cigarette butts and recyclables such as glass, plastic and paper.

It has been estimated that a staggering 15,560 tonnes of rubbish has been removed from beaches, waterways, parks and bushland across Australia.

The Enogerra Creek team - which consisted of 41 valiant volunteers - removed 7m3 of rubbish from the Enogerra Creek area this year. So well done to the team. 

Find out more about Clean Up Australia Day and how you can help.

bretts supports: flipside circus

Flipside Circus is a community based not-for-profit youth circus that teaches children between the ages of 18 months to 18 years many different forms of circus skills; building their strength, fitness, coordination and self-confidence through learning basic circus skills.

When Flipside Circus approached Bretts about helping the group paint their new training centre, we were happy to help. Wattyl, one of our key paint brands, came on board and we were able to donate the paint for their large ground floor training space.

A working bee, which took place over the Easter long weekend, saw the project receive a great kick start and they will now be in a position to open Flipside's new circus training centre soon.

Find out more about Flipside Circus and how you can help.

bretts supports: national tree day

In 2009 Bretts introduced a 'National Tree Day' sponsorship program encompassing both pillars of our sustainability efforts - Community and Environment. Bretts donated "Green Packs" to a number of schools and community groups in 2009, including: Ascot State School, Bald Hills State School, Ferny Hills State School, Hendra State School, Holy Cross Primary School, Holy Rosary Primary School, Holy Spirit Primary School, Kedron State School, Sandgate Community Centre, Wilston State School and Wooloowin State School.

Find out more about National Tree Day and how you can help.

Let's talk environment

Thanks to climate change, green building is firmly on the agenda. While some say that greener building practices are being driven by regulations rather than consumers, other studies show that demand is building amongst consumers. And this demand for more sustainable solutions will increase as more "Generation Y's" enter the housing market.
So is there an economic benefit to designing and building greener homes? Recent research says there is, with one US study of home builders finding that, nationwide, over 80 percent of home-seekers prefer to buy homes that incorporate sustainable or energy-efficient features. And of those buyers, half are willing to pay between 11 - 25 percent more for environmentally friendly homes. (Source: "Green House Effect" Can Boost Sales Price for Home Sellers, Building Online, 7 March 2007).
The various state energy efficiency and building rating systems have been under the microscope over the past two years. In March 2006 it became law in Queensland for new houses to be more sustainable by ensuring they use water and energy more efficiently. The desired result is that new houses will use 33 percent less electricity and up to 36 percent less water. And further changes in regulations and tougher restrictions are likely to follow.

We may not have all the answers, but we do know that offering a more sustainable solution provides us with an array of opportunities to build better homes and help the environment at the same time. And that's something we're always happy to talk about!

For our part, we are pleased to announce that Bretts recently received Australian Forestry Standard (AFS) chain of custody (CoC) approval for product from the Bretts Inglewood Cypress Sawmill. The AFS ensures that trees are only selected under very strict guidelines and removed from the bush in a manner that is least impactful to the remaining flora and fauna. Bretts is now only the second Cypress mill in the world to achieve this certification!