As a B-BBEE Level 1 certified organization for three years and counting, Kal Tire South Africa reflects on how uplifting others continues to inspire teams as well as more opportunities for transformation and inclusion.
Kal Tire is pleased to announce that once again, Kal Tire South Africa has been certified as a Level 1 Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) organization. Achieving this significant milestone each year, and contributing to an equal opportunity future for South Africa, has become part of the culture at Kal Tire.
The B-BBEE is a government act that was first passed in 2003. As a legislative requirement, businesses are guided toward eight levels of recognition for efforts toward development and transformation.
To ascend those levels and achieve Level 1, Kal Tire focused on a handful of areas with the most impact: giving children a healthy start to the day, upskilling and employing local youth, and building a supply chain that supports emerging small businesses with aligned values.
“We streamlined our procurement process to focus on sourcing from being B-BBEE-compliant and empowered suppliers,” says Peter Marriott, head of legal. For example, personal protective equipment (PPE), such as safety glasses, or Kal Tire branded t-shirts, are now purchased from local, black-owned businesses.
Kal Tire also gives a hand up to emerging potential B-BBEE suppliers, contributing to the growth of the business and, later, graduating those businesses into our supply chain.
“Every year, we choose a new small enterprise, and where possible, in its startup phase, who we then assist by providing them with an Enterprise Development Grant” says Peter. “The following year we would make them part of our supply chain and procure goods from them. This initiative provides them with sustainable cashflow through the procurement of these products and allows them to grow their business.”
Kal Tire also offers nearly 70 ‘learnerships’ every year. Individuals from communities near three branches get the chance to develop tire fitting skills or administrative skills over 12 months, and many go on to become team members.
“We’re employing youth and creating pathways for them to actively participate in the economy and benefit their own communities,” says Peter.
One of the B-BBEE initiatives that many team members feel a lot of pride for is the school breakfast programs that ensure the country’s youngest learners get to start the school day with a full belly.
“We’re feeding children in the Brits area every day. All of this is truly a team effort, and I think we’re all proud of what we’ve achieved, but we’re even more proud of how it’s shaping our future,” says Peter. “We’re building stronger relationships with communities, we’re empowering small suppliers, and overall, we’re contributing to sustainable growth across South Africa.”
Peter says the real effort of maintaining B-BBEE Level 1 is only possible with the ever-growing passion of the team.
“Overall, it’s become a part of our culture. We’re always looking at what we can do better and what else we can do. We treat B-BBEE not as a project that ends, but a living process.”
