The Chamber is excited to announce it is partnering with Brownee, a tech-first discovery and action tool, to help our Victorian businesses build a sustainable, responsible and successful future.

Investors are increasingly putting their money where their values are. The expectations of employees, customers and community reinforce the need for businesses to act.

Businesses of all sizes need to think beyond today and can’t afford to ignore ESG.

Simple practices and adjustments can help reduce environmental harm, ensure your business is upholding high ethical values and is embracing quality governance with responsible and accountable leadership.

Regulators, both globally and here in Australia, require greater transparency of reporting and action, with cost and competitive implications for those who do not comply.

For example, in 2023, there were landmark legal proceedings brought by ASIC against Australian organisations for “greenwashing” or making misleading statements about the sustainability of their investments. Penalties for these cases amount to tens of millions of dollars.

The Chamber supports its members in various ways around this topic. We strongly advocate for regulation and reporting to be right sized, relevant and achievable for the small and medium business sector. We provide training and the new partnership with Brownee, means the Chamber now offers a pragmatic support tool.

“Sustainability is often perceived as complex and costly. Most small, family and medium businesses (SFMBs) don’t know where to start and lack time and resources. They need a simple and practical solution to help them focus on the areas which will have greatest impact and keep them competitive across supply chains. Brownee is built on solid science and is flexible and easy to use. It aligns with how SFMBs operate and leads them step-by-step towards success. We are excited to offer this solution to our network to help businesses on their sustainability pathway.”

- Antoinette Truda, Executive Director of Commercial Services, Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

How it works

Brownee’s solution-seeking platform is designed to help companies of all sizes to solve ESG, to ‘Do Good and Grow’.

Members of VCCI’s network and beyond will be able to access a combination of free and paid supports through the platform workshops, webinars, events, and direct communications.

This support will help both small to medium enterprises right through to larger organisations and their supply chains.

The platform is built on science yet is intuitive to navigate. Brownee helps businesses to identify material issues through an engaging discovery game, then recommends pragmatic solutions that help take steps towards a more sustainable and successful future.

The Victorian Chamber ran a pilot program for a select number of members, and it was a huge success.

“Navigating ESG as a small business is a huge challenge! The VCCI & Brownee platform is simple, digestible and in no way daunting. Seeing actions being completed gives a good feeling and sense that you are doing something tangible, spurring you on to do more.”

- Jane Lewis, Business Development Manager at The Lune Co.

If you want to ‘Do Good and Grow’, explore our Sustainable Business & ESG Workshops.

About Brownee

Brownee empowers businesses of all shapes and sizes from any industry to be more successful and more sustainable. On the gamified platform, you’ll demystify ESG, get direction and recommendations, take actions, start reporting and benchmark your business – thereby improving financial performance. Click here to start for free.