Adopting sustainability measures has helped Goldco® Security Group gain a competitive edge
When Anthony Bialocerkowski began investigating how he could improve the sustainability of his security screen business, he wanted to secure a strong position in the 2032 Olympics supply chain.
Now, he’s found increasing Goldco® Security’s focus on sustainability has delivered much broader business benefits.
“We noticed there wasn’t a lot of work being done in the sustainability space in our industry,” Anthony, Goldco’s General Manager, said.
“We wanted to do the right thing from a social perspective. But we’re also a small business, so we are conscious of costs, and we needed to strike a balance. We need to remain profitable because we employ people.
“But the more we looked into it, we found it made business sense too. Those decisions have given us a strategic advantage and helped grow our business.”
A key step was introducing Capral’s LocAL® Super Green Aluminium¹ for its SupaScreen® products in January 2024. Anthony says the move made Goldco® Security the first security screen manufacturer in Australia to use lower-carbon aluminium as standard in frames for its woven stainless steel security screens.
At the same time, Goldco® Security signed up to ecoBiz to reduce energy, water and waste consumption. Since then, they’ve been recognised as an ecoBiz 2-Star Partner achieving in 2023/2024:
- A 51.7% reduction in water intensity
- A 15.2% reduction in energy intensity.
They’re now working towards their third partnership star and while they haven’t yet had their 2025 ecoBiz assessment, Anthony says the team has reduced their waste and waste costs by half over a 12-month period.
Anthony says ecoBiz helped him embed new practices in the business despite juggling time and cost constraints that many small businesses face.
“As a small business, you’re always wearing three hats,” Anthony said. “And time was one of the biggest challenges we faced when it came to implementing sustainable practices.
“ecoBiz just made it easy – they took away the thinking and broke things down into simple steps.”
The coaching sessions assisted Anthony consider his business more broadly too.
“The coaching sessions were like a fresh set of eyes. Sometimes business owners can get too focused on the day-to-day running of their business and don’t get the opportunity to step back and have a good look at what’s happening.
“I found the coaching sessions prompted me to think about how we could improve our business in both an environmental and an operational sense.”
Anthony said that making sure they had their sustainability credentials front and centre in their marketing materials has paid off.
“We started to put more information on our website about our lower carbon aluminium products and our sustainability credentials – like our ecoBiz 2-Star Award.
“Now I find when I mention these practices in business discussions, maybe 20% will go ‘Yeah, I’ve read about that on your website – that’s why you’re here’.”
And the ecoBiz network has helped too: “Last year’s Leadership Forum was great. I was able to chat with other business owners from our local area – and we got a job out of it.”
Anthony says introducing a lower-carbon option into our product mix and embedding sustainability practices has given Goldco® Security a strategic advantage.
“We’re noticing more and more customers are starting to ask questions about sustainability,” Anthony said.
“People are asking ‘what happens to my old screens? What’s this thing about green steel that’s out there?’
“So, demand for more sustainable products and services is not going away. And for Goldco® Security, we want to be on the front foot.”
Simple steps that helped Goldco® Security achieve efficiencies:
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- Energy: Introducing LEDs throughout the facility
- Water: Installing low flow taps in the bathroom and kitchenette area
- Waste: Increasing waste streams, from three to five, and recycling pallets from suppliers
1According to International Aluminium Institute the global average carbon emissions associated with the production of primary aluminium (smelting and casting), is approximately 12.33kg CO2e per kilogram of aluminium (as at 5/8/25). LocAL® Super Green carbon emissions are 4kg CO2e per kilogram of aluminium. Capral uses a Mass Balance System in line with ISO 20095:2020 Chain of Custody to manage its LocAl Products. CO2e emissions stated are ex smelter based on kilograms emitted per kilogram of aluminium produced – Aluminium Smelting and Casting International Aluminum Institute (IAI).
