An ongoing area of focus for the Freight and Logistics Council of WA (the Council) is to develop and build a social licence for the freight and logistics industry.

An industry, business or project has a social licence when it has ongoing support and approval from local community and other affected stakeholders.  The term ‘social licence’ has become more commonplace across many industries, as community expectations for business and industry to operate in a socially responsible manner continue to grow.  An opportunity exists for the industry to increase the level of understanding in the community about the role freight plays in our everyday lives.

Members of the Freight and Logistics Council of WA recognise the importance of the industry’s social licence to the successful delivery of road, rail, air and port infrastructure projects and freight transport operations.  In 2018, members agreed on a project to develop a greater social licence for the freight and logistics industry across all modes of transport.

As a result, the Council’s work program includes an action to inform, educate and promote the importance of freight and logistics and to increase community awareness and understanding of the growing freight task and the value of the industry to the community.

In 2018 and early 2019, the Council undertook research to identify existing or previous efforts by freight industries (both nationally and internationally) to develop social licence; and local community research to understand the community’s knowledge and sentiment in regards to the freight and logistics industry in Perth, Western Australia.

These research findings and data will be used to inform the development of a communications strategy to improve social licence for the freight and logistics industry, which if endorsed by the Council, will be implemented with funding from Council member organisations.

The Council’s social licence project aligns with the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy’s goal for an informed understanding and acceptance of freight operations through making communities more “freight aware”.  The Council’s social licence project is also acknowledged in the National Action Plan for the National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy.