CHEP has been certified as a 2026 Global Top Employer, marking the fifth consecutive year the pallet pooling and supply chain solutions provider has received the accreditation. The recognition comes as the company simultaneously expands its Climate Smart Partners programme, a global supplier engagement initiative aimed at reducing Scope 3 emissions across its value chain.
The two developments highlight how CHEP and parent company Brambles are aligning workforce strategy and supplier collaboration as part of a broader effort to build operational resilience and advance long-term sustainability goals.
Global Top Employer recognition spans most of CHEP’s workforce
CHEP was one of only 17 companies worldwide to receive Global Top Employer certification from the Top Employers Institute in 2026. In addition to the global designation, CHEP retained Top Employer status across four regions, including Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Latin America, and in 26 individual countries, covering approximately 97% of its workforce.
Brambles Chief People Officer Lucy Knight said the recognition reflects sustained focus on workplace culture and consistency across geographies.
“We are incredibly proud to receive the Global Top Employer certification for the fourth-year running, among only 17 companies to receive this accolade worldwide,” Knight said. “It reflects our continued focus on creating a workplace where inclusion, opportunity and doing the right thing are core to who we are.
“This achievement belongs to all our colleagues, whose commitment to delivering for the business and dedication to our customers continues to set us apart.”
Top Employers Institute evaluates organisations through its HR Best Practices Survey, which covers six domains and 20 topics, including people strategy, work environment, talent acquisition, learning, diversity and inclusion, and wellbeing. CHEP scored strongly in areas such as performance, leadership, sustainability, ethics, and integrity, with consistent implementation across all certified countries.
Top Employers Institute CEO Adrian Seligman said CHEP demonstrated an ability to balance global alignment with local execution.
“CHEP has demonstrated a rare ability to align its people strategy globally while ensuring meaningful, locally relevant experiences for employees in every certified market,” Seligman said. “This achievement places CHEP among a select group of employers setting the benchmark for people strategy internationally.”
Supplier decarbonisation programme targets Scope 3 emissions
In parallel with its people-focused initiatives, CHEP is rolling out Climate Smart Partners, a new supplier engagement programme designed to accelerate emissions reductions across its global supply chain.
Announced in December 2025, the programme targets Scope 3 emissions, which account for more than 97% of CHEP’s total emissions. In its first year, Climate Smart Partners will engage more than 650 suppliers across transportation, timber, and subcontracted service centres, representing roughly 65% of Brambles’ global emissions footprint.
“We have been engaging with our suppliers on climate action for several years,” said Marisa Sanchez Urrea, Global Head of Decarbonisation. “Climate Smart Partners elevates this work with a structured, value-centric approach that deepens our partnerships with our most material suppliers.”
She added that the programme is designed to support suppliers at varying levels of maturity. “We recognise that many of our suppliers are at different stages in their climate journey. This initiative is about building capability, enabling action and holding ourselves and our partners accountable.”
Structured engagement framework mirrors internal decarbonisation efforts
Climate Smart Partners applies a structured engagement framework built around four core areas: capability building, enablement programmes, data sharing, and action and accountability. The approach mirrors decarbonisation strategies CHEP has already implemented internally, including energy efficiency improvements, equipment electrification, renewable electricity adoption, and low-emission transport solutions.
Early elements of the programme include the launch of CHEP’s Climate Smart Guide for timber suppliers and subcontracted service centres, pilot enablement programmes with transport carriers to expand access to low- and zero-emission vehicles, and the progressive introduction of supplier scorecards to track progress in reducing emissions.
Connecting workforce and supplier strategy
Taken together, the Global Top Employer certification and the Climate Smart Partners rollout underscore CHEP’s focus on consistency across regions, operations, and its extended value chain. While one initiative centres on internal culture and workforce practices, and the other on supplier engagement and emissions reduction, both reflect a broader strategy aimed at long-term resilience in a highly interconnected pallet and logistics network.
Rick LeBlanc, EMBA, is the founder and editor of Reusable Packaging News (subscribe to the free newsletter) and editor of Western Pallet Magazine. A supply chain journalist with more than 30 years of experience, he specializes in pallets, reusable packaging, material handling and related operations. Rick is co-author of Pallets: A North American Perspective and Pallets & Progress: A Collected History of Pallets and Palletized Handling 1922–1945. He is also an advisory board member of the Virginia Tech Center for Packaging and Unit Load Design. Read Rick’s full bio.
