The project, in partnership with Social Traders, will see developer and landlord of Build to Rent communities – Mirvac – sponsor four industry related social enterprises and offer intensive training and support to each of them.
The program will accelerate their capabilities and aid their expansion, allowing them to deliver on commercial opportunities.
With the current social, environmental and economic challenges, buying from social enterprises that work to improve communities helps contribute to a more equitable Australia.
“At Mirvac, we look to make choices every day that create positive outcomes for our customers, for our communities, and for each other. Purchasing from social enterprises provides a two-fold advantage: it generates a positive social impact while also benefiting businesses. By supporting these enterprises, large companies can use their buying power to drive positive change, contributing to important community issues, and making their supply chains more diverse.
“How we buy matters, so we are evolving our procurement strategies to prioritise suppliers who deliver a social impact, enabling us to use our buying power for good. We’ve set ourselves the goal to direct $100m to the social sector by 2030. To help achieve this we are doing things like investing in this program, where we hope to drive the growth of certified social enterprises and demonstrate our support for the sector. We want to help these suppliers unlock new capability, so that they can service large organisations like Mirvac and deliver a greater positive impact in the community. With employees and customers increasingly demanding responsible business practices, this partnership is a timely and strategic move towards a more sustainable and equitable future through business for good.”
Sarah Clarke, Group General Manager, Sustainability, Mirvac
Across the country, the certified social enterprise sector has grown to $1.8bn in annual revenue – employing 26,000 people including 12,000 from disadvantaged or marginalised groups (PACE, 2022).
Having founded and worked alongside Social Traders since 2015, Mirvac have now progressed its commitment to ‘business for good’, with the launch of a new Supplier Development Program; a partnership designed to measure the impact of Mirvac’s contribution to social enterprise growth.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Mirvac in their commitment to social procurement and to support the growth of social enterprises in Australia. Mirvac’s Supplier Development Program sets a new standard for corporate social responsibility in Australia and marks a significant milestone in the growth of social enterprise procurement. We believe social procurement is a tangible way you can use the money you’re already spending today, to contribute to a better tomorrow.”
Tara Anderson, CEO, Social Traders
Mirvac employees participating in the program will receive dedicated support and assistance from Social Traders to help them lead social procurement best practice.
The companies aim to continue forward with a strategic plan that covers all the important aspects of ESG along with a commitment to maintain supply chain integrity.
