Social enterprises are innovative game-changers that exist for good. They are businesses that deliver public benefit over private gain - business at its best.

Purchasing goods and services from social enterprises can deliver multiple strategic economic and social objectives across local government. Social procurement is a ready-made solution for local councils to drive social and environmental outcomes, improve equity and inclusion, and free up government resources that are much needed elsewhere.

Social procurement creates impact

Our impact data shows in FY23, business and government members demonstrated their commitment to social procurement by spending $237.2 million with certified social enterprises - contributing to a remarkable six-year cumulative total of $843 million.  And the average growth rate of certified social enterprise suppliers and business and government buyers is increasing.

We also know that this spend with certified social enterprises has resulted in remarkable impact.

• 7,439 jobs supported
• 810k training hours delivered
• 23,668 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill
• $68.1m community goods and services delivered
• $10.3m charitable funds donated

The figures above are cumulative totals from FY18 - FY23 social procurement spend.

Brisbane City Council (BCC) engaging social enterprises, leading the way in social procurement

Australia’s three largest states representing 76% of the population are members of Social Traders and already buying from certified social enterprises.

And there are multiple local councils already leading the charge in social procurement - doing business for good. Brisbane City Council (BCC), for example, has been exemplary in their implementation and growth of social procurement for over 20 years.

• In 2001, BCC signed one of Australia’s first social procurement arrangements with a local social enterprise, awarding spend on a range of parks maintenance services to certified social enterprise, Nundah Community Enterprise Cooperative (NCEC).
• The Nundah Community Enterprise Cooperative was founded in 1998 to ‘create sustainable employment and training opportunities for people with cognitive and/or psycho-social disabilities with profits re-invested in the business to benefit members’.
• The original proposition was of a ‘jobs club’ to generate a range of opportunities for people with learning difficulties to undertake odd jobs such as garden maintenance as paid work. Jobs were identified and allocated to worker members. The work was intended to be part-time and casual to reduce the burden on worker members and infrastructure.

“We often refer to this initial contract as an ‘anchor contract’ as it anchored the fledgling business in securing cash flow and income. This also gave the co-operative a steady supply of meaningful work, along with an excellent source of revenue and a profile in the community. The income generated by long-term park maintenance contracts provided sustainable revenues in those vital first years of establishing NCEC and significantly reduced the workload of its coordinator.” - NCEC Case Study

From this initial contract with Council, NCEC has now grown to hire 35 people and provide 11,000 hours of long-term employment annually across 5 different social enterprise initiatives. NCEC was awarded Australia’s best small social enterprise in 2015 and then Australia’s best large social enterprise in 2020 at the Social Traders National Game Changers Awards.

Brisbane City Council have an annual social procurement target of $10 million noted in their annual report, which they've successfully exceeded in the 2021-22 financial year with a spend of $13.7 million.

Social Traders continue to partner with BCC to uncover new opportunities to work with certified social enterprises and to harness a range of training programs to empower internal social procurement champions. Other local councils that we partner with are also following suit.

Australian local councils have the potential to play a significant role in growing the social enterprise sector within their jurisdictions - being frontrunners in social procurement. With growing momentum from Federal Government backing social enterprises, now is the time to switch to good and create a fairer, more equitable and sustainable economy.

To learn how local councils can proactively become leaders in social procurement, take a look at this next article.

Photo credit: Nundah Community Enterprise Cooperative