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Shared mission, shared growth

28 September 2026

Sector News

Joanne Barrow
Head of Marketing & Digital

What six certified social enterprises built together with Mirvac and Social Traders.

Photo Left to Right: Vanessa Cullen, Damian Walsh, Stacey Barras, Asher Christophers, Kieran Richardt, Matthew Evans

As we close the Supplier Development Program cohort, six certified social enterprises and their Mirvac mentors reflected on a year of partnership, built on shared values and a shared mission to grow capacity across the social enterprise sector.

The conversation covered contracts won, contracts lost and lessons learned, but the strongest thread running through every story was confidence: the confidence to price appropriately, ask the hard questions, negotiate without fear and know when to walk away from work that no longer fits.

The FY26 Supplier Development Program cohort

The participating certified social enterprises represented a diverse range of industries and social impact outcomes:

Austep (QLD): Helping organisations improve sustainability and profitability through energy efficiency solutions, including LED lighting, hot water and HVAC upgrades.
Forward Thinking Design (FTD) Circular (NSW): Supporting the built environment's transition to a circular economy through training, consultancy, a circularity supplier directory and a traceability platform.
Goddess Cleaning Group (VIC): A commercial cleaning business focused on recruiting and training women from domestic violence and disadvantaged backgrounds.
GROW Gardens (VIC): Empowering First Nations youth through gardening, landscaping and environmental services, delivering training and pathways to employment with a strong focus on cultural connection and care for Country.
Site Cycle (NSW): A construction waste recycling organisation bringing greater transparency, recovery and cost savings to the sector, with a focus on Western Sydney.
Natura Pacific (QLD): Providing environmental consulting services that help fund education and environmental outreach programs for schools and communities.

Social Traders has a long-standing partnership with Mirvac and is the delivery partner of this 12-month program, co-creating the program activities aligned to Mirvac’s strategic objectives, supporting participants with advisory sessions and reporting on the program outcomes.

Through the Social Traders Supplier Development Program, participants gained mentoring, upskilling workshops and business development opportunities.

What participants described in the room went well beyond a single contract or client relationship during the program. It was a shift in how they run their businesses, approach new opportunities and see themselves within the wider market.

Confidence to work with the big end of town

Every participant pointed to the same shift. For Matthew Evans at Site Cycles, the procurement learning session was a standout for him, as it provided the insights into what large organisations require, how they operate and highlighted what his social enterprise need to have in place to get better responses and outcomes.

Vanessa Cullen and Lisa James

Damian Walsh, founder of GROW Gardens, said the program pushed his landscaping business to get professional fast. "We've got stronger tools, we've got better systems, we've got better messaging, and I think we've got the confidence to deal with larger buyers," he said. Working at Mirvac's scale taught him what larger organisations expect and gave him a pricing structure he now uses with other clients too.

For Vanessa Cullen of Forward Thinking Design, the shift was personal as well as professional. She entered the program in what she called "a crisis of confidence" after several difficult years in business. Twelve months on, she credited the mentoring relationship with Lisa James at Mirvac, as turning that around. "What we've gotten out of this is so much more confidence to work with the bigger end of town, and that has reaped huge rewards," she said. "I've got my energy and mojo back, which is huge. As a founder, your business can't go too far when you're not in a really positive place."

Reflecting on her mentoring experience, Lisa shared:

“One of the things I most enjoyed was that it never really felt like a one-way street mentoring relationship. There was plenty of shared learnings and the discussions challenges existing thinking and brought new perspectives.

Overall, the program demonstrates the power of relationships, knowledge sharing, connection and programs like this show how businesses like Mirvac can support positive social outcomes while building stronger, more diverse suppliers for the future.”

Natura Pacific's Keiran Richardt, whose social enterprise has traded for 20 years, said the program gave him something he hadn't expected after two decades in business: the confidence to ask questions he had never felt able to ask anyone. "That confidence about asking questions is really a big one for me out of this program. I would also urge future participants to make sure you invest the time, headspace and prepare beforehand for each session of the program, so you get a lot more out of it," he said.

Systems and safety behind bigger contracts

Behind that confidence sat hard, practical work. Several participants credited their mentors with tightening their processes and paperwork large buyers expect before they sign: capability statements, rate cards, work health and safety documentation, insurance and pricing structures.

For the founder of Goddess Cleaning Group, Stacey Barrass, after her Mirvac mentor Chris Chuah pushed her to look closely at her business processes and compliance, she decided to hire a dedicated safety and compliance coordinator. "That has actually set us up for some really big contracts this year," she said, pointing to more than $1.1 million in new work signed for the coming financial year which wouldn’t have been secured without having strong safety and compliance processes embedded in her business. She also credited the program with having the courage to walk away from a client relationship if there is no values-alignment and purely on price but also having the confidence to negotiate when it’s the right work to pursue.

Doors that open once you're in the room

Several participants also reflected on another benefit being on the program: the credibility that comes from being associated with a large organisation like Mirvac. Damian Walsh from GROW Gardens was direct about using it. "I have shamelessly used the fact that we are working with Mirvac," he said, describing how the connection opened conversations with other property groups who had never heard of his business before.

Vanessa Cullen at Forward Thinking Design, had a similar experience. Being able to point to the Mirvac relationship gave government agencies and other large buyers the confidence in her business. She is now progressing opportunities with a state government agency, a federal agency and several councils, alongside a signed deed with another large developer. "I think it's really aligned beautifully, this program, with the development of these opportunities," she said.

New markets social enterprises didn't know were open to them

For some participants, the program uncovered entire markets they hadn't known existed. Asher Christophers from social enterprise Austep, joined during the hardest year his business had faced, running at a loss after overextending on smaller jobs. Through his mentor Victor Vu at Mirvac, he discovered that being a social enterprise and delivering on social procurement carried real weight with large buyers, well beyond a compliance checkbox. "Through this program we learned there's a whole market, in fact giant businesses, that want this stuff," he said.

That realisation led to an energy audit for Gold Coast council libraries, a $400,000 lighting audit for the University of Queensland and, at the time of the session, a pending $3 million upgrade that would be the largest project Austep has delivered. Reflecting on the program, Asher’s advice to future participants is to lean on mentors for technical advice and don’t be shy to ask for introductions and connections.

His mentor Victor Vu said the lesson worked both ways. "Sometimes you're just not speaking to the right person in the business," he said. "There's always most likely someone in the business, who actually wants to hear what you do... be true and strong to your ESG or your social values or the proposition that you're bringing. Highlight that and try not to hide it. It just needs to go to the right person."

A cohort that eases the loneliest part of running a business

Alongside the one-on-one mentoring, participants repeatedly named having a peer network as one of the most valuable parts of the program. Running a social enterprise can be an isolating job, and several said having other founders facing similar pressures made a real difference. Matthew Evans of Site Cycle said every person in the cohort has tried to help and had offered him advice he later put to use. Sarah at Goddess Cleaning Group described the peer network as the reason she stopped feeling alone in the hard weeks. "It makes you feel like you're not the only person doing that, that everyone understands it and everyone gets those challenges," she said.

Mentors got something out of it too

The Mirvac side of the pairing described the program as a two-way relationship rather than a one-way favour.

Arvi Estrin who mentored Damian at GROW Garden said it was because of Damian prompting for introductions that gave him the motivation to introduce him to a number of different people in Mirvac, which has led to new opportunities.

Mark Clancy, who mentored Keiran at Natura Pacific, said the conversations reshaped how he thought about his own work. "I think one of the key things for me is that Kieran is a great human," he said. "These people are out there trying to do good, and that's inspiring straight away." He said the relationship helped him slow down and reconsider decisions he might otherwise have rushed, adding that it was good to think about things more and discuss different ways to approach it together.

Why Mirvac and Social Traders keep backing the program

Sarah Clarke, Mirvac Group General Manager, Sustainability, shared during the wrap up session:

"This partnership came about because Social Traders and Mirvac had a very similar mission in mind and came together to say, what could we each bring to this that would really make a difference.
"Those are the very best partnerships, because no one had an agenda in mind other than this shared value and this shared mission."

Commenting on the program, Tara Anderson CEO Social Traders said:

“The Mirvac and Social Traders partnership shows what happens when a large organisation puts its own people, not just its budget, behind social enterprise growth. Mentors didn't just make introductions. They provided expertise, valued support, and worked through technical problems side by side with the social enterprises they were paired with, building capability that will outlast this cohort.
The Supplier Development Program sets a new benchmark for sustainable business practices in Australia and we’re proud to partner with Mirvac, one of our Leader members, to continue helping social enterprises build capability, confidence and connections to amplify their impact.
We’re also seeing more organisation follow suit and we’re excited to deliver similar programs to create a thriving social enterprise sector.”

Stronger partnerships, better outcomes

Creating social impact doesn’t have to be just within your organisation. By investing in social enterprises, your organisation helps them access larger commercial opportunities while driving positive social impact for your business and the communities you serve.

With the Supplier Development Program, Social Traders remove the complexity and run a streamlined process that delivers positive outcomes for organisations.

From co-designing and establishing the EOI criteria at the pre-program stage; delivering advisory sessions for social enterprises; to assessing and reporting on program outcomes for stakeholders. We’ll support your business to scale the capacity and capability of social enterprises to create more social impact with you.

Social Traders designs and runs partnerships like this to help organisations turn skilled staff into mentors, connect them with social enterprises that match their needs, and provide the structure and support that make a program work in practice, not just on paper.

Learn more

Want to build social enterprise capability and capacity, get in touch.