Latest report shows businesses are spending more with certified social enterprises, creating positive impact for a more inclusive, equitable and sustainable economy.
Australian business and government are spending more with certified social enterprises than ever, with over 20 organisations each spending more than $1 million with certified social enterprises last financial year, according to Social Traders Impact Report released today.
Social Traders has been tracking the state of social procurement through their business and government members’ spend with certified social enterprises since 2018. Social procurement spend has gone up every year, reaching a milestone $1.1 billion spent with social enterprises over the last seven years. This cumulative spend has created:
- 10,000 jobs and over 918,000 training hours for people otherwise shut out of work
- $88.1 million delivered in affordable and accessible community services
- 56,500 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill
- $13.1 million donated to charity partners
The Impact Report also shows spend with certified social enterprises hit an all-time high of $257 million in FY24, with 62% of business members increasing their spend with social enterprises in the past year. Thanks to that spend, 80% of certified social enterprises increased their trading revenue compared to the previous year.
“Businesses are not only increasing total spend, they are also working with a wider range of social enterprises across a wider range of procurement categories,” said Social Traders CEO Tara Anderson. “These results show the power of the social enterprise model and how businesses can use their purchasing power to create real impact for communities and the planet.”
Social procurement becoming business as usual
Social enterprises are businesses like any other, but they exist specifically to solve social and environmental challenges. There are over 12,000 social enterprises in Australia, contributing $21 billion to the economy every year.
Social procurement is when business and government choose to buy from social enterprises, using their purchasing power to generate social value beyond the value of goods and services.
“The beauty of social procurement is that it’s simply a business doing what it would anyway – buying goods and services, but using different suppliers,” Ms Anderson said.
“By adding social enterprises into a supply chain, a business gets the same quality goods and services but also gets social and environmental value in the same transaction. Switching to social procurement creates a fairer, more equitable and sustainable world.”
There are social enterprise suppliers across all categories of spend. According to the Impact Report, the top 10 categories of spend with certified social enterprises are:
- Human resource services and recruitment
- Healthcare services
- Building trade, repairs and maintenance
- Horticulture and arboriculture
- Cleaning services, equipment and supplies
- Waste management and landfill
- Engineer, research and tech services
- Training and education services
- Business and administrative services
- Parking, traffic services and equipment
Businesses leading the way
ASX-listed infrastructure services provider Downer was named the FY24 Big Spender in social procurement having spent $12.5 million with social enterprises last financial year.
It topped a list of over 20 organisations who spent more than $1 million with certified social enterprises, including ANZ, Westpac, Australia Post, Charter Hall, John Holland Group, Lend Lease, Mirvac and Visy Industries.
“As a large organisation operating across Australia and New Zealand, we understand the significant impact our procurement practices have on our communities,” said Fraser Stowers, Group General Manager Procurement and Property at Downer.
“By partnering with Social Traders, we support improved social outcomes through our procurement activities, aligning with our purpose to ‘Enable communities to thrive’,” Mr Stowers said.
“We are proud to be recognised as the FY24 Big Spender in procurement spend with certified social enterprises by Social Traders.”
The Impact Report also reveals that social enterprise is gaining broader awareness among businesses and consumers. Social Enterprise Finder, a national online directory of certified social enterprises, was used on average 18,160 times per month in FY24. This current financial year, as of February 2025, the site is being used on average 27,000 times per month (up 49% year on year).
“Despite business uncertainty and anti-DEI sentiment out there at the moment, we’re seeing our business members sticking with their social and sustainability plans,” Ms Anderson said.
“Not for compliance, but for competitive advantage. Most businesses recognise that commitments to doing good and advancing inclusion will earn staff and customer loyalty which supports business growth – especially in turbulent times.
“Our unique position and work with social enterprises, businesses and governments enables us to gather and share exclusive data and insights. We’re thrilled to see such strong results for FY24 and we continue to push toward our vision of $5.5 billion in procurement spend for social enterprises by 2030.”