We’ve been hearing across our business members that social performance is becoming more important. There’s understanding that it's a strategic approach to long-term value creation.

Which is why your new membership packages now include support to deliver and report on social performance.

Social performance covers all the impacts of your business on people – staff, suppliers, communities.

Now more than ever the businesses that proudly deliver on social performance will see long-term competitive advantage. Customers and employees are watching, and the brands with genuine commitments will be rewarded with long-term profitability.

76% of leaders expect their company’s investment in social impact initiatives to rise over the next 12 months (2025 Executive CSR Report) and 94% of CFOs believe social will be an important priority in 2030 (The ESG Revolution – KPMG Australia).

Trends amongst our members show it too:

• The main reason businesses are joining Social Traders is no longer policy mandates, it’s alignment with ESG and sustainability goals.
• Social procurement is no longer the domain of the property and infrastructure sector, it’s a whole-of-economy opportunity including sectors like banking & finance, consulting, education, transport, FMCG and energy.
• Businesses are buying from a wider range of social enterprises in engineering and tech, training and education, transport and logistics, and architecture and design.

The businesses leading the way know that social performance isn’t a tick-box - it’s part of business performance. It’s led by leadership, not consultants. It involves every department, not just the sustainability team. It’s regular action, not compliance checklists.

We’re here to help you capitalise on the opportunity.

What's coming up?

Expanding services in social performance

After working with over 300 organisations on social procurement since 2017, we’re now expanding our services into social performance.

We’ll be supporting business and government members to deliver social value in more ways:

• increasing supplier diversity including human rights;
• creating initiatives to support communities; and
• embedding inclusive employment practices.

We’ve reached out to all our primary contacts to confirm which new membership option would best suit you. If you have questions or would like to discuss, please get in touch with Lauren at Lauren.McAlister@socialtraders.com.au or book a time to meet with our leadership team.

New program for Tier-2 suppliers – Elevate

Our Elevate Program empowers Tier-2 SME suppliers to enhance their social performance through procurement. It helps your Tier-2 suppliers to deliver and report on their social procurement and social performance.

Find out how you can create more social value in your supply chain through Elevate.

Certified social enterprise continue to grow

We’re continuing to build the network of certified social enterprises you can work with. Demand for certification was up again last month - 16% more applications than the same time last year.

And despite economic uncertainty, most certified social enterprises are growing. Our data shows that 76% increased their trading revenue and 66% increased their social costs (public benefit costs) in April.

National awards – get your applications in!

Applications for the Game Changer Awards are open now, celebrating the changemakers driving social performance.

The closing date is Friday, 6 June. I encourage you to take the opportunity to reflect on the fantastic work you’re doing and tell your story. Learn more about the award categories and apply today.

Convene is back – early bird tickets on sale now

The largest sector conference is back for its 11th year. Convene 2025 is on 17 September in Melbourne. Early bird tickets are now on sale but won’t last long with 50% already sold. So, get in quick!

In the next couple of months, I’ll be speaking at the Women in Procurement Conference, the Social Enterprise Jobs Summit on 11 June and at the Social Impact Summit on 2 July (our members get a discount - promo code SIS2025ST).

I’m looking forward to talking to more of you over the coming months as we expand into social performance. Please reach out if you’d like to connect.

Warm regards,

Tara Anderson

CEO Social Traders