Leading the charge for innovation in social procurement is our ‘Social procurement trailblazer – national’ partnership winner for 2022, Charter Hall and Two Good Co.
In 2021, Two Good Co won a tender to provide soap to Charter Hall’s national office portfolio. Fast forward a year and the partnership has delivered 5,000 touch-free soap dispensers made from ocean plastic. Together, they’ve managed to reduce disadvantage for at-risk women through the opportunity of paid employment - while removing and repurposing 2.5 tonne of waste from our oceans.
Two Good Co are a certified social enterprise in NSW, who use their sales revenue to support women experiencing family violence and homelessness.
“With every purchase you make with us, you're helping to change the course of someone's life; you're walking alongside vulnerable women as they find their way home again”. - Two Good Co.
Build the foundations for success
The project with Social Traders business member Charter Hall, did not happen overnight. Tailing a long road of experimentation, perseverance, and trust, this story heroes the role relationships play in creating lasting social procurement success.
“Change happens at the speed of trust.
If I’d gone in cold to a procurement person and said, “Let’s go rip plastic out of the ocean, we’ve never done it before” they would have said, you’re dreaming!
Our deeper partnership allows us to grow and encourage different types of investment." – Rob Casilick, Founder and CEO – Two Good Co.
Be open and proactive
From the beginning, Two Good Co were transparent with the support they needed to reach their ambitious goal. They had large upfront costs required to get the project off the ground. And Charter Hall agreed to absorb the initial investment to build a robust manufacturing process. This game changing move set the tone for future success.
At times, resource limitations can be viewed as a barrier to social procurement – but Charter Hall saw an opportunity. By investing early, they’ve driven a scalable partnership that creates business and community value. Their agile approach continues to support a community of deserving women.
“Our ongoing collaboration with Charter Hall has provided resources significant enough to give our most vulnerable women the love, support, independence and self-confidence to thrive beyond their adversity”.
In FY22, Charter Hall set a target to deliver 100 meaningful employment outcomes per year from partnerships with social enterprises. In FY22, they were able to generate over 190 employment outcomes, almost doubling their target.
Secure an internal change champion
Senior change champion, Natalie Devlin, was foundational in the development of a partnership based on trust. Natalie and Rob built a dynamic relationship that can only be described as “pioneering”. Their transparent approach to the project paved the way for innovation. And truly enabled success.
“I can’t emphasise how valuable it is to have internal champion to drive change and overcome obstacles”.
“When things were moving a bit slowly, I’d go back to Nat and say can you speak to this person…”. “They [Charter Hall] have lots of things going on, so it is super important”.
Address ESG, CSR and environmental goals
The world of business has changed, with customers, employees and investors expecting corporates to contribute something back to the communities they operate in. This drives a need for business and government to prioritise ESG solutions. And social procurement provides a tangible solution.
“External stakeholders care very much about cost, driving efficiency, but also really care about the environmental impacts of operations, and increasingly – social outcomes”.
“Here we have an initiative that delivers both - it’s a really positive, impactful story”. - Natalie Delvin, Chief Experience Officer, Charter Hall.
Commit for the long-term
The story has inspired even more internal change champions, advocating for the switch to good to become business as usual. Charter Hall are now looking to increase their social procurement spend and start normalising it within the business. Their next challenge - how to innovate and scale even further.
“There’s a huge opportunity to scale our social procurement, but it’s certainly not straight forward”.
The team are up for the challenge and encourage other business and governments to follow suit. They hope this example can build a deeper understanding of the potential of social procurement and inspire other business and government to make the switch to social enterprise suppliers.
Their advice – get started.
"Start small and celebrate each milestone. As you gain momentum, you will get more opportunities across the business."
Charter Hall is now installing the Protect and Connect Soap across its national office portfolio, including prime CBD addresses across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane. The partnership will also extend to a further 34 managed assets covering over 600,000 sqm of workspace across their $23b office portfolio.
As for Two Good Co, the partnership continues to generate annual revenue upwards of $200,000, supporting the certified social enterprise to create change in the lives of vulnerable Australian women.
“Heading into my first day at Two Good, I remember sitting on the morning train, my head against the window with tears streaming down my face,” said Lynda. “Two Good loved me back to life”.
What set’s this award-winning partnership apart, is how Charter Hall went beyond ‘ticking a box’. They took a leap to drive innovation and create pathways for this social enterprise to thrive. Conversely, Two Good Co sought to think outside their standard business operation. They were open with what they needed to succeed. The result is empowering for all parties involved – creating mutual benefits and lasting social value.
Access Charter Hall's 2022 Sustainability Report.
Learn more about the great work achieved by Two Good Co.
Check out how business and government are leading the charge in business for good