Businesses Can Use Their Buying Power For Good
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Every dollar you spend is a strategic decision. Social procurement puts that spending power to work, creating measurable social impact beyond the goods and services you buy.
Leading businesses now embed social procurement into their supply chains to meet sustainability and ESG targets, diversify their supplier base, and build more resilient operations.
Traditional procurement measures value by price alone. Social procurement measures the wider impact a purchase has on people and planet.
What is social procurement?
It falls into two broad approaches: direct and indirect.
→ Direct social procurement: buying directly from social suppliers like certified social enterprises, Australian Disability Enterprises, Indigenous-owned and women-owned businesses.
→ Indirect social procurement: using the tendering process, and clauses in contracts with the private sector, to secure social and sustainable outcomes, such as employment targets for people facing long-term unemployment.
By partnering with social suppliers like certified social enterprises, you'll meet your social performance goals while growing your social impact. That drives more business value for your organisation.
Social enterprise, purpose-driven businesses
Unlike traditional businesses, primarily driven by profit, social enterprises embed purpose into everything they do. They exist to create public or community benefit.
Internationally, there are five key features that are recognised:
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Purpose: Their reason for being is to solve a social or environmental problem.
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Operations: They prioritise purpose, people and planet over profit in day-to-day decisions.
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Revenue: They operate with a self-sustaining revenue model.
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Use of surplus: Most of any surplus is reinvested towards their mission.
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Structure: Their legal and financial structures are designed to protect and lock in purpose for the long term.
Social Traders is Australia's national certifier of social enterprises. Since 2018, we've done more than 2,500 certifications and re-certifications, building the largest validated dataset of social enterprises in the country.
What social enterprise delivers for your business
Social impact isn’t a cost to your business. It’s a capability that can create competitive advantage. By partnering with purpose-led businesses like social enterprises, they’ll help you:
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Unlock social value embedded in everyday spend
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Drive long-term employment outcomes for people furthest from the workforce
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Tackle entrenched disadvantage in the communities where you operate
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De-risk your supply chain with agile, locally anchored suppliers
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Create environmental benefits that strengthen your sustainability credentials
5 benefits of social procurement
1. Transform lives and your community footprint
Social procurement provides employment opportunities for marginalised people, empowers disadvantaged communities, and funds initiatives that advance social equity and environmental sustainability. It converts your operational spend into measurable community impact and gives your business positive stories worth telling.
2. Build a more resilient supply chain
Global supply chains carry global risk. Social enterprises are local, lean, and agile - able to pivot quickly when disruption hits. Partnering with them reduces your dependence on offshore suppliers, shortens your supply chain, and delivers high-quality, sustainable solutions closer to home.
3. Earn deeper customer loyalty
Customers buy values, not just products. Social procurement makes your purpose credible and measurable, building brand trust and loyalty that set you apart.
4. Win more government contracts
Australian governments increasingly favour suppliers that demonstrate social and sustainable value. Embedding social procurement gives you a real edge when tendering for public sector work, where these criteria now often decide who wins.
5. Attract and retain the talent you need
Embedding social suppliers in your supply chain signals real ESG commitment, builds pride, and cuts costly churn. People want to work for organisations that are purpose-driven and want work that matters.
Looking for a practical guide to embed social procurement further? Download the Social Procurement Playbook to get started.
About Social Traders
Social Traders is the industry body for social enterprise and social performance, established in 2008.
Whether you're setting your first social procurement policy or scaling an established program, Social Traders is your partner every step of the way.
More than 300 organisations have partnered with Social Traders to turn their spend into measurable social impact and report on it. Be among the leaders driving business for good. Learn more at www.socialtraders.com.au
