What Is Social Procurement and How It Benefits Your Business
Discover how social procurement can boost your business and make a difference.
Purpose-driven organisations know that every decision counts, including who they buy from.
Social procurement is one way in which companies across Australia are choosing to turn everyday purchasing into lasting impact.
It is a powerful means to align your procurement strategy with your values while supporting positive community and environmental outcomes.
Here’s how it works.
Pictured: Bryan, Supported Employee, Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions - Kew
What is Social Procurement?
Social procurement is the practice of purchasing goods and services from businesses that create positive social or environmental outcomes.
It is not just about meeting a need; it is about meeting it in a way that delivers broader value to society.
This can include supporting social enterprises that focus on employment for disadvantaged groups, environmental sustainability or ethical sourcing.
If you're wondering how to implement social procurement in your organisation, it starts by reviewing your existing supplier list and identifying opportunities to work with enterprises that contribute to community wellbeing.
Pictured:Duncan, Supported Employee, Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions - Rockhampton
Why Social Enterprises Matter
Social enterprises are purpose-driven businesses that reinvest profits into creating positive social or environmental outcomes.
A key way they do this is through inclusive employment, offering jobs to people with disability, from culturally diverse backgrounds, who have been unemployed long-term or who face other barriers to work.
These roles go beyond creating an income source. They help to build skills, confidence and community connection, ensuring more people lead more independent and fulfilling lives.
By choosing to work with a social enterprise, businesses receive quality goods and services while supporting a more inclusive Australia.
As a leading social enterprise, Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions creates rewarding employment opportunities for people with disability through commercial services like packaging, recycling and document destruction.
Every partnership helps build capability, confidence and community participation, making a genuine difference to the lives of so many.
Pictured: Supported Employees, Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions - Kew
Real Economic Impact
According to the Social Traders Impact Report FY24, Australian businesses and government agencies spent more than $1.1 billion with certified social enterprises in the 2024 financial year.
This investment created more than 10,000 jobs and provided 918,000 hours of training to people facing barriers to employment.
This demonstrates that the benefits of buying from social enterprises go far beyond ticking a corporate social responsibility (CSR) box.
They deliver tangible, measurable outcomes for communities and the economy.
Pictured: Supported Employee, Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions - Warwick
Benefits for Your Business
Choosing to work with a social enterprise like Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions leads to more than just high-quality outcomes. It delivers strategic value:
- Enhances CSR: Social procurement highlights your commitment to ‘doing good’, which resonates with employees, partners and consumers
- Builds brand reputation: Purpose-led companies attract stronger loyalty and greater trust, particularly in business partnerships
- Increases social impact: Your procurement spend helps break down employment barriers and supports local communities across Australia
- Supports compliance: In some sectors, there are growing expectations, and sometimes requirements, to consider social outcomes in procurement processes
Pictured: Julie (Employment Coach) and Kyah (Supported Employee), Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions - Toowoomba
How to Get Started
Whether you need secure document destruction, fulfilment and packaging services, timber products or ethical recycling solutions, Endeavour Foundation Business Solutions can help.
Our team is ready to work with you to meet your commercial needs and deliver impact at the same time.
Make your procurement count.
Learn more about our business services, or contact us today to find out how your organisation can benefit from social procurement and help create a more inclusive future for Australia.