Welcome to another edition of Fast Five – our series where we ask some of the most influential and exceptional business leaders five questions to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of Australia’s most dynamic businesses.

In this edition we spoke to Tara Anderson, CEO of Social Traders. Tara has worked with hundreds of for-purpose businesses across Australia, the UK and Europe. She has led key research on social enterprise business models globally, through her MBA in the UK and Masters in Social Innovation in Austria.

Tara has a deep understanding of how business can create social outcomes. She is passionate about seeing more businesses take up the opportunity of the switch to good – to create a more equitable world. Tara is also a founding director for Social Enterprise Australia and The Dragonfly Collective.

1. How does Social Traders work to achieve the best outcomes for its clients and stakeholders?

We work with Australia’s leading business and governments to help them embed best practice social procurement and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) outcomes – to contribute to a fairer and more equitable Australia. We work with business members to build social enterprises into their supply chains, and social enterprises to prepare them for contracts with business.

We’re a connector between our business members and the social enterprises we certify. And we work with governments around the country to create social procurement policy. In doing that we collaborate closely with our peers in social enterprise and social procurement who are working towards similar goals.

2. Social Traders has mentioned that ‘Business for good’ is catching on. What factors are influencing this and how is it impacting attitudes towards social procurement?

Business is facing a transitional moment where the conversation about ethical and sustainable business is shifting from ‘why’ to ‘how’. ESG outcomes are now expected by investors, staff, customers and regulators.

The world’s biggest companies are overturning decades of orthodoxy to pledge that their purpose is no longer to serve their owners alone, but customers, suppliers and communities too. We’re seeing research showing that over 90 per cent of large companies have ESG on their agenda, and one in five CEOs are making it their primary agenda.

And that’s impacting take-up of social procurement. We have over 130 of Australia’s largest businesses signed up to Social Traders membership – growing at an average of 41 per cent every year. Two thirds of those are maintaining or increasing social procurement spend year on year.

3. Social Traders offers Australia’s only social enterprise certification. What does the certification process involve?

Social enterprises are the pioneers of purpose-led business – or creating ESG outcomes to use newer language. Social enterprises are businesses like any other, but they exist specifically to make the world a better place. Because they can take any legal structure and operate in all parts of the economy, it’s difficult to identify a genuine social enterprise from a business that’s just social washing. That’s why we set up the certification process – so buyers, governments and funders can have confidence that a social enterprise is genuine.

Certification checks that a social enterprise does three things:

• Has a primary social, cultural or environmental purpose.
• Derives a substantial portion of their income from trade (is a business, not a charity).
• Invests efforts and resources into their purpose so that public benefit outweighs private benefit.

Certification is the risk mitigation against social washing.

4. What practical advice would you give businesses looking to improve their procurement practices?

At the highest level businesses are being challenged to make sure that they’re not inadvertently doing harm through their buying decisions. Consumers are rejecting products that include a lot of plastic packaging or contribute high volumes of waste to landfill. Businesses similarly are avoiding buying from suppliers who are known polluters and larger businesses are being called on to assert that their supply chains are slavery free.

But there is bigger opportunity – buying from social benefit suppliers. Social procurement means businesses can procure their goods and services at a sensible price, obtain quality, mitigate risk – and have a positive social impact.

If you’re just starting out, start small. Before you make your next low-risk buying decision, pause and see if one the 500+ social enterprises we’ve certified can provide those goods and services by looking at our Social Enterprise Finder.

5. Social Traders’ Vision 2030 aims to unlock $5.5 billion in demand for social enterprises by 2030. How will this vision be realised?

We set a 10-year plan to scale social enterprise procurement around the country. The plan has three parts. Firstly, to certify over 1,000 social enterprises and equip them to win contracts. Secondly, to engage 260 of Australia’s leading businesses and governments to buy from social enterprises. And finally, to influence government to create social procurement policy to drive demand and embed social procurement practices. Across all three areas, we’re a connector, convening Australia’s social enterprise procurement market.

Four years in, we’re seeing exciting momentum. Over $600 million has been spent with social enterprises – some of the fastest and largest social enterprise procurement spend globally. We’re seeing more businesses across more industries catch on.

What’s exciting is that we’re only at the beginning of what’s possible. If you’re not yet buying from social enterprise, now is the time to catch up. Don’t get left behind. Get in touch – we can help!