Better together – partnering to deliver the SDGs

by Hayley Jarick, CEO of the Supply Chain Sustainability School

Sharing how other organisations have collaborated to achieve a combined goal serves two purposes.  Firstly, you can join in. Or secondly, you can be inspired and recycle the business model to focus on a goal of your own.

Akolade’s SCI2021 Supply Chain Innovation Summit at the end of May was a blast! I’ve had a few requests to provide the links to the projects I mentioned in my presentation “Better together – partnering to deliver the SDGs” so here it goes…

1. Supply Chain Sustainability School Australia provides free education to Australia, and soon to Aotearoa New Zealand, thanks to 38 Fellow organisations that collectively fund and develop resources.
2. 15 leading property organisations, brought together through the Property Council of Australia’s National Sustainability Roundtable, collaborated to create and promote a platform to ask key suppliers about the actions they are taking to assess and address human rights issues and modern slavery risks across shared operations and supply chains. More property organisations have since joined the group that is supported by experts Edge Environment, the Supply Chain Sustainability School Australia, Better Sydney, and Informed365. campaign.propertycouncil.com.au/supplierplatform
3. The Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA) has translated 15 of the 17 SDGs into the IS rating scheme for the infrastructure industry in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. But they didn’t stop there, they also developed the ISupply directory linking products and services to IS credits helping projects identify suppliers that can help meet their goals.
4. The Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF) was born out of a recognition that ending the exploitation of cleaners needs a whole industry approach. As a result, business, union, government, academics and industry associations came together to form CAF and continue to drive the organisation today. Their certification scheme assesses compliance with labour standards at a building and is currently available for commercial office buildings and retail malls, BUT look out for them as they expand!
5. Materials & Embodied Carbon Leaders’ Alliance MECLA brings together the drive to reduce embodied carbon in the building and construction industry. It officially began in April 2021 and already has 67 organisations on board!
6. In 2019 the Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network (ACAN) was established to support over 30 Catholic entities from education, health, social and aged care services, finance and investment to implement a comprehensive modern slavery risk management program. The Catholic Church in Australia is amongst the largest non-government procurers of goods and services. DOMUS8.7 is a new initiative by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney to provide an effective response to modern slavery for both victims and organisations. It will be Australia’s first one-stop-shop service available to victims, workers or businesses to obtain support, advice and guidance on how to respond to potential situations of modern slavery and forced labour.
7. 54 million Scouts have logged 2,004,533,000+ hours in the world’s largest coordinated youth contribution to the SDGs. Globally there are 76,000+ Community Service Projects and Actions. ScoutsforSDGs
8. Australian Circular Economy Hub (ACE Hub) is facilitating the transition to a circular economy in Australia with one of the most significant collaboration efforts ever undertaken.
9. Maraca is an eco-fashion Sydney based brand that transforms deconstructed toys, broken/partial jewellery, Perspex offcuts and other bits from their travels into wearable art.
10. ZeroCo is on a mission to untrash the planet by stopping the production of new single-use plastic and cleaning up the plastic junking up our oceans. Reusable refill pouches are made from plastic waste diverted from landfill and are designed to be refilled and reused over and over and over again. Dispensers are made from plastic rubbish pulled out of the ocean, beaches and landfill.
11. Yume is a fast-growing, award-winning, social enterprise that has built an online marketplace where suppliers can list stranded surplus food and sell it to commercial buyers in the food industry.
12. OzHarvest has become a leading food rescue organisation on a mission to ‘Nourish our Country’ by stopping good food from going to waste and delivering it to charities that help feed people in need.
13. ResponsibleSteel is the steel industry’s first global multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative bringing together stakeholders from every stage of the steel supply chain to develop an independent certification standard for steel sites.
14. Paintback is an independent not-for-profit organisation funded through a 15 c+GST/L levy on eligible paint products. Along with disposing of waste paint responsibly, Paintback is committed to researching new ways to repurpose unwanted paint materials.
15. Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation APCO, Planet Ark and PREP Design are working in partnership to deliver the Australasian Recycling Label Program. This will help consumers better understand how to recycle products effectively and assist Brand Owners to design packaging that is recyclable at end-of-life.
16. Danielle James, the founder of Collaboration Nation, a business consultancy specialising in IT industry partnerships, released the first of its kind business book about creating the best IT strategic alliances to increase customer satisfaction and revenue. “Collaboration is where IT’s at.” This is a must-read if you’re an executive looking for insights to drive better partnership outcomes.
17. Buying from social enterprise represents the greatest untapped potential in generating positive, sustainable social impact. Social Traders broker the relationship between social enterprises and business and government buyers. For buyer members, they make introductions, host networking events, and work with corporate and government buyers to update their tender processes to open new opportunities for social enterprises.
18. Outland Denim is a B Corp for-profit business that has woven human rights into clothes by giving work to victims of human trafficking. Outland Denim’s corporate wear arm, MAEKA, should be your go-to supplier for promotional and corporate wear!
19. TOMS is a B Corp for-profit business that began with a simple idea: for every pair of shoes sold, they would provide a new pair to a person in need. TOMS has partnered with countless organizations such as UNICEF, Save the Children, Partners in Health, The Red Cross, Everytown, Faith in Action, March for Our Lives, and others.
20. Keshet means ‘rainbow‘ in Hebrew and truly reflects the essence of inspiration behind the brand. Keshet’s collections are designed in Tasmania, fabrics are sourced from all over the world in their natural state, and the Tasmanian team travel to work closely with tailors and seamstresses in India, Thailand and Indonesia where our every garment is handmade with love.
21. Dresden makes simple, modular prescription glasses frames with a single classic shape in Australia. Their 10-year frame replacement warranty comes with the knowledge that the broken nylon frame will be recycled in their closed-loop zero-waste production system along with other waste materials that are being upcycled.