And what you can do to prepare your business
As the way organisations buy goods and services continues to change, sustainability has become a major focus. Buyers – be they large companies or government – are more focused than ever on how suppliers can contribute to the sustainability, social responsibility and resilience of their supply chains.
Understanding how customer and government expectations are evolving in this space is key to your future competitive advantage. If your business is bidding for work, here are three trends you need to be aware of:
1. Show how you align with their goals
Social and sustainability performance measures are now embedded in procurement processes, and buyers are looking for suppliers that align with their broader goals.
“What we’re hearing from buyers more and more is that it’s not just about ticking a box anymore. They want to see how suppliers can help them deliver on their broader commitments and organisational objectives,” says Frances Atkins, CEO of supplier diligence platform givvable.
“The businesses winning work are the ones who’ve embedded sustainability into their operations. You need to show buyers that you’re serious about long-term impact.”
What this means for suppliers: Go beyond compliance. Tailor your tender responses to reflect how your business supports the buyer’s broader mission and values.
2. Provide evidence of your sustainability performance
Buyers want proof, not promises. But if you’re just beginning your sustainability journey that’s ok – the most important thing is to make a start.
“It’s not necessarily about knowing you’ve reached the target, but buyers do want to see that you’ve made a start,” says Frank Dinneen, Small Business Procurement Advisor with the Queensland Government.
“Tell us your story – how you’ve evolved, what you’ve learned, and where you’re headed. But the best way you can position yourself to be a preferred supplier is to just start to show that you’re starting the process of measuring,” Frank said.
Cara Westerman, Business Chamber Queensland’s General Manager Business Sustainability, agrees.
“Businesses that want to start looking at how they can respond to procurement requirements, really the best thing they can do is to start as early as possible,” Cara said.
“We’ve designed our free ecoBiz and Workforce Evolve programs to help businesses get started on measuring, tracking and managing their sustainability performance – from reducing resource use to planning for climate impacts.”
At Goldco Security, General Manager Anthony B says focusing on quick wins can help businesses to kick-start their efforts.
“By introducing low-flow taps and LED lights we’ve been able to reduce our water intensity by 51.7% and our energy intensity by 15.2%. And it has delivered cost savings too,” Anthony said.
“ecoBiz helped us identify these kinds of opportunities, track our performance and measure our impact.”
What this means for suppliers: Use free programs like ecoBiz and Workforce Evolve to demonstrate your sustainability performance and start collecting and reporting data now. Use tools that help you baseline and measure progress in ways buyers can understand.
3. Build credibility with independent verification
Independent verification, through platforms like givvable, helps buyers trust that your business is walking the talk. It’s not just about saying you’re sustainable – it’s about demonstrating it in a way that’s consistent, credible, and comparable.
“Around 90,000 suppliers are being vetted on our platform every single day,” Frances says.
“So aligning yourself with programs that can help to independently verify your progress is really important.”
What this means for suppliers: Make sure your sustainability efforts are visible and searchable and build verified credentials through recognised programs.
We’re here to help
If you’re just starting out on your sustainability journey or you’re ready to take it to the next level, we can help:
ecoBiz: ecoBiz is a free, award-winning sustainability program helping Queensland businesses to save costs, reduce carbon emissions and resource use, and manage climate change risks.
Workforce Evolve: Workforce Evolve provides free training, tools, templates and personalised coaching to help you build the workforce you need to thrive.
Sustainability consulting: If you’re looking to take the sustainability efforts of your business to the next level but you’re short on time and resources our expert Sustainability & ESG consultants are available to support and guide.
