Brisbane is entering an important period of growth, and the decisions local businesses make today will shape how they benefit from the opportunities ahead. With changing procurement requirements and growing supply chain expectations, SMEs need practical ways to demonstrate their performance, strengthen competitiveness and prepare for new work.

On Wednesday, 11 November, we hosted the Brisbane ecoBiz Leaders Forum, bringing together local business owners, sustainability experts and our ecoBiz team to explore how sustainability performance can build business advantage. The morning focused on the growing role of sustainability in procurement and supply chains, and the practical steps SMEs can take to prepare, from understanding their resource use and suppliers to gathering credible evidence and demonstrating the actions they are already taking. The message throughout the morning was practical: know your baseline, understand your suppliers and gather the evidence that shows what your business can deliver.

We were also pleased to recognise two Brisbane ecoBiz Star Partners and celebrate the progress they have made. National Plastics & Rubber achieved 1-Star Partnership recognition for water. GovPartners received Gold Micro Star Partner recognition after implementing 87% of the actions in the Micro & Remote Program Action Checklist, spanning energy, water, waste and social sustainability initiatives.

Across the Brisbane region, ecoBiz now has 30 Star Partners across a diverse range of industries, demonstrating how businesses of different sizes and sectors can turn practical sustainability action into measurable progress.

The ecoBiz program is proudly supported by the Queensland Government.