Accessing corporate customers can be hard. Almost impossible. Finding the right person to engage with is often the first roadblock, and due diligence and onboarding processes can be difficult to navigate. This problem resonates with many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. They generally don’t have the capacity or resources to pursue these elusive corporate accounts. With 95% of social enterprises represented by this demographic, it is a sector most affected by the challenges in reaching corporate buyers. But tables have turned. Companies are now actively looking to engage sustainable and social businesses – the problem is, there is no easy way for companies to find them, and impact is rarely tracked.

Covid-19 has made us aware of our vulnerability.

It has led us to experience the very real global disruption caused by a natural event, and just how quickly it can shock and devastate our entire social and economic system. Pressure from consumers, employees, and investors to ‘build back better’ is driving companies to change the way they do business. And they are taking sustainability more seriously than ever. Companies are setting ambitious sustainability and environmental targets, acknowledging the financial and non-financial advantages of having a clear sustainability agenda, and they are using social procurement and diversity & inclusion strategies as the leavers. For example, Mirvac has committed to invest $100 million in the social enterprise sector and send zero waste to landfill by 2030. Westpac will spend $10 million with Indigenous Australian businesses by the end of 2020. And starting in 2021, Microsoft will make carbon reduction a key aspect of its procurement processes for its supply chain. To successfully achieve these targets, companies need two things: (1) a vibrant and deep pool of verified sustainable and social businesses to purchase from, and (2) data to make informed purchasing decisions and report their progress to stakeholders.

This requires ecosystem technology, and givvable is building it.

givvable is an innovative, new start-up bridging the gap between sustainable and social suppliers and corporate buyers. Their mission is to help businesses make every day purchasing decisions with impact. Founded by two sisters with corporate and government backgrounds, givvable recently took out the top prize at CommBank’s X15 Xccelerate2020 Program, marking the beginning of an exciting collaboration with CommBank, X15 Ventures, Microsoft and KPMG High Growth Ventures. givvable is also supported by the University of NSW, Singapore Management University, the Impact Accelerator and Optus Future Makers.

givvable gives the sustainability credentials of suppliers real air-time.

This makes it easier for companies to find suppliers that advance their sustainability objectives and eases the due diligence burden and barriers to purchase. Using proprietary technology, supplier credentials are mapped to widely used international reporting frameworks, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indicators, so companies know the impacts they are driving with their spending. givvable is commencing pilots with high profile partners this year. If you are a business that:

• is environmentally sustainable
• embeds circular economy practices
• is a social or ethical enterprise
• is diverse and inclusive
• is a registered non-profit or charity

Register on givvable today. It is free for eligible suppliers!

For more information head to www.givvable.com.