Sustainability reporting just became a whole lot easier
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, February 10, 2025 — Social Traders, Australia’s industry body for social enterprise and social performance, has partnered with RobobAI, a global fintech leveraging AI to create transparent and ethical supply chains, to provide businesses comprehensive, real-time insight into the impact of their supply chain spend.
Procurement is one of the most effective ways businesses can address major societal challenges. In fact, two-thirds of a company’s potential for positive or negative impact comes from its supply chain.
In partnership, Social Traders and RobobAI will help businesses of all sizes, not only evaluate the level of spend with certified social enterprises suppliers but quantify the direct dollar impact this spend has had on the communities in which they operate.
“This partnership aligns with our ambition at Social Traders – making business for good, business as usual,” said Social Traders CEO Tara Anderson.
“Social Traders specialises in activating business as a mechanism to deliver social and environmental impact. Social enterprises are the ultimate example of that. We also partner with traditional businesses to deliver and report on sustainable business practices, in particular through their supply chain and connection with social enterprises. Through our new partnership with RobobAI, businesses will be able to report on and grow social impact through their everyday purchasing.”
Social enterprise is growing in size and impact across the Australian economy. Social Traders 2024 Report on Identified Social Enterprises (RISE) analysed the impact of 5,795 social enterprises nationally – the largest national analysis of social enterprise to date, representing nearly half of the estimated total 12,000 social enterprises in Australia today. The report revealed that social enterprises invest $5.7bn every year in delivering impact to communities and create 89,000 jobs for people that would otherwise be shut out of work.
RobobAI will leverage its AI platform to help businesses easily consolidate, cleanse and classify their spend data with certified social enterprise suppliers – saving them time and effort. Accurate spend classification improves supply chain visibility empowering businesses to make more informed, data driven decisions across social enterprise spending.
Impact reporting is now mission critical
Mandatory sustainability reporting came into effect on 1 January 2025. Initially applying to large businesses, the legislation will extend to all businesses over the coming three years, putting all businesses on notice.
While initially focussed on environmental obligations, the mandatory reporting requirements are expected to include social reporting obligations over time. Social procurement is one of the most effective ways to meet the increasing pressure from stakeholders to operate with sustainable business practices.
The new partnership will support businesses looking to take a first mover advantage by helping them to identify and analyse their procurement spend with certified social enterprises. It will help them quickly find future opportunities to use their purchasing power for good, and report with confidence on the tangible outcomes their spend is contributing towards delivering on their social performance or sustainability goals.
“Using insights from Social Traders extensive database of certified social enterprises, coupled with the speed and intuitive functionality of RobobAI’s platform,, businesses will be able to dive into granular supplier and category level detail within clicks. With this information, businesses can get a Social Impact Report from Social Traders that demonstrates tangible impact outcomes from their spend with certified social enterprises,” said Julian Harris, CEO and Founder of RobobAI.
“We see this partnership as an opportunity to create genuine change by helping businesses shift their spend towards more ethical and sustainable suppliers to create meaningful impact to communities and the environment.”
For an interview with Social Traders CEO Tara Anderson or RobobAI founder Julian Harris, please contact:
Paul Cheal | 3cPR | 0427 755 296 | paul@3cpr.com.au
About Social Traders
Established in 2008, Social Traders is an industry body for social enterprise and social performance in Australia. Social Traders is also the national certified of social enterprises and has equipped hundreds of social enterprises with programs, know-how and advocacy to grow and thrive.
Today, Social Traders is the frontrunner supporting businesses deliver and report on their social performance by embedding the “S” in ESG through social procurement, DEI practices and upholding human rights. We believe sustainable business practices are crucial in making a positive impact on communities and the planet.
Our unrivalled social enterprise data and reporting capabilities enable businesses to track, measure and quantify their social value and impact. Some of Australia’s largest businesses are members of Social Traders including ANZ, AGL Energy, Australia Post, CBRE, Charter Hall, EY, oOh!media, Westpac, La Trobe University, Mirvac, Nando’s, REA Group, RACV and UNSW.