Doing Good Business - Social, Environmental and Local Procurement

Partner with Council to 'do good'.

Council is committed to building stronger communities and meeting social and environmental objectives which benefit the community. These objectives are outlined in our Council and Wellbeing Plan, Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), Climate Emergency Plan, draft Economic Development and Tourism Strategy, Procurement Policy and other Policies, Plans and Strategies. 

Businesses that demonstrate their commitment to helping us achieve these objectives, will strengthen their tender responses. Whether you’re a large or small business, there are plenty of ways to do this. 

Tenderers may wish to consider any or all of the below strategies to increase the quality of their tender responses and create lasting positive local community impact:

Ways to have greater social impact

The Shire is dedicated to supporting suppliers to deliver value to our community. Our social sustainability commitment and approach includes a Social Procurement Program to increase both direct and indirect social procurement spend. Whether you’re a large or small business, there are ALWAYS ways that you can support the community in which you work.  

Perhaps consider actions such as:

Additional corporate social responsibility activities you might like to consider: 

  • Develop a Yearly Volunteering Plan, including registering for local volunteer days 
  • Offer Pro-Bono skills/time to emerging Social Enterprises or those listed in our Social Enterprise Pack. 
  • Source an education program from one or more of Supply Nation's listed Indigenous suppliers, to provide your staff with insights and understanding of Indigenous culture and history and more.
  • Develop an Indigenous Inclusion Policy or Reconciliation Action Plan for your business.

Ways to have greater environmental impact

The Shire is dedicated to supporting suppliers to meet our environmental sustainability objectives and deliver value to our community. Whether you’re a large or small business, there are ALWAYS ways that you can support our sustainability journey, reduce emissions and waste, and protect our natural environment. The Shire will request details of commitment to sustainability and evidence of impact as part of all tender submissions.

 Examples of sustainability actions are:  

  • Relevant certification, e.g. B Corp 
  • Publicly available Sustainability Plan / Policy
  • Evidence of working with sustainable supply chains for products, contractors and subcontractors
  • Emissions reduction actions such as solar installation  
  • Low-emissions vehicle fleet
  • Circular Economy actions such as reduction in Single Use Plastic (SUP) and other waste materials
  • Staff behaviour or education programs such as Ride to Work, support for environmental volunteering, upskilling  

For further information and ideas to invest in your business’ sustainability actions, you can check out the following links: 

Our Climate Emergency Response - Mornington Peninsula Shire (mornpen.vic.gov.au) 

Buy Recycled Service | Sustainability Victoria

Sustainable Procurement Guide | DCCEEW

Ways to have greater local economic impact

The Shire is committed to supporting Mornington Peninsula businesses and deliver value to our community. Whether you’re a large or small business, there are many ways that you can support our local economy and community. The Shire will request a commitment to supporting local, and ability to demonstrate impact as part of all tender submissions. 

Examples of supporting our local economy are:  

  • Being located on the Mornington Peninsula. This could be your project office, your head office, storage sites, and/or your registered business address.  
  • Employing local residents. Gain a deeper understanding of your workforce by mapping their home postcodes. Do you have a policy of employing local people, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds?  
  • Sourcing products and services from other Mornington Peninsula businesses. Think about the supply chain beyond your own purchasing power. Do your local suppliers also source products and services from local businesses? Could you encourage them to? 
  • Providing education pathways for Mornington Peninsula employees. Do you know what local training opportunities are available and how they could benefit your business? 
  • Supporting the local community through sponsorship or good works. Cash donations are great, but consider different ways of contributing; mentoring members, provision of specialist services, paid time for employees to volunteer, making connections between different stakeholders, buying tickets to events, providing raffle prizes, being a guest speaker – or any number of other ways! 
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