From design to construction, CPB Contractors work closely with their clients and partners to deliver environmentally responsible and resource-efficient projects. Abbey White, CPB’s Director of Community, Sustainability and Social Impact talks to Hire and Rental Magazine about social procurement and working with the Hire industry to deliver real social value.
H&R: Abbey, tell us about your role as CPB’s Director of Community, Sustainability and Social Impact — what are some of the key outcomes you’re looking for?
AW: In this role, I am responsible for helping our business embed sustainability, social impact and community engagement into everything we do — from tenders to project delivery. My role connects people, policy and purpose to create inclusive partnerships, strengthen stakeholder relationships and drive lasting positive change.
H&R: Can you explain Social Procurement and what it means for CPB when tendering for a contract?
AW: At its heart, social procurement is about using purchasing power to deliver more than just goods and service, it’s about creating real social value. That might mean opening doors to employment for disadvantaged individuals, partnering with Aboriginal businesses, or working alongside social and disability enterprises.
In Victoria, we’ve:
- created 14,000 job opportunities for disadvantaged Victorians across our projects
- contributed more than $100 million in social procurement spend since project conception on two of our major projects
- exceeded the 2.5 per cent Aboriginal participation target on every project we’ve delivered.
H&R: What can we learn about the importance of social procurement from companies like CPB?
AW: When social procurement is truly embedded in your business, it becomes part of your culture, and that culture creates a ripple effect that can stretch across generations.
H&R: In what ways are you looking for the hire industry to step-up as partners to help CPB meet environmental/social obligations?
AW: At CPB Contractors, the size and scale of our projects create the right environment to trial new innovations, and we want to partner with the best and brightest so if you have a great idea — something that moves the needle — we want to hear it.
H&R: What can the hire industry can learn from Tier 1 contractors about diversity, inclusion and social value?
AW: Look at what’s working and take it on. Adapt it. Scale it. Make it your own.
H&R: With up to 30 per cent of a tender now about social impact/sustainability etc, how does that flow onto what you expect from your partners, including the hire companies you work with?
AW: We look for businesses that share our values and companies genuinely committed to innovation, to long-term thinking, to leaving a legacy that’s bigger than the job at hand.