The rise of purpose-driven business: a new standard for success

Posted on 27 Aug 2025

By Tara Anderson, CEO, Social Traders

Shutterstock ESG business — Caring for the community and the world is now an expectation, not a luxury, for business. Pic: Shutterstock

It used to be that businesses could concentrate on profits, profits and profits, only playing in the shallow end of social and environmental impact, if they felt so inclined on a generous day. That's no longer the corporate reality, writes Social Traders' CEO Tara Anderson.

Change is in the air. There’s a purpose-driven shift in business. Forward-thinking leaders know success isn’t just about profit anymore – customers, investors, and employees expect businesses to also support communities and the environment.

Social impact is the new currency, and businesses lifting their social performance will have a competitive advantage.

Consumers are becoming concerned about issues such as living wages, labour rights and social responsibility – and are willing to pay more for products that have been sustainably sourced.

According to McKinsey, 60 per cent of surveyed consumers would be willing to pay more for products when employee safety and no child labour were guaranteed. This is the same proportion of consumers who are willing to pay more for products when packaging is minimal or made from recycled materials.

Legislation is also placing responsibility on companies to do better for people and the planet. This year in Australia, we saw the Mandatory Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards rolled out for large businesses, who are now required to report on sustainability.

Meanwhile, the government responded to the reforms recommended in response to the statutory review of the Modern Slavery Act, including expanded mandatory reporting and civil penalties for non-compliance. And the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has an open research project covering ‘human capital’ as a next consideration for mandatory disclosures.

On the one hand, shifts in regulatory and stakeholder expectations are a complexity for businesses to navigate. But on the other, they’re an opportunity for businesses to innovate and get ahead.

Social enterprise, business for good trailblazers

Social enterprises are businesses that exist to create positive social and environmental impact. By incorporating them into supply chains, organisations can directly contribute to job creation for disadvantaged communities, environmental sustainability, and economic inclusion.

There are 12,000 social enterprises in Australia and over 760 are certified with Social Traders. The number of certified social enterprises has grown 7 per cent year-on-year.

Social Traders has been tracking money spent with certified social enterprises since 2017. By mid-2024, that total came to $1.1 billion. This cumulative spending has supported:

10,000-plus employment outcomes
918,000 training hours for people otherwise shut out of work
$88.1 million spent on providing affordable and accessible community services
56,500 tons of waste diverted from landfill
$13.1 million donated to charitable causes

These results show the power of the social enterprise model and how corporations across Australia can partner with social enterprises to create social and environmental benefits, lifting their social performance.

“According to McKinsey, 60 per cent of surveyed consumers would be willing to pay more for products when employee safety and no child labour were guaranteed.”

Social Traders' CEO, Tara Anderson

Many people wonder what makes a social enterprise, and the answer is three things.

A social enterprise:

has a defined primary social, cultural or environmental purpose consistent with a public or community benefit
derives a substantial portion of its income from trade
invests efforts and resources in such as way that public/community benefit outweighs private benefit.

Creating social value

Social performance is when a business goes beyond financial outcomes to create social value for employees, suppliers, contractors, customers and the broader community in which it operates. There are many facets to social performance, but when businesses take a holistic approach and embed it in their operating model for the long-term, the impact is amplified.

Social Traders member Downer Group, an ASX-listed company, has been partnering with certified social enterprises since 2022. For example, its long-term partnership with certified social enterprise GAME Traffic & Contracting proves that business success and social impact can go hand in hand. GAME Traffic is a regional certified social enterprise dedicated to empowering disadvantaged youth.

In 2014, GAME Traffic took on its first job with Downer. Recognising the opportunity to do good, Downer soon expanded its collaboration. By 2017, GAME Traffic had become a key traffic management and equipment hire provider, servicing Northeast Victoria under Downer’s Northeast Maintenance Alliance Contract (NEMA), now known as the Hume VRMC contract.

What began as a small engagement has grown into a multi-million-dollar partnership that not only provides high-quality traffic management services and equipment hire, but also creates life-changing opportunities for young people.

60–70 per cent of youth in GAME Traffic programs secure after-school jobs – well above the national average
In FY24, 960 people were employed by GAME Traffic
2,000 young people have been supported through the Downer partnership
The partnership helps prevent and reduce welfare dependency, which remains significantly higher in regional areas than in major cities.

Finding the good in business

On September 17, Social Traders will host Convene 2025 in Melbourne. This is our flagship social impact conference, back for its 11^th year, gathering hundreds of leaders across business, government, social enterprise and philanthropy to connect and collaborate.

This year’s line-up of speakers includes:

Jehan Ratnatunga, co-founder, Who Gives A Crap
Lorraine Finlay, Australian Human Rights Commissioner
Alex Corry, social impact manager, Grand Prix Corporation
Sarah Clarke, general manager of sustainability, Mirvac
Laura Thompson and Sarah Sheridan, Clothing the Gaps

Check out the agenda.

The day will conclude with the 2025 National Game Changer Awards, celebrating outstanding contributions to the business for good movement.

Special offer

We invite you to register with a special offer available to Our Community and ICDA members here: Get your tickets today.

Social Traders is also hosting a Social Enterprise Trade Fair on 16 September, a free Melbourne event supported by the Brian M Davis Foundation and Disability Employment Investments. Connect and learn more about innovative certified social enterprises. Register today: Social Enterprise Trade Fair