Procurement with purpose – meet the businesses making a difference
SAP Australia has recently announced a new corporate initiative called 5 & 5 by ‘25, targeting five per cent of its addressable procurement spend with social enterprises and five per cent with diverse businesses by 2025. The initiative aims to inspire organisations around the world to buy more goods and services from purposeful suppliers, making a positive collective impact on society.
Here, we look at one the Australian businesses that will benefit from the pledge.
Muru Office Supplies: Creating new paths for Indigenous Australians
Muru Office Supplies offers more than 20,000 products, including everything from pens and paper through office furniture to cleaning products and kitchen supplies. In short, it stocks just about anything you could need for any office.
Muru means pathway in the traditional language of the Sydney Coastal Region. Mitchell Ross, Founder and CEO of Muru Group, is a proud Bidjigal man from La Perouse who wants to create a pathway for future generations of Indigenous people.
Mitchell took inspiration from the hardships experienced by family and friends in the community and created Muru Office Supplies, a partnership between Muru Group and Complete Office Supplies. It’s a purpose-driven, community-focused organisation that contributes a percentage of profits to education, employment, health and wellbeing initiatives that support Indigenous communities.
Muru Office Supplies has contributed more than $270,000 to these causes since opening in 2014. These include early childhood education, the revitalisation of native plants and safe spaces for vulnerable women. It is certified by Supply Nation, a non-profit database of more than 2,500 verified Indigenous businesses.
“As a business certified by Supply Nation, we have a strong commitment to supporting Indigenous community projects in the areas of education and employment. SAP has already placed orders with MOS, which will allow our community programs with partners like IndigiGrow and Mudgin-Gal to deliver even greater social impact. We hope this pledge leads to a step-change in how big businesses think about using procurement as a force for good.”
Mitchell Ross, Founder and CEO, Muru Group
