How Mirvac harnesses people power to build stronger communities

Using its purchasing and people power as a force for good, Mirvac has lifted the cap on paid volunteering leave and is directing $100 million towards purpose-driven organisations. Does this change everything?

Last week, Mirvac announced new sustainability targets in the next phase of its This Changes Everything strategy.

When Mirvac launched its first strategy in 2014, its ambitious targets – including zero carbon, water and waste by 2030 – challenged the industry’s leaders to think bigger and bolder.

Since then, Mirvac has met a lot of milestones, rolling out solar in residential communities, cutting the carbon intensity of its portfolio by 26 per cent and prototyping the world’s first ‘House with No Bills’.

These efforts have been widely recognised, and last year the Dow Jones Sustainability Index named Mirvac the world’s most sustainable real estate company.

Now, in its next phase, Mirvac has promised to direct $100 million towards social enterprises, Indigenous businesses and other for-purpose organisations by 2030. The investment will include social procurement, direct corporate donations and the time volunteered by Mirvac’s people.

“We are literally in the business of building communities, so we are stepping up our commitment to be a force for good,” says Sarah Clarke, Mirvac’s general manager for sustainability.

Since 2014, Mirvac has entered into a national partnership with The Smith Family and launched two new social enterprises. One of these is the Song Café at Mirvac’s headquarters at 200 George Street in Sydney, which directs all profits to the YWCA. Each year, the café funds around 6 beds for victims of domestic violence in need of crisis accommodation.

 

Engaged employees and energised communities

Mirvac has also committed to unlimited, fully-paid volunteer leave for employees wanting to give back.

“We want to share our skilled and talented people with the community. And by bringing back market intelligence, we can continue to create more social value,” Clarke explains.

Mirvac already has an above-average rate of volunteerism, Clarke adds, which currently sits at “over four times the Australia and New Zealand average, and almost double the property industry average”.

Last year Mirvac’s National Community Day saw 8 employees, or 61 per cent of its workforce, volunteer more than 4,000 hours. This equated to 106 full-time weeks of planting trees, picking up plastic, painting community centres and giving blood.

But unlimited leave means employees have greater scope to lend their time, energy and capabilities to the social sector. The policy is one that social enterprises welcome as they look to put employees’ professional skills to good use over the longer term.

 

Volunteering creates shared value

Breanna Wooldridge, Mirvac’s sales operations executive in Brisbane, spent six years working in fashion and trained as a stylist. She recently coordinated Mirvac’s volunteering efforts with Dress for Success, a suiting and job search program that gives women the clothing and confidence they need to re-enter the workforce.

“We spent the day in a cavernous underground space sorting through clothing, but it wasn’t just about the work itself,” Wooldridge explains.

“It was also about bringing people from Mirvac together to work towards a common goal.

“The new policy will encourage people to pass on their talents and interests not just one day a year, but multiple times throughout the year. It will make our teams stronger and spread our community spirit.”

Clarke agrees.

“Volunteerism is a good proxy for social cohesion, so when participation goes up, there is an overall social benefit, as well as a benefit to the charity, to employee engagement, and to us. Our employees learn so much from these activities,” Clarke adds.

If employee engagement is any measure of success, Mirvac’s approach is working. Five years ago, staff engagement scores were at 37 per cent. Today they are at 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, Mirvac will continue to measure the wider social return on investment, as it refines its ground-breaking SROI tool, developed in collaboration with KPMG.

With high-performing people and substantial purchasing power, “we can use our assets to reimagine urban life and build more connected communities,” Clarke concludes.