This year’s National Reconciliation Week theme, Now More Than Ever, stands as a reminder that we all need to connect and engage in the fight for Aboriginal rights and meaningful progress towards Reconciliation in Australia.
One of Australia’s largest contractors and member of the CIMIC Group, CPB Contractors enforces this notion through all areas of the business, in particular through its commitment to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and businesses share in the opportunities that their work and projects provides.
In December, Supply Nation announced a record year with $4.1 billion in contracts verified with Indigenous suppliers in FY23, up $300 million from the previous year, with CPB Contractors contributing an incredible 2.8 per cent of that $4.1 billion.
To achieve this, CPB Contractors developed an industry-leading Aboriginal Business and Social Enterprise (ABSE) internal database of Indigenous-identified businesses.
To further drive impact, this National Reconciliation Week, the contractor launches a supporting “playbook” accessible by all businesses, and particularly tailored to Indigenous-owned and social enterprises.
CPB Contractors Group Manager for Indigenous and Social Inclusion, Sharon Gray said, “As our country’s leading contractor and with up to 60 projects across regional and metro areas, we see it as our responsibility to not only support Indigenous-owned businesses by procuring their goods or services, but to also recognise the influence and impact these businesses can have on employment, community engagement, building capacity, and supporting progress and productivity in the regions in which we work.”
“Engaging with a Tier 1 contractor like ours can often be a complex and daunting experience. This playbook is an important resource to educate, guide and support First Nations-owned businesses, helping them to enter into supplier agreements and develop their own businesses to tender for major infrastructure projects. As the pipeline for infrastructure continues to grow, particularly in regional areas, it’s important we do everything we can to ensure the economic and social benefits are passed on to the local communities and particularly our First Nations people.”
With over 500 accredited Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island businesses listed on this database (and growing), CPB Contractors’ ABSE database and supporting playbook sets a new standard for enabling access, engagement, and the procurement of accredited Indigenous-owned and managed businesses.