Built Sustainable Procurement Policy

As one of Australia’s largest construction companies, Built believes in making a positive impact on the communities in which we work. This Sustainable Procurement Policy supports our employees, suppliers and subcontractors to be a part of this positive impact and to use the opportunities it provides to strengthen partnerships and trust with all parties in the supply chain.

Built has a strong commitment to sustainability and social procurement practices including community involvement, operating practices, environment, labour practices and human rights. We, along with many stakeholders in the industry and our supply chains, continue to develop and evolve our approach guided by ISO 20400 Sustainable Procurement Guidance and recognise this remains a relatively new and dynamic area for many of our suppliers. As such, we are committed to working with our subcontractors and suppliers to ensure their objectives meet or exceed those of Built and our clients.

This policy focuses on three key themes in relation to our procurement activities:

• environmental sustainability
• social procurement
• Modern Slavery Act (2018)

Environmental Sustainability

The company recognises the critical role it plays in ensuring sustainability goals, including those of our clients, are achieved.  Built’s commitment to sustainable construction and development is applied via the policies and targets set by the Built Green Standard, the key elements of which include working with clients and designers to encourage sustainable building solutions, energy usage in construction including efficiency and renewable power sources, and construction waste minimisation and reuse.

Social Procurement

Built’s commitment to sustainability includes consideration of total cost of ownership of goods and services in the supply chain, and this extends to recognising the positive social impacts that can be achieved for communities.

Built is committed to working with clients, supply chain partners, industry bodies and external advisers/organisations (such as Social Traders and Supply Nation) to identify opportunities to engage social enterprises and support the employment of local communities, people with disabilities and those people underrepresented in the workforce or from a disadvantaged background.

With respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, Built recognises the many skills these communities bring to our industry and Australia’s workforce, and the long-term cultural connection to land, water and community they can bring aligns with our work of delivering great places to live, work and play. Via its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Built is committed to fostering a more inclusive, diverse and accepting culture by building relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and businesses within and outside Built, raising awareness around issues impacting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and developing opportunities for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and businesses.

Modern Slavery Act (2018)

Built has a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of Modern Slavery such as forced labour, debt bondage, child labour and human trafficking within its supply chain. As a large construction business, Built recognises, and is committed to its role to raise awareness of Modern Slavery risks, encourage and influence action, and build competencies amongst participants in the construction value chain. In order to be effective to this commitment, Built will actively analyse and identify Modern Slavery risks in its supply chain, work with clients and designers to reduce Modern Slavery risks in materials selection, analyse and understand  suppliers’ level of scrutiny of their Modern Slavery risks, and work with suppliers towards outcomes that eliminate Modern Slavery in the construction supply chain.

Built recognises that an industry-wide approach to tackle Modern Slavery will be most effective and will continue to work with industry bodies (including the Responsible Construction Leadership Group and Property Council of Australia) in support of a ‘common industry framework’.