Kylie Adeniyi

Acting Director Social Value & Inclusion at Major Road Projects Victoria

Kylie is a social procurement and inclusion leader, who is passionate about sustainably introducing more diversity into purchasing and recruiting practices.

Her current role has seen Major Road Projects Victoria direct more than $140Mil to some of the most vulnerable and marginalised communities in Victoria, by engaging with an increasingly diverse workforce and supply chain.

Title: Harnessing the power of the marketplace

Synopsis: For better of worse, our individual and collective purchasing decisions have a significant impact on the economy, our communities, and the environment.

An unthinking approach to these decisions reinforces unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and undermines the social and environmental systems that are critical to prosperity, peace, and human flourishing.

Every year, governments and businesses spend trillions of dollars acquiring the goods and services they need to operate and achieve their objectives — from cupcakes to major construction projects. These procurement activities are one of the biggest drivers of our economy.

Social procurement is when these organisations use their buying power to deliver social and sustainable outcomes, above and beyond the goods and services being procured. It aims to harness the power of the marketplace to minimise harm and maximise benefits to people and the planet.

This expert panel focuses on social procurement in action. We'll explore what social procurement is, what best practice looks like, and the big challenges and opportunities for buyers and suppliers.