As Australia’s leading food and support service organisation, our care extends beyond our customers and clients, to the issues that are important in the communities we operate in. Corporate Responsibility underpins our culture and operations, guiding us to achieve our business goals in a responsible and sustainable way.

In November, Compass Group launched its Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2022 – 2025 at an event, held on the land of the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar nation. This RAP signifies years of dedicated commitment to closing the gap for First Nations people in Australia and what we plan to achieve moving forward. The launch was attended by members of the Compass Community, including Toby Edmunds, Executive Director – BHP and was an opportunity to thank everyone who helped Compass Group Australia achieve its commitments, including clients and community partners such as CMJ Food Services, Waddi and REFAP Laundry.

Nationally, we are immensely proud of what we have achieved in the First Nations people engagement space. Since joining as a founding member of the Employment Parity Initiative in 2015, we have employed a total of 2,014 First Nations peoples under this program, exceeding our committed target by 161%. In 2022, Compass Group Australia ranked number 1 out of 42 participating employers in the inaugural Indigenous Employment Index 2022 undertaken by Minderoo Foundation – Generation One, the first index of its kind to measure and identify practices within large organisations. Read more about this achievement here.

Compass Group Australia has always had a strong focus on building diversity in our supply chain by creating opportunities for First Nations businesses. In 2022, Compass Group Australia spent over $15 million dollars on goods and services from 84 First Nations business suppliers. Our Foodbuy team has also focused on growing our First Nations spend by at least 200% per year and have doubled the number of First Nations businesses we support and incubate.

We have a proud partnership with Shooting Stars – Glass Jar Australia, an organisation that empowers First Nations women in regional and remote communities. As part of our RAP, our people will continue to contribute to events and activities so we can help First Nations women gain training opportunities, work experience and broaden their horizons.

Our RAP reiterates Compass Group’s commitment in the areas of educating broader Australia on First Nations peoples and their cultures, training, employment, career development and First Nations business engagement. We are proud to partner with clients who share this commitment and wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without the support of our 13,000 employees and our likeminded clients, community partners, key subcontractors and suppliers.

We’d like to thank everyone who has been integral to the creation, development, and continuation of our Reconciliation Action Plan. As the plans and goals laid out in our new RAP come to life, we look forward to forging stronger ties with Reconciliation WA and Reconciliation Australia to measure our progress and share best practice with other businesses interested in the reconciliation journey.

Read Compass Group’s Reconciliation Action Plan here. 

Banner Artwork: “Compass Group’s Journey” by Chern’ee Sutton – contemporary Indigenous Artist from the Kalkadoon people.