Great Lakes Council and Great Lakes Community Resources scooped two of the five national Social Enterprise Awards announced recently, winning an award category each. 

The Great Lakes Community Resources’ Resource Recovery enterprise took out the Social Enterprise of the Year (medium - large) Award for its provision of opportunities for the long term unemployed, early school leavers, Aboriginal communities and ex-offenders.

Resource Recovery is contracted by Great Lakes Council to operate the Waste Management Centre at Tuncurry and landfills at Tea Gardens and Bulahdelah and has a long list of achievements in terms of employee training, employment and many previous awards.

Great Lakes Council won the Category of Social Procurement for its support of Great Lakes Community Resources, in awarding contracts that have allowed the Resource Recovery, Helping Hands and Tobwabba Art enterprises to provide meaningful employment to socially disadvantaged groups.

Social enterprises have a mission to provide a community or public benefit in undertaking their core business. They undertake business activity to make a profit, which is largely reinvested to further achieve their mission and provide social, community or public benefit.

“Through council’s social procurement policies, we are able to make a positive difference to those in our community suffering long term disadvantage,” council’s manager of waste, health and regulatory services John Cavanagh said.

“This focus on doing something positive to address social, environmental and economic issues in our community has had lasting and meaningful impacts and really made a difference.”