Last Thursday night our group took a road trip to visit Kardan Construction and Loop Upcycling for session 7 of our Social Impact Incubator.
Dwayne Rowland gave us a tour of Kardan’s head office which is inspiring not only for their highly inclusive management style, but also for the space itself filled with artworks and greenery that create a beautiful culturally safe environment. As a Registered Aboriginal Business and Work Integrated Social Enterprise, Dwayne shared that it can be important to partner with organisations who offer wraparound services and to connect with community at a grass roots level. He shared Kardan’s success in engaging and retaining women in construction who make up 21 percent of their current workforce including supervisors, carpenters and boilermakers. Dwayne also emphasised that Kardan’s success comes from his strong partnership with co-founder Frank Mitchell who was recently announced as a finalist in the WA Australian of the Year Awards.
At Loop Upcycling we were greeted by Franco Randazzo who took us for a tour of their new warehouse space in Malaga. Franco talked about how, unlike single-use plastics, there is currently no legislation in Australia governing what you can do with textiles. He explained how Loop partner with businesses to repurpose excess uniforms and other materials into useful products including laptop sleeves, beanies, bags, sleeping bags and even gorgeous teddy bears. As a Work Integrated Social Enterprise, Loop employs people facing barriers to work, including those from refugee and migrant backgrounds, creating meaningful opportunities that deliver both social and environmental impact. Franco explained that Loop aim to change mindsets from a linear to a circular textile economy so that waste is seen as a valuable resource. As part of their service they also offer lunch and learn sessions to help staff understand Loop’s genuine solution for achieving both social and environmental impact.
Would you like to join our next Social Impact Incubator? We’d love to hear from you – get in touch at [email protected].
