8.1 Objective

The primary objective of the 'Indigenous Community Procurement - Indirect' disclosure topic is to guide and incentivize industry vendors to actively encourage, aggregate, and report on the spending of Indigenous businesses by their contiguous supply chain. This disclosure seeks to go beyond the direct procurement activities, focusing on how industries can influence and capture the Indigenous business engagement of their suppliers and partners.

The intent is to create a framework where industries not only commit to direct Indigenous procurement but also become catalysts for wider Indigenous economic participation through their extended supply chain networks. By doing so, industries will be able to aggregate a more comprehensive view of Indigenous engagement, capturing both direct and indirect economic opportunities made to Indigenous businesses.

This approach serves a dual purpose: firstly, it amplifies the economic impact on Indigenous communities by extending the reach of procurement practices beyond the immediate industry; and secondly, it allows industry vendors to more accurately and substantively report on their overall contribution to Indigenous economic empowerment, thereby enhancing the credibility and depth of their ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting.

Ultimately, this disclosure aims to foster a more inclusive and expansive procurement ecosystem, where the benefits of industry engagement ripple outward to Indigenous communities through both direct and indirect channels, amplifying the positive impacts and driving towards a more holistic approach to Indigenous economic participation.