I n countries across the world, there is a growing emphasis on the importance of ensuring that Indigenous businesses are represented in the supply chains of corporations and governments. This presents an opportunity for GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT PROGRESSING RECONCILIATION THROUGH THE SUPPLY CHAIN: WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE AUSTRALIAN EXAMPLE AUSTRALIAN CASE STUDY BY JOSH RILEY the various players in Indigenous procurement ecosystems to learn from the practices of their peers in other geographies. Australia is an example of one country that has had tremendous success in this area. The two key organizations driving Indigenous procurement in Australia are Reconciliation Australia and Supply Nation. Both have demonstrated that facilitating Indigenous procurement enhances economic development for the First Peoples of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It also shows that Indigenous procurement provides an excellent opportunity to advance reconciliation. The Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program, led by Reconciliation Australia, the country’s national expert body on reconciliation, is a key vehicle for driving Indigenous procurement. The RAP program was launched in 2006 by Prime Minister John Howard and Professor Mick Dodson, providing a framework for organizations to support the national reconciliation movement. Today, there are over 1,000 RAPs. According to the 2016 RAP Impact Measurement Report, 6,658 current partnerships between RAP organizations and Indigenous communities have been facilitated through the program. RAPs play a similar role in the Australian corporate sector to that of CCAB’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program in Canada. The key difference is that RAPs focus on organizations publicly committing to actions they will take to progress reconciliation, whereas PAR certifies an organization’s past performance in Aboriginal relations. Michael McLeod, a driving force behind Supply Nation, with the organization’s CEO Laura Berry 30 A CCAB PUBLICATION 2018