Lendlease Australia responds to Alt Media story

With about 570 active projects and managed assets across Australia, Asia, Europe and the US at any one time, Lendlease’s work to maintain a social license to operate is critical to our success. This means early and meaningful engagement supported by a genuine focus on trying to find the best solution. 
We benefit the communities in and around our projects

While we recognise it’s impossible to surpass the expectations of every single stakeholder every single time, that hasn’t stopped us introducing a raft of meaningful community initiatives across our projects. Here’s a few from around Australia:

• St Marys Skilling and Employment Centre in Western Sydney – Since 2005, this Centre has been providing the residents of our Ropes Crossing and Jordan Springs projects as well as the surrounding community with links to job seekers, employers and training providers. During that time, it has helped more than 5,200 people find jobs and 2,800 adults participate in training and skilling programs. We’re also working with My Gateway in Macarthur to help apprentices get work across our projects.
  
  
• The Gymea Program in Queensland – Launched in 2017, our Indigenous procurement program focuses on developing partnerships to drive economic and social outcomes. In our first year, 11 Indigenous businesses signed strategic partnership agreements with Lendlease, over 50 Supply Nation certified and registered Indigenous businesses were engaged across our Australian businesses, and our spend with these businesses more than doubled to $68.3 million. For every $1 invested in the program, it creates $2.90 in societal value, most of which is realised through employment opportunities for Indigenous people in our supply chain.
  
  
• NorthHub in Adelaide – Upon winning the Northern Connector road project, in partnership with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, we launched NorthHub. This employment and training centre was created to connect jobseekers to employment opportunities and address high unemployment rates in the local area, which had been exacerbated by the closure of the Holden automotive plant in 2017. Through NorthHub, we’ve provided opportunities to displaced automotive workers, long term unemployed, women, Indigenous Australians, and trainees and apprentices. Thirty-five per cent of onsite hours on the project are now delivered by these target groups. 
  
  
• FutureSteps – Our recently launched philanthropic initiative, FutureSteps, made us the first property company to direct part of the sale price of every new residential dwelling and land lot in Australia towards addressing and helping prevent homelessness. In addition, our people will donate their skills and time to assist participating organisations. FutureSteps’ first project will assist Platform Youth Services, a Western Sydney not-for-profit youth accommodation service. Click here to visit the FutureSteps website.
  
  
• Lendlease Community Day – Now in its 23rd year, Community Day allows Lendlease employees around the world to work alongside colleagues, community partners, families and suppliers to make a difference in the communities where they live and work. Community Day projects are sourced and initiated by Lendlease employees, giving them the ability to choose where they want to lend a hand and where they can be most helpful. This reinforces Lendlease’s strong partnerships with the community. In 2017, more than 4,000 Lendlease employees around the world joined community volunteers supporting over 400 Community Day projects. 
  
  

These are just some of the many initiatives that we are currently working on to benefit the communities we operate in. This a core value now evident across our projects in Asia, Europe and the US. 

Sydney, the city Lendlease calls home

Lendlease was established in Western Sydney’s Macarthur region 60 years ago. In the intervening period, we’ve helped deliver to Sydneysiders the homes, workplaces, roads and other public infrastructure as the city has grown. 

And, as Sydney prepares for a projected population of up to 11.2 million people by 2066¹, we stand ready to help our project partners and broader community plan, build and operate the assets the city will need for its residents to prosper.

If you’d like to know more about the steps we’re taking to protect koalas at our Mt Gilead master planned community click here.

If you’d like to know how we’re meeting our tax obligations click here.

^{1 www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3222.0Main%20Features62017%20(base)%20-%202066?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=3222.0&issue=2017%20(base)%20-%202066&num=&view}