Five years ago, Ellen Witte and Tara Callinan worked with Moonee Valley City Council to prepare the business and financial plans for a café with a social purpose. Now up and running in a restored heritage building in Flemington, Crown Street Stables café provides a vital training and employment pathway for people with a disability.

Patrick Fensham volunteers his time to help stimulate the economy of the small town of Harcourt 30 kilometres on the Melbourne side of Bendigo in Victoria. SGS Economics and Planning Principal and Partner Patrick Fensham recently volunteered his expertise and insights to the Shine Harcourt project. The project is a community based economic development initiative of Mount Alexander Shire Council, led by creative agency Hello City, to help stimulate the economy of the small town of Harcourt 30 kilometres on the Melbourne side of Bendigo in Victoria.

'A wonderful affirmation that pursuing social justice is valued in the industry' was how University of Melbourne Master of Urban Planning student Emily Pritchard described receiving the SGS Graham Larcombe scholarship this month.

We are pleased to announce five team members have been promoted for their significant contribution to the business and their positive impact on the broader community: Yuan Deng, Ellen Witte, Andrew Spencer, Sean Williams, and Kishan Ratnam.

In late November, SGS team members around Australia packed their bags and travelled to Melbourne for our annual team conference where we learnt how to have more impact. A certified B Corp, we are part of a global movement of people using business as a force for good in the world. We're always looking for new and better ways to help our clients tackle social, economic and environmental issues that impact communities across Australia and overseas. Our team conferences give us a chance to discuss, debate, reflect and learn (plus have a few laughs along the way). Here are some photos from the day...

We are delighted to announce that Luke Nicholls is joining our SGS team from July 2018 to lead project delivery across Western Sydney and work with us to grow our team and our impact. Luke is an experienced City Planner with over 20 years in local government strategic planning, management, project delivery and environmental law. He has been Director of Planning and Environment at major local authorities in Western Sydney as well as for the regional city of Port Macquarie. Luke was a key part of our team from 2011-2014 when he held various roles including Sydney Practice Leader, Principal and CEO. We're excited to welcome Luke back!