There are many definitions but at heart, Social Value is all about the impact an organisation has on society beyond its financial bottom line.
It is important to micro and SME businesses – and becoming more so.
For any who are tendering for the public sector then the Social Value Act 2012 mandated that public sector procurement must consider how contracts might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of the relevant area.
But delivering social value isn’t about ticking boxes for tender documents, it’s about tangible business benefits.
How to deliver social value.
With so many ways, you have to decide which are right for your business and how far to go.
To work properly, they should be embedded explicitly in a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) or ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) strategy and crucially, into the culture of your business. There are lots of resources online to help you do this.
Here are a just few of the ways you can deliver social value:
- At its simplest, by employing local people and contributing to the local economy.
- Using local suppliers whenever possible.
- Working with school and colleges, helping NEETS (not in education, employment or training) back into work, or those with special needs
- Decarbonisation and making the environment a better place for locals, planting trees, creating bio-diverse space and ensuring minimum damage to natural habitats.
- Health and wellbeing – supporting local charities, community groups and the most vulnerable in our society.
- Encouraging staff to volunteer in helping the local community – anything from helping to repair a care home to mentoring a local business.
- Employment policies – focussing on local people with an emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as treating your own people well
And the benefits?
At one level, it is simply the right thing to do. However, there are lots of examples of how doing good can be good for business.
- Using local suppliers mean chains are usually shorter, more resilient and have a lower carbon footprint. And it looks good!
- Enhancing your brand, trust and reputation. You may have social purpose at the heart of your proposition, but not everyone is a Patagonia. Simply being known as a good corporate citizen, can promote loyalty and word-of-mouth referral. And you have great content for PR, your website, newsletters or social media. As long as your product or service is competitive, people have a real reason to choose you over your competitors and even justify a price premium.
- Saving you money on energy and waste, especially in the long-term
- Attracting and keeping the right talent. People are more likely to stay with a company that shares their values and aims to make a positive difference in society. Social value initiatives can boost employee pride, engagement, and productivity, promote lower staff turnover and more effective recruitment.
- Building partnerships, attracting investment funding or grants, and showing compliance with regulations are among the other benefits businesses have enjoyed.
Make it real
To demonstrate your social value, you should have clear objectives and measurements. If you are using it in contracts or applications, you need to understand what the other party’s criteria are. Again, there is lots of help online and there is a useful guide here>>
Proper measurement is important if you want to avoid accusations of greenwashing or hypocrisy. Independent reviews or certification can be helpful. Possibly the best known is BCorp and you can read a balanced view of this here>>
The Chamber is a great believer in social value and regular readers will know that we have supported various initiatives, from encouraging more local procurement (Together Gloucestershire) and promoting closer ties between business and education to Cheltenham Zero and tackling food waste. Individual Board members support many local causes including ITSA, CCP, No Child Left Behind and Public Hearts.
If you have any questions or comments, our dedicated CSR Executive, Claire Thayers will be happy to respond.
