How can the manual help? Social Value

What is Social Value and what are the implications for my Construction Business?

Social Value is external whereas Corporate Social Responsibility is internal.  

Social Value might be seen as an extension of Corporate Social Responsibility whereby a company embracing Social Value seeks, through its policies and actions, to actively produce benefits, that is, adding social value to its stakeholders by contributing to the long-term general well-being and resilience of individuals, communities and society. So desirable has this benefit become to society in general that a company’s performance in adding social value is now a consideration in the awarding of contracts and legislation requires this consideration throughout the public sector.

The benefits of Social Value to a company can be summarised as

• knowing the organisation is acting morally and has the needs of wider society at heart
• it strengthens a company’s competitive advantage in tendering for public and private contracts
• it supports the planning process
• it enhances a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme

Among the many initiatives that a company may employ in delivering social value are the following:

Skills

• developing the skills of the company’s employees
• offering opportunities for disadvantaged members of society to develop skills

Employment

• taking on Apprentices
• employing locally based operatives and ancillary staff
• ensuring all employees are paid at least the minimum living wage
• offering Work Experience
• creating skills and training opportunities
• targeting long-term unemployed, NEETs (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and disadvantaged groups when hiring employees
• offering work placements to school children and young adults
• undertaking school engagement activities to raise awareness of career opportunities

Supply Chain

• using locally based subcontractors and suppliers of materials
• ensuring subcontractors are meeting the same high standards of employment including paying the minimum living wage and meeting the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act
• working collaboratively to develop innovative solutions
• procuring goods and services from Social Enterprises (businesses with a social or environmental purpose) (More information is available at https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/ )

Materials

• using, where possible and economically viable, locally sourced manufactured products and materials
• using, where possible, materials from certified sustainable sources, for example, timber certified by FSC or PEFC, steel by CARES
• using recycled materials where these are available and meet the specification
• seeking to reuse and recycle materials and equipment ensuring any surplus is provided to the local community if useful to it
• promoting the principles of circular economy

Communities

• engaging and consulting local communities, schools, youth clubs, retirement homes and providing programmes to support disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society
• offering curriculum and literacy support to schools
• creating supply chain opportunities for local SMEs
• using the services of local social enterprise businesses, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and charities
• contributing to local community projects
• undertaking neighbourhood improvement projects
• improving communication through meetings, newsletters and online updates
• providing energy-saving and efficiency advice to end users of the project
• providing Skills Workshops for the local community