Social Value – An Activity Or A Culture?

Back in 2012, social value became an issue that no organisation delivering publicly funded contracts could afford to ignore. The Social Value Act meant that even companies like Osborne with a proud history of giving back to the community had to take a more formalised approach. Social value didn’t just have to be delivered, it had to be tracked and accounted for.

Across the industry, the approach to social value has matured significantly since the Act came into force. It’s a much more central consideration in the procurement process  – and will become even more so as the nation recovers from the economic damage caused by Covid.

The maturing of social value means that it’s more than a collection of activities: it’s a core feature of how we operate as a business. This means it extends beyond our business to include procurement, how we manage our supply chains, and how we collaborate with other organisations to make a bigger impact.

Social Value is a strategic priority and an important part of our culture. We’ve implemented tools specifically to measure the social value we deliver and have a goal of increasing our contribution by 10% each year.

Words and Deeds

The key distinction is sometimes between what businesses say and how they act. There are countless examples of corporations and big brands that ‘talk a good game’ that doesn’t always match the reality of how their products are sourced. Commitments to social value and sustainability apply right through the supply chain.

For sustainable social value, it’s hard to beat supporting local SME businesses and social enterprises. This approach returns many benefits to our business in bringing diverse experiences and perspectives to guide how we deliver projects and how we run our own operations. After all, innovation depends on looking outside of what you already know.

In a similar way, social value has to be driven by the communities we work with. This calls for real collaboration. Effective consultation and listening while people tell us what would make a difference to their lives is the foundation.

But a social value culture goes deeper. It involves co-designing and empowerment so that communities have ownership of the outcomes. It can’t be about what we find easy or convenient to deliver so that we can tick the box.

The challenge that comes with this is making sure that our values and standards (such as ethical sourcing of materials) are shared by all the organisations we work with.

Like just about everything that’s important in business, social value is a journey rather than a destination. It’s always been part of our culture as a family-owned business, which means we’re proud of what we’ve achieved and excited about what comes next.

For more information about Osborne’s approach to social value visit our website www.osborne.co.uk.