A report by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) has revealed that one in three councils in England now routinely considers social value and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in their procurement and commissioning, with one in four having a social value policy.
The report puts local authorities into four categories; embracers, adopters, compliers and bystanders. The categories are based on the existence of a social value policy, the scope of contracts to which they apply social value, and how social value is implemented.
The SEUK report outlines how councils scored social value and CSR when putting contracts out to tender, with some including clauses and terms, and others including weighting.
The complier councils (45%) gave social value a 5% weighting in their procurement. The adopter Councils (19%) scored social value between 5-10% of the overall score, whilst the embracer councils (14%) scored social value as high as 30%.
Peter Holbrook, CEO at SEUK, has stated that many councils are “unsung heroes”, going beyond the Act’s obligations to create positive change in their communities.”
Find the article here.
A robust approach to Corporate Social Responsibility can give you an advantage in the tender process.
Thornton & Lowe’s Corporate Social Responsibility specialist will provide you with the guidance and tools to help develop, improve and maintain your own approach.
Our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) 1-day workshop covers the following areas:
- CSR explained
- Understanding your own CSR
- Looking beyond your organisation
- CSR in your tenders
