Adding social value has become a key focus for lots of business over the past few years. Businesses not only need to consider the financial costs of a project but also they need to consider the wider social implications and how their project can add value to their local community.
The Social Value Act was introduced in 2013 to ensure that people who commission public services think about how they can also secure wider social, economic and environmental benefits. It also makes extremely good sense to carry these principles into tenders for private contracts as well as public commissions.
Let’s look at social value and what it is.
Social Value is about businesses thinking about more than just making money, it’s about having a positive impact on their local community. By having a positive impact a business will be adding social value.
As a subcontractor, we are limited by our scope of work as to what impact on social value we can have on a project however as a company we strive to have an impact in the following ways:
· Environmental impact – we target local jobs to reduce the amount of travel that we make
We use local suppliers where at all possible, supporting the local job market and reducing delivery costs and the environmental impact of delivery.
· Employment - we support our local workforce and we offer training to upskill our existing workforce. Fully funded courses are offered to staff at SCH to help them progress in their chosen career path. We currently have 4 apprentices on board with us at SCH. They have progressed within their role through the support and training we offer here.
· Supporting Local Community – We are keen to get involved with supporting young people into workplace through work experience and apprenticeships and training. We support local charities and we provide sponsorship to local grassroots sports teams.
Social Value is not an addition to what we do but rather it is how we try and work and support our local community on a day to day basis. Supporting our own local workforce is of great importance to us and is an area where we can add social value in a meaningful way.
If you would like to enquire with SCH for any steel fabrication and erection, get in touch with SCH today!