What is Social Value?

Having ‘social value’ involves a strategic process of positively impacting societies and is achievable by all organisations regardless of their finances, scale or business focus. Social value moves beyond our current understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility which is often justified by the business case and seen as an ‘add-on’ to the business.

Social value sits at the heart of an organisation and is the socially impactful product of the company’s culture, ethos and strategy. It is simply good business practice.

‘Social value’ is more of an umbrella term and can be described as ‘social impact’, ‘social responsibility’, or simply ‘sustainability’, depending on the sector. Regardless of the name, it is about delivering change from all organisations, not just corporate businesses.

Reporting on social value is an important part of this process. There is a monetary dimension to social impact reporting, and while this is vital, there are richer outcomes that showcase the wider impact of your organisation. Robust data insights are needed to inform future social investments.