The Social Value Tea 🍵: Week of April 30, 2025
Hello! 👋
Nil here with all the Social Value Tea for the week. Apologies for missing last week — we had some spam gremlins that forced us to do some email campaign tidying-up! All sorted now, so we’re back on track.
In this week’s roundup: regeneration plans under fire, businesses urged to rethink social value, and a groundbreaking new tool to better measure children’s wellbeing.
Scroll down for this week’s must-know updates, interesting reads, latest jobs, and more.
Enjoy xx
News news!
Stories you might have missed.
- Concerns over regeneration causing ‘irreversible damage’ to London’s markets and railway arches
Campaigners have raised alarm over the potential for major regeneration projects in the UK to cause irreversible harm to local communities. Critics argue that current redevelopment schemes risk displacing residents and weakening community ties, and are calling for a more inclusive, community-driven approach to regeneration. It comes as the Assembly’s planning and regeneration committee concludes its investigation into ‘social value’ assets, and whether they are being adequately protected in London’s planning processes.
Read more → The Evening Standard - PR campaign may have fuelled food study backlash, leaked document shows
A leaked document reveals that the backlash against a major food sustainability study, the EAT-Lancet report, was partly fueled by a coordinated PR campaign funded by the global meat industry. The campaign sought to discredit the study’s recommendations for a mostly plant-based diet by framing them as elitist and anti-farmer.
Read more → The Guardian - Social value culture must go beyond just money, expert says
An article from NationalWorld spotlights the growing call for businesses to embed a deeper “social value culture” that goes beyond financial measures. Catherine Manning is interviewed, emphasising that true social value must reflect real benefits for people, communities, and the environment — not just monetary outcomes.
Read more → National World - Unlocking Government Procurement for Tech SMEs – Addressing Social Value Challenges
A new report from techUK highlights the growing challenges that tech SMEs face in delivering social value in public sector procurement. Despite government efforts to embed social value into contracts, SMEs report barriers like limited resources, unclear evaluation criteria, and a lack of meaningful engagement. The report calls for clearer guidelines, better monitoring, and stronger collaboration to ensure social value commitments are achievable — not just a compliance exercise.
Read more → TechUK - Who was Virginia Giuffre? Epstein survivor helped spearhead battle against sex trafficker Virginia Giuffre was a prominent advocate for survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking, known for her courageous efforts in exposing the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and others. After publicly sharing her experiences of being trafficked as a teenager, she became a leading voice in the fight against sexual exploitation. Giuffre founded the nonprofit organization Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR) to support fellow survivors and worked tirelessly to bring attention to systemic issues surrounding abuse and accountability. Tragically, Giuffre died by suicide at her home in Western Australia at the age of 41.
Read more → The Independent - Coffee badging the new viral office trend that could damage your career
“Coffee badging” — where employees show up at the office briefly before leaving to work remotely — is the latest viral workplace trend, MSN reports. While some see it as a way to meet return-to-office demands without sacrificing flexibility, experts warn it could harm career progression by signalling disengagement to employers.
Read more → MSN
Caught our eye…
Interesting reads worth sharing.
Designing for impact | Behind the Pride in Leadership Report: This was more than just a design job. For Jodi Fox, working on the Pride in Leadership report was a full-circle moment. One filled with personal meaning, creative freedom, and a chance to help tell the stories that too often go unheard (Pride in Leadership is an organisation co-founded by Matt Haworth from Impact Reporting.)
30 Top Women in Sustainability on LinkedIn: To celebrate Earth Day, here’s a helpful list of Claire Connell’s favourite women innovators on LinkedIn who are driving impact in sustainability, the circular economy, renewable energy and beyond.
Why are impact investors still ignoring their diversity blind spots? Many impact investors are still failing to address diversity and inclusion within their own organisations, according to Pioneers Post. Despite a sector-wide focus on creating positive change, new analysis reveals persistent blind spots around internal equity, raising questions about whether investors are truly practising the values they promote.
Celebrating outcomes
Great examples of social value work worth showcasing
Client spotlight on: Active 360
Worth a read to learn how this social enterprise is making a real difference through itsSocial Value commitment and supporting communities, protecting the planet, and driving sustainable change for the communities they work in.
In the last year, Active 360 celebrated:
✅ Achieving the Bronze Social Value Quality Mark
🚶♂️ Reducing their carbon footprint & traveling green
💜 Investing in long-term positive community impact
Morris & Spottiswood Group has announced that it has generated £79 million of social value throughout 2024.
The figure has been generated through a range of initiatives – from facilitating accessible arts and culture programmes to enabling a brand-new mental health hub to open its doors for a socially isolated rural community.
Willmott Dixon has been working with seven people from Emmaus Hertfordshire, a charity that supports the homeless.
Service users, known as ‘companions,’ have been attending workshops run by the company. These sessions aim to rebuild their confidence and help them look at future opportunities.
Social value manager at Willmott Dixon, Natalie Sidey, said: “These are decent people from good backgrounds who need support to appreciate their own value.”
Check out RAW Workshop, and Oxford based, social enterprise (1) producing high quality commercial indoor & outdoor furniture and (2) operating circular economy services for corporate office spaces, hospitality brands, education establishments and institutions. They recently worked with Ridge and Partners LLP to design their new office furniture.
Who’s hiring?
Here’s this week’s latest social value jobs list, published every Friday via our LinkedIn company page.
- ESG Data: Sustainability Business Analyst at Deutsche Bank: https://lnkd.in/eeRwzwHH
- Global Marketing Manager – ESG & Reporting at Anthesis Group: https://lnkd.in/eaaSp6Wx
- Goldman Sachs Alternatives, Sustainability & Impact, ESG Product Design at Goldman Sachs: https://lnkd.in/ebW9pE67
- ESG Analyst at Quilter: https://lnkd.in/eE2mcAj3
- ESG and Sustainability Services Senior Consultant at RSM: https://lnkd.in/eFgzmG8J
- Consultant – ESG Due Diligence at ERM: https://lnkd.in/eTfhzzJA
- ESG Manager at ARAG Legal Services UK: https://lnkd.in/eqBUxuMV
- ESG Compliance & Reporting Lead at Acre: https://lnkd.in/epcTbW7Y
- Head of ESG at Sureserve: https://lnkd.in/e8mTMh3R
- Social Value Manager at EMCOR UK: https://lnkd.in/eEHindwY
- Senior Social Value Advisor at Laing O’Rourke: https://lnkd.in/eHkYtQ5J
- Social Value GP Surveyor at London Borough of Camden: https://lnkd.in/es8W2zAy
- Social Value Manager at Galliford Try: https://lnkd.in/eirXqyMe
- ATD – Social Value at Arcadis: https://lnkd.in/ePseJbKY
- Social Value Manager – Infrastructure Project at Mace: https://lnkd.in/eYg3rKYa
- Sales Specialist – Social Value at Accenture UK & Ireland: https://lnkd.in/eRyApyxC
- Environmental and Social Manager at ELLIPSE PROJECTS: https://lnkd.in/ePFQqHPG
- Senior Sustainability Manager at Channel 4: https://lnkd.in/e-KYn2K8
- Responsible Business & Sustainability Manager at Lewis Silkin: https://lnkd.in/eEH8KAMY
- Engagement & Development Officer at West Yorkshire Combined Authority: https://lnkd.in/ePfgP23z
- Strategy and Programmes Lead at Islington Council: https://lnkd.in/ecKMXKKf
Report, Podcasts and Webinars
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴?
The new C-WELLBY framework, developed by Isaac Parkes at the LSE Centre for Economic Performance, provides a method for valuing wellbeing in children under 10 — a major advancement in policy evaluation.
Until now, the WELLBY (Wellbeing-Adjusted Life Year) approach could only be applied to older children and adults. C-WELLBY translates scores from the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a widely used behavioural screening tool, into equivalent life satisfaction gains.
Parkes estimates a translation coefficient of -0.146, meaning that reducing a child’s SDQ score by 1 point increases their life satisfaction by 0.146 points. For example, if a policy intervention reduces a child’s SDQ score by 2 points, this would correspond to a 0.292-point increase in life satisfaction — equivalent to a monetary value of around £4,649 using HM Treasury’s 2023 WELLBY valuation (£15,920 per WELLBY).
This creates a robust, scalable method for assigning an economic value to improvements in young children’s wellbeing, allowing policymakers to integrate children’s mental health outcomes directly into cost-benefit analyses.
Let’s talk: Social Impact Measurement
Social value is under increasing scrutiny, but how do you separate genuine impact from murky claims? Even well-intended businesses can get caught out.
We’ll be joining Hattrick to deliver a webinar on May 1st, 9-10am, where we’ll explore the next chapter of greenwashing and how to avoid falling into the trap of ‘purpose-washing.’
Speakers:
🎤 Malin Cunningham – Founder of B Corp-certified agency @Hattrick & Carbon Literacy trainer
🎤 Matt Haworth – Co-Founder of @Impact Reporting & ‘tech for good’ entrepreneur behind the free new framework revolutionising the social value space, @MeasureUp
Together, we’ll cover:
✅ How vague reporting is diluting social value efforts
✅ The risks of taking social value claims at face value
✅ Progressive solutions helping businesses do better today
Where to be
Upcoming events, awards deadlines and networking opportunities
- YPSV AND GMSVN: Social Value Networking Event on April 30 in Manchester
- Sustainable Futures Awards deadline is April 30
- UK Construction Week in London from May 7-9
- ‘Understanding Social Value’ at Solent Hotel in Whiteley, Hampshire on May 15
- UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) 2025 on May 20 in Liverpool
- Procurex on May 21 in Liverpool (Impact Reporting speaking in the ESG Zone)
- SE100 Awards now open, due May 25th (Impact Reporting judging the Impact Management Pioneer award)
- B Corp Fest 2025 is June 5
- The Global Sustainability Partnership Network GSPN is June 4-5 in London
- Edie Net Zero awards now open, deadline is June 11
- Better Places Together Conference: Rethinking Engagement and Social Value is June 12th in Liverpool
- Global Sustainable Development Congress 2025 in June 16-19 in Turkey
- London Climate Action Week is June 21-29
- Reset Connect London 2025 will take place on 24-25 June at Excel London
What we’re loving outside of work…
BBC’s Race Across the World premiered last week and it was everything I loved about the series – the relationships, the bumps in the road, beautiful scenery and teams you want to root for. Looking forward to watching the next episode tonight.
If you’ve not grabbed the Dishoom’s cookbook, you are missing out! Some of the best Indian recipes I’ve found. I made the Okra Fries recently and they were quite a hit.
This week’s reading recommendation comes from our Head of Impact Practice, Catherine Manning: Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. It investigates the shocking root cause of gender inequality and research diving into women’s lives at home, the workplace, the public square, the doctor’s office, and more.
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