Last week, we began breaking down the government’s new Annex A social value model. It could play a key role in helping your organisation better align its social value efforts with the government’s top priorities for building back better. So far, we’ve covered the themes of COVID-19 recovery and tackling economic inequalities.
Today, we’re turning our attention to the themes of fighting climate change, equal opportunity, and wellbeing.
Let’s jump straight in!
Fighting climate change
This theme centres around effective stewardship of the environment, calling for the responsible use and protection of it during the duration of contracts. Acting as an extension of the government’s predefined 25 Year Environment Plan, this might include opting for more sustainable and conservative practices throughout your projects, as well as ensuring this is a top priority for your wider partners and supply chain.
“The government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out goals for improving the environment within a generation and details how it will work with communities and businesses to do this. To meet the goals and targets it has set, the government has identified six key areas in the plan through which it will focus action.” – The Social Value Model
These six areas include:
- Using and managing land more sustainably
- Recovering nature and enhancing beauty
- Connecting people with nature
- Increasing resource efficiency and reducing waste
- Securing clean and biologically diverse seas and oceans
- Protecting and improving our global environment
In order to meet their deadlines of environmental progress and sustainability – including achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 – the government recognises the power of individual organisations and projects for delivering change. As such, this pillar of Annex A identifies how your organisation can further align its projects and procurement with global environmental progress.
The government breaks this theme down into two outcomes. The first, delivering additional environmental benefits during contracts, including working towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions. And the second, influencing staff, suppliers, customers, and communities to support environmental protection and improvement.
Examples of this theme in action across your projects
- Identify additional environmental benefits available throughout the duration of your contracts. This might include pre-contract engagement with a diverse range of organisations to maximise a project’s positive environmental impact ahead of time. Or collaborating with your wider supply chain once projects get underway to guarantee as much environmental benefit as possible.
- Deliver additional environmental benefits through projects. This could include habitat creation, increasing biodiversity, green space creation, or improved air quality.
- Make sure all staff, suppliers, customers, and stakeholders are on the same page regarding your commitment to environmental protection and improvement. This might involve raising awareness, engaging in co-creation, offering training and education, or offering volunteering opportunities.
- Engage the wider communities your projects take place in to ensure long-term commitments to improving the environment.
Equal opportunity
The purpose of this theme is twofold, both aiming to reduce the disability employment gap and tackle wider workforce inequality.
“The government is committed to increase the number of high quality applicants available, to create a workforce that reflects the diverse range of customers it serves and the communities in which it is based, and to bring additional skills to business. As part of these commitments, government is determined to see one million more disabled people in work over the next ten years.” – The Social Value Model
In the UK, there are around 8.4 million disabled people of working age. Of these, in the year to October-December 2020, 4.4 million (53.6%) were in work. The unemployment rate for disabled people also stood at 8.4%.
Of all working-age people without a disability, 81.7% are currently in work. And the unemployment rate stands at almost half that of disabled people (4.6%). It’s clear to see how far we still have to go in making our nation’s workforce more inclusive and accessible for disabled people.
“The government is committed to tackling inequality and giving everyone across the country the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The Good Work Plan affirms the government’s ambition that all work should be fair and decent, and that everyone, regardless of where they live in the UK or which sector they work in, should be able to benefit from high-quality jobs.” – The Social Value Model
As well as boosting employment opportunities for disabled people specifically, this theme looks to create better training and employment opportunities for all, advancing workplace equality and combatting modern slavery.
Examples of this theme in action across your projects
- Make an effort to better understand unique issues affecting disabled workers and actively set out to increase the representation of disabled people across your workforce. This might include gathering insight and expertise from disabled workers directly, in order to improve your support.
- Reduce barriers to entry for disabled workers. For example, by creating optimum working conditions, providing alternate routes of progression if needed, and encouraging better representation and support across your entire supply chain.
- Support disabled people throughout your contracts in the form of training and educational opportunities, with the end goals of career progression and recognised qualifications.
- Make efforts to ensure your own organisation, as well as your suppliers and partners, are more inclusive. You want working conditions that promote equality, accessibility, and encourage long-term retention of workers. This might also include offering flexible working arrangements.
- Take measures to monitor and mitigate modern slavery risks across entire projects and supply chains. This might involve carrying out necessary checks, undergoing regular checks, and identifying safeguarding processes and procedures.
Wellbeing
Lastly, we have wellbeing, a theme centred around improving the nation’s health and wellbeing, as well as improving community integration. The government guidance states:
“The government encourages employers to better support all employees, including those with mental health problems, to remain in and thrive through work.” – The Social Value Model
This theme calls for organisations to take responsibility for supporting the mental and physical health of their workforce. There’s also the suggestion to influence partner organisations, supply chains, and local communities to make health and wellbeing a priority throughout. This becomes especially important when considering the detrimental impact the pandemic has had on mental health across the nation. One in five adults experienced depressive symptoms in early 2021, more than double that seen before the pandemic.
This pillar also looks to bolster community integration, creating places and communities where everyone feels seen, heard, empowered to contribute, and able to thrive.
“As part of its drive to level up the UK economy, the government is committed to enabling communities everywhere to collaborate with local private and public sector organisations in creating a shared vision for the places in which they live and work.” – The Social Value Model
Examples of this theme in action across your projects
- Take action to invest in the health and wellbeing of a project’s workforce. This includes both their mental and physical health.
- Provide training and educational opportunities, or simply improve the awareness and commitment from your wider network. This includes customers, suppliers, communities, and stakeholders. Another key way to achieve this is through volunteering opportunities.
- Make local needs a key focus when designing and delivering projects. As well as giving local communities and stakeholders a voice and say in how projects unfold. This might take the form of focus groups, community outreach, local partnerships with other organisations and charities, or community representative bodies.
- Provide support and resources to other community-led initiatives that are relevant to the contract at hand. For example, tackling homelessness and poverty, improving transport links, or reducing crime.
- Take a flexible approach to combating prevalent issues in local communities, constantly looking for ways to do better and promoting consistent engagement with local stakeholders.
And that completes the set! The 5 pillars of the government’s Annex A model and the wider priorities set out for the next few years of recovery and growth here in the UK. Covering a wide range of outcomes, there’s something above for every organisation to start taking action on today and plenty of opportunities for instilling these priorities into projects both present and future.
At Impact, we offer a streamlined, real-time approach to projects and procurement. Putting your bid analysis and evaluation on autopilot, we keep the sourcing of suppliers simple and enable you to put your chosen social value priorities at the forefront of your decision-making process. If you want to find out more, get in touch on 0161 532 4752 or book a demo.