EMCOR UK Whitepaper on Social Value

A new whitepaper from EMCOR UK argues the FM sector can deliver £26 billion of social value by implementing programmes and initiatives similar to ones it has quantified through the Social Value Portal.

The importance of social value

Social value is at the forefront of many business agendas as they look to demonstrate a positive impact to their customers, employees and shareholders.

EMCOR UK argues stakeholders increasingly seek out responsible businesses that deliver ‘social good’ to buy services from, work for or invest in.

Contributors to the whitepaper include:

• Keith Chanter, CEO, discussing the importance of the UN Social Development Goals (SDG);
• Guy Battle, chief executive of Social Value Portal, who outlines crucial steps that organisations should undertake;
• Andy Brown, group chief sustainability officer at Anglian Water Group, who describes how EMCOR UK and Anglian Water developed a social value framework.

What can organisations do to implement social value? 

Social value encompasses many social, environmental, and financial elements, and its complexity means there is no singular way for strategies to be developed.

However, the whitepaper does recommend ten widely applicable steps that all organisations can use to begin their journey, and emphasises the importance of culture:

Social value is about telling a story. For all the great results you might achieve, they will not have the same impact without a reporting tool and  a strong marketing team to share the outputs and outcomes. On top of this, there has to be buy-in and a purpose-driven culture throughout the business. Social value is about people, and culture is critical.

Roy Ramrutton, the company’s Head of Social Value, comments: “Building and providing social value is a pillar of our day-to-day operations and the FM industry is in a unique position to drive massive change across the numerous sectors we work in.

“Social value is no longer a nice to do – it’s imperative that businesses have a detailed strategy with defined targets and timeframes. We have a duty to be proactive with our clients in helping them plan and succeed with their social value journeys.”

Download “How FM providers can help businesses unlock social value”.

Social value is no longer a nice to do – it’s imperative that businesses have a detailed strategy with defined targets and timeframes.