Almost £100m Spent With Social Enterprises in Buy Social Corporate Challenge

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• Almost £100m Spent With Social Enterprises in Buy Social Corporate Challenge

09 August 2023

A project supported by FM and commercial property companies such as Amey, CBRE, Compass, Equans, Mitie, Wates Group and Willmott Dixon has hit a £99 million spending milestone and created thousands of jobs in organisations tackling social and environmental issues.

Launched in 2016, the Buy Social Corporate Challenge (BSCC)  was set up to encourage corporates to use their everyday procurement spend to create positive social and environmental impact. Membership body Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) works with 30 large businesses to find social enterprise suppliers for products and services from hospitality to consultancy.

SEUK’s latest report shows the past year has been the biggest yet, with BSCC partners collectively spending more than £350 million and social enterprises reinvesting nearly £32 million since the Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched BSCC in 2016.

The BSCC blueprint of corporates purchasing from social enterprises has also created an estimated 3,400 jobs overall, often for those facing additional barriers to the labour market such as people with disabilities, people who have been in prison or people who have experienced homelessness.

SEUK estimates that 860 social enterprises supplied products and services to BSCC partners in the past 12 months, a rise of 43 per cent on last year’s figures.

Peter Holbrook CBE, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: “The world of procurement is changing. Companies big and small need to consider how they impact people and planet, and make sure they actively work in a way that benefits communities and helps tackle environmental concerns. With nearly £100 million spent on businesses doing just that, this evidence shows the global cross-sector appetite for unlocking social value in everyday organisational spend is incredibly strong.”

Picture: a photograph of people seated at a table in a work meeting. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 09 August 2023

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