The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community
33 businesses, including Amey, CBRE, Compass Group, Equans, Mitie, Sodexo and Willmott Dixon, collectively spent £179 million with social enterprise suppliers in 2024, in the 9th year of the Buy Social Corporate Challenge.
Since the initiative launched in 2016, corporate partners have spent a total of £656 million with 2,100 social enterprise suppliers, creating nearly 6,000 jobs.
In 2024 alone, the scheme’s 33 corporate partners spent £179 million with social enterprise businesses, a 46 per cent increase from the year before, the highest since the initiative launched. Around 8.1 per cent of those social enterprises were in the facilities management space.
Social enterprises are defined as businesses that reinvest or donate at least 50 per cent of their profits back into a social or environmental mission. There are more than 131,000 social enterprises in the UK currently.
Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: “This isn’t just about doing good, it’s about doing good business. Social enterprises are delivering innovation, sustainability, and high-quality services to some of the UK’s most recognisable brands. We hope a government focused on growth will take note.
“As we get closer to our £1 billion target, we’re seeing proof that procurement can be one of the most powerful tools companies have to drive real social change.
“We’re calling on more corporates to explore how their procurement can drive lasting change and on social enterprises to seize the opportunity to grow through trade.”
Picture: a photograph showing a person placing a card holder into the inner pocket of their suit jacket. Image Credit: Unsplash
Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 18 June 2025
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...
Read Full Article30 UK businesses have spent £250 million procuring services and products from social enterprises and helped create 2,700 jobs in an ongoing programme from Social...
Read Full ArticleEnsuring a commitment to health and safety is a well-established practice. But companies are increasingly being held accountable for their suppliers' sustainability...
Read Full ArticleAlex Minett from CHAS, the supply chain risk management company, looks at seven issues that will affect supply chains in 2023. The last year has been challenging...
Read Full ArticleModern slavery and forced labour have a huge presence within facilities management, its supply chain and the wider built environment. ThisWeekinFM spoke to Helen...
Read Full Article70 per cent of respondents to Alcumus’ “Risk Barometer” say that they have been negatively impacted by a supplier in the last year. As supply chain...
Read Full ArticleFM procurement is known for being variable and complex, so how can sustainable practices be improved in this area? Watch the...
Read Full ArticleWhilst it’s commonplace for organisations to have their own Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, many overlook the power of a collaborative approach with their...
Read Full ArticleCorps Security is to deliver guarding services across Zurich’s UK portfolio which includes premises in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Swindon, Whiteley and...
Read Full ArticleEthical consumerism has become a big trend in recent years as consumers are becoming more concerned about where their money is going, and it’s not just...
Read Full Article.gif)
.png)
.png)
.jpg)
