Posted on 13-December-2022   by Kevin Cundy

What social value is, and why it matters to us

Every business makes an impact on society – some negative and some positive. Social value is the contribution organisations make to society and in particular to our local environment and communities in which we operate to improve the social, environmental and economic impact of an activity.

Social value covers things that impact on people such as employment, education and skills, health and wellbeing, air quality and carbon emissions.

From providing local employment opportunities and training the next generation of apprentices, to supporting Crisis at Christmas and fulfilling our Sustainability Promise, Daniels Healthcare is focussing on the positive impacts we can create.

Big picture activities

As well as tackling the big issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, plastic use and equal opportunities, there are many other smaller scale practices and initiatives in place here that are making their own positive impacts. This includes our trained mental health leads to support staff wellbeing, the provision of electric vehicle chargers to encourage and enable sustainable transport, and investment in a new multi-million machine to boost UK manufacturing capabilities.

Social value data is being used in our organisational decision making continuously and systems and processes are being reviewed and improved as a result. It forms part of a long-term, ongoing commitment to do better for individuals, communities, and the planet by making decisions about where to invest resources to create more social value.

Social value in the NHS

For the NHS, there has been a recent and notable shift in its prioritisation of social value after the launch of the government’s Social Value Act last year. They recognise the positive impact that suppliers can bring on its behalf, alongside the contribution we make to it meeting its net zero carbon targets. Its aim is to engage with suppliers on social value, so collectively we can positively contribute to the overall wellbeing of our society.

Specifically, social value in NHS procurement and the supply chain is about forming collaborative relationships between NHS procurement professionals and suppliers (something we’ve got decades of experience doing!) that contribute as much social value as possible within every contract. And we’re thrilled to be able to share all the work we’re doing as a key supplier to our NHS and it embeds social value in the procurement process.

“Our impact is global in terms of carbon and social value. We recognise the huge impact our suppliers, whether they are UK-based or global, have on our behalf. We are engaging with them on sustainability, so we can positively contribute to the overall wellbeing of the environment, through alignment to NHS England’s roadmap”.

Martin Toomey, Sustainability Manager, NHS Supply Chain

By changing the way we account for value, i.e not just financial outcomes, we will be working towards more sustainable and equitable society while maintaining the ‘golden thread’ of affordability and quality of our products. Which is also simply known by us as “doing the right thing”.

Kevin Cundy

Head of Sales and Marketing for Mauser UK & Ireland. Kevin works with our Trade and National sales teams to bring our containers to the market in these regions. He also works with our marketing team to help develop our customer training and communication materials.