What is Social Value?
The SocialScore guide to Social Value
In recent years, the term “social value” has become a major focus across business, government, and community sectors. But what does it actually mean -and why should you care?
Whether you’re a small business owner, a charity, or an organisation that makes a difference, understanding your social value is the first step toward creating meaningful, measurable impact.
What is Social Value?
At its simplest, social value is about the positive impact an organisation creates beyond profit. It’s the wider benefit that your activities bring to people, communities, and the environment.
For example:
- Hiring locally to support employment in your community
- Using suppliers who prioritise sustainability
- Running projects that improve health, wellbeing, or education
- Reducing your environmental footprint
- Supporting volunteering or social enterprises
Social value asks: “How does what we do make life better for others?” then SocialScore helps you see the real-time difference you are making, online and “at-a-glance”.
Why Social Value Matters
Social value isn’t just a buzzword — it’s transforming how organisations operate and are evaluated.
Here’s why it matters:
It creates stronger communities.
When organisations invest in people and places, local economies grow, and communities thrive.
It drives sustainability.
Focusing on social and environmental outcomes helps address climate change and resource challenges.
It improves reputation and trust.
Customers, investors, and employees increasingly want to work with organisations that care.
It’s often a requirement.
In the UK, for example, the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 requires public sector contracts to consider social, economic, and environmental well-being in procurement.
How Social Value Works in Practice
Social value can take many forms, depending on your organisation’s size and mission. The good news is that you are probably already doing it!
We listen to you to truly understand the way you work and what you do already and then help you capture it, so you can keep it all in one place.
It is likely you are creating social value, just in the way that you work already and how you operate as an organisation – and as there are different ways of recording and reporting social value, we can help you understand all the social value you create and which frameworks to use, by talking through the things you already do. These might include:
Economic: Hiring locally, supporting apprenticeships, or ensuring that you pay the Living Wage
Social: Offering training, volunteering, or community support programmes
Environmental: Using green energy, cutting waste, or offsetting carbon emissions
Health & Wellbeing: Promoting mental health initiatives, flexible work, or active travel.
Small actions all add up in social value – so don’t think that you need to be a particular size or type of organisation to get the benefits of tracking and sharing your social value!
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