What is social value?
Social value encompasses the broader positive impact organisations create in the communities in which they operate.
It considers social, economic, and environmental outcomes and quantifies the benefits organisations bring to society as a whole.
Crucially, it captures the value organisations generate beyond what they are paid to deliver.
For third sector organisations like Career Connect, where social value is integral to the services we provide to schools, local authorities, and prisons, measuring and demonstrating this value presents a unique challenge.
How do we measure social value?
To estimate Career Connect’s social value in monetary terms, we use the TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, and Measures) calculator, a standardised tool developed by Social Enterprise UK and the National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO).
By identifying relevant themes, outcomes, and measures specific to various sectors and areas of our work, the calculator provides a methodology for quantifying the monetary value of our social value outcomes.
In 2023/24, we created more than £8million of Social Value through:
- Promoting local skills and employment through the creation of apprenticeships, training opportunities and providing a Real Living Wage to our staff
- Supporting responsible regional business growth through our support for mental health and wellbeing initiatives, equality and diversity, both for Career Connect and our local supply chains
- Cultivating healthier, safer, and more resilient communities; and through our Beneficiary Fund
- Decarbonising and safeguarding our environment through a range of initiatives to reduce our environmental impact
A key theme for us in 2023/24 was on reducing the impact that our carbon emissions make on the environment. We worked with Positive Planet to establish our baseline emissions at the start of the year.
These consist of:
Scope 1 emissions: direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources owned or
controlled by a company, such as emissions from the combustion of fuels in on-site boilers,
furnaces, or vehicles.
Scope 2 emissions: indirect greenhouse gas emissions that result from the generation of
purchased electricity, steam or other forms of energy consumed by a company.
Scope 3 emissions: all other indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur in an organisation’s
value chain, including emissions from upstream and downstream activities.
From this baseline, we have agreed the following targets.
Our near-term targets:
• Reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 60% by 2030.
• At all paid offices, procure 80% renewable electricity by 2025 and 100%
by 2030.
• Reduce Scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2030.
• Measure all scope 3 categories by 2026.•
Our long-term targets:
• Reduce our total market-based emissions (scope 1, 2 and 3) by at least 90% by 2040.
• Neutralise any residual emissions using verified carbon offsets.
We will be reporting annually on our progress against these targets.
As part of our efforts to reduce emissions, we ran a full-day Carbon Literacy training for staff, leading to measurable action plans of how we will reduce the charity’s emissions.