Local Government Procurement Expo 2019 was certainly an informative and valuable experience for the Circular Computing™ contingent, and hopefully for everyone else in attendance. A lot of presentations and conversations throughout the day were centred around the idea of social value, but what does that actually mean?
Social value is, in essence, the effect of a business’ operations and activities in the context of their wider economic, societal, and environmental impact. In recent years it has become increasingly important for businesses and their potential customers to bear in mind how operations impact upon individuals and communities as well as society as a whole. With this in mind, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals could be considered social value guidelines for the world.
Employment figures, quality of life, CO2 savings – everything can be converted into a monetary value which is balanced against financial cost to calculate the social value of an offering. For instance, every tonne of CO2 saved or offset equates to £60. As each Circular Computing laptop saves around 1/3 of a tonne in CO2, this means the carbon column in the social value index is worth approximately £20.
From a local government point of view social value is quite understandably focused on the local area, and this is definitely important. It is an interesting thought exercise to speculate whether operations elsewhere should also be taken into account. If Circular Computing™ plant trees in India and Zambia and in doing so we help to prevent flooding in Bognor Regis, is that not relevant to the conversation?
The social value index is a vital tool when it comes to making accurate comparisons in tendering – its all-encompassing nature means that whether a prospective contractor is big, small, local, or multinational they are judged on merit across a variety of criteria. Decisions being based on such factors as social and environmental impact of course offer even greater value to all involved through PR and CSR opportunities. Click here (http://go.circularcomputing.com/public-procurement/) to find out more about how Circular Computing™ can add social value for you and your community.
