Every year our supply chain partners deliver social value initiatives which make a positive impact in our communities.
We are committed to providing social value through our supply chain to generate new projects for our communities.
It's Social Value Week which is about raising awareness of what social value is and the benefits it brings to communities.
Through the contributions from our supply chain partners we are able to create a greater impact through sustainability, environmental, and biodiversity projects in our communities.
In light of Social Value Week's Sustainability Day, we are sharing a few of our social value projects with external partners.
The Wild About Kingsbridge rewilding project was funded through a contribution from Jewson Partnership Solutions. With the help of community volunteers, the £1,200 funding transformed a steep bank in Kingsbridge with wildflowers to increase biodiversity.
Dan Stathers, Wild About Kingsbridge volunteer reflected on the project. He said: “The bank is right in the heart of town and is extremely steep, it’s almost like a natural amphitheatre.
“It had been thoroughly taken over by grassy tussocks, volunteers have been delicately cutting in terraces, raking out the dense thatch, and opening up the sward so wildflower seeds could be sown and plugs, and bulbs planted. With well over fifty native species introduced, we’ve also planted a small orchard, so there’s lots going on to help our struggling insects.”
The Doorstep to Neighbourhood Nature Engagement Project was funded thanks to help from our partnership with City Electrical Factors (CEF). They funded over £5,000 to the project, where over 300 people got involved with nature activities.
Construction businesses came together to build a new part of Pinhoe Primary School, in memory of one of the pupils. With the backing of Vistry Cornwall, an area that had fallen into disrepair was re-decked and revitalised. The space features a decking area, a serene flower bed and a bench for quiet reflection.
As a not-for-profit organisation, we continue to utilise the importance of social value and the role it plays in offering further support to our residents, colleagues, apprenticeships, environmental and sustainability impact, and community projects.
Helen Thomas, our Social Value Officer, said: “As part of our social value approach, our teams talk to residents in our communities, and to community organisations to identify needs and projects that may benefit from social value contributions.
“We know that by linking our communities with supply chain partners and their social value contributions, we can really add value and create social impact.
“Social value contributions can bring extra resources to the community through donations of materials or funding, but also through the direct involvement or support from partners on the ground. We look forward to more social value projects in future.”
To help deliver social value, LiveWest is part of the Social Value Leadership Group which is a network of social value leads from over 50 housing associations, local authorities, and other organisations working within the housing sector.
The focus of the group is to provide peer support, sharing good practice, quality, and working groups related to the delivery of contractor social value for the benefit of our communities.
Headline image by QLPS by Jon Barrett.