Nearly £100m spent with social enterprises in the last year alone.
SAP UK & Ireland (UKI) is proud to be one of the 30 major UK businesses who have spent a landmark £355 million procuring services and products from social enterprise suppliers over the past seven years, as part of the Social Enterprise UK’s (SEUK) Buy Social Corporate Challenge (BSCC), new figures reveal.
BSCC, the world’s largest commitment to social procurement, has released its year seven report, which has found that the last year has been the biggest yet, with £99 million spent with social enterprises, 1,430 social enterprises brought into supply chains and 3,400 jobs created.
Social enterprises are businesses trading in aid of a social or environmental mission – and at SAP UKI we’re dedicated to bringing social enterprises into our supply chains, so that our everyday spending has a positive impact on the wider world.
Collectively, the Challenge partners have spent more than £99 million with social enterprise suppliers in the last year alone and are aiming to spend a billion by 2026. This means millions of pounds reinvested in social or environmental causes and thousands of jobs created, using our purchasing power to help people and planet.
This £99 million was spent across an approximate 860 social enterprises, a 43% rise compared to year six. £31.9 million has been reinvested into several missions of the social enterprises including supporting vulnerable people and addressing the climate emergency.
As one of 30 partners on the Challenge, SAP UKI works with SEUK to find suppliers for the products and services we need, from hospitality to consultancy and skills development to business support. Some of the social enterprises we’ve onboarded this year include Flawsome, who donate drinks to charities around the UK, reduce food waste, and invest into biodiversity conservation by protecting tropical rainforests, Lemonaid+ who fund social projects, and KarmaCola who help communities in Sierra Leone.
Peter Holbrook CBE, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: “The world of procurement is changing. Companies big and small need to consider how they impact people and planet, and make sure they actively work in a way that benefits communities and helps tackle environmental concerns. With nearly £100 million spent on businesses doing just that, this evidence shows the global cross-sector appetite for unlocking social value in everyday organisational spend is incredibly strong.”
Social value in procurement is a growing trend worldwide, and SAP UKI is committed to leading the way. Find out more in the latest impact report from Social Enterprise UK: www.socialenterprise.org.uk/seuk-report/buy-social-corporate-challenge-year-7-impact-report