Social value survey: How much focus are construction firms really putting into social value?

Social value is one of the most discussed terms in construction circles of late, but a recent survey raises questions about just how seriously the sector is actually taking the issue.

Produced by Building in conjunction with Atkins and Faithful + Gould earlier this year, the survey asked respondents from the built environment for insights into their firms’ and the sector’s views, attitudes and policies toward social value.

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Commenting on the results Mark Bolger, technical director for social value at Atkins, says a worrying finding of this survey was that 64% of respondents’ organisations do not have a social value policy.

He says: “With PPN 06/20 coming into effect earlier this year, organisations both large and small will be making social value delivery promises at the procurement stage.

“However, without a social value policy in place, these organisations may fail to monitor, measure and report on social value in a meaningful way. If we want social value to work, policies must be set on both a national and organisational level.”

Peter Masonbrook, head of social Value at Faithful+Gould, adds that while the government has made a strong commitment to delivering more social value on infrastructure projects, without the supply chain upholding these commitments, the initiative falls short.

He says: “With only 23% of respondents feeling that social value is well understood at their organisation, training on social value needs to happen quickly so that everyone in the supply chain is up to speed and ready to deliver on their promises.”

Take a look at some of the other key results.