Thought Leadership

Measuring the emissions of supply chains is complex and time-consuming, writes Andy Daly, Head of Corporate Partnerships at SEUK. But simple changes can help give the climate the urgent action it needs now. If you've been thinking more about the environment and climate change recently, we're not surprised. With lawns, parks and fields the colour of straw and drought declared, the hottest summer on record has vividly illustrated how future seasons might feel. The UK Prime Minister has chaired emergency Cobra meetings in response to extreme heat, which brings into sharp focus that climate action is needed more urgently than ever. Along with government and citizens, the push to reach Net Zero needs business to step up to the challenge. It's under-reported that Net Zero strategy sits with two government departments: the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as well as the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). For the private sector, Scope 1 and 2 emissions (internal emissions within a company's direct operational control) are crucial in effecting change, but holistic climate action can only come when a company looks to its supply chain and focuses on measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions (indirect emissions across the company's value chain). For businesses, there is a tension between measuring and reducing Scope 3 emissions. As data ultimately drives change, measuring is important. However, it is also difficult and time-consuming, requiring the administration of supplier surveys, self-certification, benchmark estimation or a combination of all of the above. Unfortunately, measurement can become an end in itself, pulling resources away from activities which actually reduce emissions. To do that, companies need to take decisions even when the data is imperfect. They need to change purchasing behaviours, product/service specifications, and suppliers. How social enterprises can help Aggregate-level data for categories or business types can be useful in this context, and our research shows that about one in six social enterprises has a core mission addressing the climate emergency. We define social enterprises as businesses which trade for a social or environmental purpose, and many of them are already leading the way in helping businesses hit their Net Zero targets. If businesses are serious about actually moving the dial on carbon emissions in their supply chain, which social enterprise suppliers should they be engaging with? Opportunities are often closer to hand than businesses realise, and sometimes as unglamorous as the contents of a supply cupboard. Take the handwash in your bathrooms: Amplify Goods transforms this everyday essential into a low-carbon alternative, cutting emissions by 83% compared to conventional soap, while helping clients track and assess their savings along the way. Toilet paper is a less obvious target, but Serious Tissues makes the case for it too as a business founded on the startling fact that a million trees are felled every day just to make the stuff. Its planet-friendly toilet paper, laundry sheets and hygiene essentials are built for facilities managers and businesses that want a straightforward switch, with impact measurement handled for them rather than left as another task on the to-do list. The same logic extends to the promotional items that make up part of many marketing budgets. Eco Everyday helps organisations tackle their climate impact here too, providing ethical and sustainable promotional products and bespoke design work in place of the usual throwaway freebies. In the built environment, waste management is a particularly rich opportunity area. Oxford Wood Recycling works with businesses of all sizes across Oxfordshire, including large private sector companies, to collect waste wood and divert it into reuse or recycling routes such as biomass fuel, saving tonnes of CO2 in the process. And it's not just about what happens to waste today: Class Of Your Own is shaping the workforce of tomorrow, working with the same sector to educate young people on sustainability, net zero, biodiversity, carbon literacy and responsible design. Climate action doesn't have to stop at the office door, either. Mobilityways works with large employers to decarbonise something most businesses overlook entirely: the daily commute. They do it through an innovative climate-tech solution that contributes to real reductions in CO2 and air pollution. What unites these examples is that, as well as directly reducing their clients' carbon footprint, social enterprises can act as catalysts for more innovative, transformative change, going above and beyond minimum standards and pushing the boundaries of what's possible on climate action. Social Enterprise UK supports a wide range of businesses to leverage their everyday business spend for social and environmental benefit through programmes such as the Buy Social Corporate Challenge. Contact us on socialprocurement@socialenterprise.org.uk  To discuss how this support could work for your business. We would love to connect. To discover more social enterprises you could partner with, visit our Social Enterprise Directory

Unity Trust Bank’s half year results show its customer base reached a record high of over 11,800 while deposits surpassed £2bn for the first time. Organisations choosing business banking with Unity supported £155.7m in new lending in the first six months of 2026 – up seven per cent from the same period last year. Almost half of this financing met the ABC of Enterprise Impact ‘C – Contribute to Solutions’ grade, meaning the loans actively addressed social or environmental challenges. As the award-winning social impact bank continues to make a difference where it is needed most, 64% of loans were distributed to disadvantaged communities driving purposeful change. Unity is committed to working with sectors that improve local communities such as health and social care, housing and education. Funding between January to June helped to support 4,784 homes; 646 care beds, 235 day care spaces; 3,263 jobs and over 2.5m prescriptions. Unity also helped over 150 small businesses by providing just under £14m to seven Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs). Unity’s profitability remains strong, despite the uncertain economic environment and the bank’s strategic investment in infrastructure and customer service, with profit before tax standing at £22.8m (HY 25: £28.6m). Colin Fyfe, CEO at Unity Trust Bank, said: “We believe that who you bank with matters – and our customers know that their money will only be used to support organisations that improve local communities in the UK. “Surpassing £2bn in deposits is an important milestone for us. It enables us to keep supporting our socially-minded customers to deliver positive impact. “We started this year with a clear purpose-led growth ambition to increase the scale of our lending, customer base and impact while maintaining financial resilience and disciplined risk management. I’m delighted to say that we are achieving that. “We’ve also retained our investment grade credit rating from global ratings agency Fitch, which is testament to Unity’s maturity, strength and resilience.” Unity has already exceeded its cumulative green lending target by nearly 200%. This has been achieved through funding allocated to high energy efficiency properties and Green Tariff loans, which help customers decarbonise their facilities and invest in nature-based solutions. Last year Unity became the first bank to help councils tackle climate change by investing £6.3m in Local Climate Bonds. A further £1.4m was invested in the first half of 2026, supporting six local authorities. In addition, Unity provided £102m to support nine local authorities through Money Market loans. Unity has also delivered improvements to its customer experience journeys, making business banking easier, faster and more inclusive for customers. Customer satisfaction scores increased to 85% in June, and the bank’s commitment to customer service was awarded the Service Mark Accreditation from the Institute of Customer Service. Through the Unity & Me employee forum, 39 good causes benefitted from over £46,400 worth of grants and donations – with the aim of reaching £80,000 by the end of 2026. Colin added: “Unity remains committed to delivering sustainable, purpose-led growth through our double bottom line strategy and we will continue to support organisations delivering positive change and creating long-term value for communities across the UK.” unity.co.uk About Unity Trust Bank Unity Trust Bank has been around for over 40 years, but demand for our way of banking has never been higher. We play a strategic role in the banking sector and economy. We serve unmet customer needs at a time when the frontline organisations that strong communities rely on need more, not less support. Today, over half of our lending goes to areas of high deprivation. Unity is a proven alternative business banking model with momentum and outsized impact. Our approach doesn’t put financial return above social or environmental impact. We recognise they all feed each other. We offer our customers deep expertise, long-term relationships, flexibility and a personal touch, giving security and confidence to the organisations that are the lifeblood of local economies. Our commitment to values-led banking has been recognised with the King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development, a national honour that reflects the positive impact we create alongside our customers and communities. Our ambition is to scale our approach, enabling more organisations to thrive, decarbonize and improve quality of life where it is needed most.

This Monday (10th), Turning Point released its annual social value report. This year the organisation has been able to evidence £171.95m in social value. However, our true social value goes far beyond that. It is the positive effect on people's lives and communities that is the true testament. Turning Point’s social impact includes the contributions it makes to local communities. It invested £10.79m in local voluntary community, social enterprise organisations. It supported dozens of organisations around the country such as Active Luton; Aspire Oxfordshire Community Enterprise; Age UK Leicestershire & Rutland; Healthwatch Herefordshire; Mind in the City, Hackney and Waltham Forest; and Suffolk Family Carers.  Julie Bass, Turning Point Chief Executive, said:  "Social value is an integral part of our vision. For more than 60 years, we have supported people to improve their health, wellbeing and independence, creating benefits that extend far beyond the services we deliver.   "This report demonstrates the difference Turning Point makes every day as a purpose-driven people-focussed business: supporting individuals to thrive, strengthening communities, reducing inequalities and creating lasting value for society.   "I am incredibly proud of the impact achieved by our colleagues, partners, volunteers and the people we support."  Read the report here turning-point.co.uk

On 7 August, Chris Sylvester, a recovering heroin addict, is going to sit in a bathtub in Leeds City Square for up to 3 days. He's doing it because he knows what it feels like to be trapped by addiction. He's doing it to try to raise £50k to help other people get clean. Two out of three employers say they wouldn’t employ a former crack or heroin addict. Unemployment is a clear driver of relapse. Getting Clean aims to smash the stigma around addiction and demonstrate that addicts can be some of the most productive members of society by employing recovering addicts to make and sell natural soap. It pledges to donate 50% of company profits to supporting people in recovery. It's mission is “to ensure that all addicts in the UK have access to peer support and employment opportunities”. Chris is the Founder of Getting Clean. After being introduced to heroin at the age of 12, Chris spent 20+ years in active addiction, meaning cycles of crime, prisons, hospitals and homelessness. At the age of 35 he found recovery. As soon as he got clean, he knew that he needed to help other people get clean too. After a few years in support work and running a community project, he realised the best way to help people get clean would be with soap. The event’s goal is to sell £50,000 of soap, which enables a £20,000 donation directly to a lived-experience recovery project led by Forward Leeds. Beyond the event, Getting Clean’s model channels support to people in recovery through both employment and its 50%-of-profits pledge. To find out more about the event, the life changing work carried out by Getting Clean, and how you can contribute through buying some soap visit gettingclean.co.uk/pages/tubtrap

Today's government announcement that public spending must back British jobs and skills in every postcode, set out in new Procurement Policy Note (PPN) 026, is another important step in Social Enterprise UK’s work to ensure public spending strengthens communities. We're especially pleased to see Andy Burnham's government putting social value at the heart of its agenda so early in his premiership.   Raising the minimum weighting for local social and economic benefit to 20% on contracts worth £5 million or more builds directly on the Public Services (Social Value) Act we proposed, helped pass in 2012, and have continued to champion and evolve since (and similarly with the Procurement Act that followed). We also welcome the stronger KPI reporting, including the new provision that poor performance against social value commitments can count against suppliers bidding for future contracts. For too long, social value has been a box to tick rather than a promise to keep, and government is right to say so. What’s changed?  Some of what’s been announced isn’t new. Procurement Policy Note 026 effectively supersedes PPN 002, which already covered fair work, skills for growth, employment for people facing barriers, and pipelines of opportunity for under-represented groups. What's genuinely new is narrower: jobs and skills are now the only route to meeting the weighting, whereas before, authorities could previously use climate, wellbeing or supply-chain outcomes instead. The weighting rises meaningfully at the top end; and the threshold rises to £1 million.   That £1 million threshold is our first concern. Raising it is framed as cutting red tape for small businesses, and easier routes for social enterprises bidding directly are welcome. But it also means social value requirements simply stop applying below that level - a tier where many social enterprises compete. A rule meant to open the door for small suppliers shouldn't quietly remove the lever that makes buyers choose them. It raises the prospect of a situation where a profit maximising private sector company with a large bid team outscores a social enterprise which focuses on job creation. We'd like a more proportionate approach below £1 million, rather than a blanket exemption.  It's also worth the government remembering who already delivers exactly these priorities. Our latest State of Social Enterprise research shows social enterprises employ an average of 72 people each across the UK's more than 100,000 social enterprises, with 43% specifically employing people from disadvantaged groups and 83% paying the Real Living Wage. Creating good jobs and routes into work for young people and those facing barriers isn't a new ask for social enterprises, it's what many were set up to do, and they should be direct beneficiaries of the new weighting, not just intermediaries helping larger contractors hit their targets.  Resilient supply chains  We’re also concerned about the loss of direction for commissioners that was in PPN 002: "Increase supply chain resilience". That rewarded suppliers for a diverse supply chain, including SMEs, VCSEs and mutuals: the closest thing the current model has to incentivising large contractors to buy from social enterprises.  PPN 026's Annex A contains only two outcomes, Good Jobs and Skills, and neither scores supply chain composition. The only remaining mention of VCSEs is a note about ensuring the criteria chosen are ones VCSEs can bid against, which gives accessibility for bidders, but doesn’t reward the larger organisations buying from them.  We know the alternative works. Amey, quoted in today's announcement, is a partner in our Buy Social Corporate Challenge, through which major businesses commit to spending on social enterprises rather than simply hiring directly. Amey's reported social value rose from £211 million to £248 million last year, plausibly reflecting the very outcome PPN 026 has now dropped.   If that route disappears, government risks removing the lever pulling large contractors towards social enterprises even as it raises the overall score; a contractor could hit the full 20% weighting through direct hiring alone, with no obligation to touch its supply chain. With this government’s focus on jobs, it’s pertinent that nearly 8,000 jobs have been created by corporates procuring from social enterprises through the Buy Social Corporate Challenge. That's our central ask for the autumn technical guidance: reinstate supply chain diversity, including VCSE participation, as a scored outcome, whether standalone or built into the Skills and Good Jobs criteria. We'd also like sub-contracting transparency, so buyers can see where social value spend actually lands, and independent verification of KPIs rather than self-reporting.  The opportunity ahead Public procurement is worth £90 billion a year. Getting this right could mean billions more reaching the organisations best placed to create good jobs and close skills gaps. Getting it wrong means large contractors meet the new weighting through direct hiring alone, while the route pulling spend towards social enterprises quietly closes.   We appreciate the new willingness of this government to engage with SEUK, which has led to meaningful dialogue with the Cabinet Office and No.10. We've spent over a decade proving what works, and we'd welcome the chance to bring that evidence into the guidance process before the rules take effect in January 2027. 5 August 2026

The Centre for Information Resilience (CIR) won the International Impact Award at the 2025 UK Social Enterprise Awards for work that includes geolocating war crimes in Palestine, Sudan and Myanmar. As tickets go on sale for this year's Awards, we look at how CIR co-founder Adam Rutland built a team of open-source investigators who turn phone footage and satellite images into courtroom-ready evidence. "There are a lot of bad people doing a lot of bad things around the world. Our mission is to say one thing to them: we're watching you." Not many award acceptance speeches sound like a defiant warning. Adam Rutland's, accepting the International Impact Award at the 2025 UK Social Enterprise Awards, was made all the more memorable because of it. The co-founder's speech was certainly different, something that could also be said of his organisation. Visit CIR's website, and you'll find reports of wrongdoing by what it calls ‘malign actors’. At the time of writing, this included investigations into whether Israeli displacement orders were sending Gazans to genuinely safe zones, how access to water (a basic human right) was being used as a weapon in Syria, and how far-right groups are spreading misinformation about London. Tracking a massacre from a phone video One case shows just how fascinating and painstaking that work is. CIR found a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) camp in Libya. The RSF is one of two factions fighting Sudan's civil war, which has raged since April 2023. CIR was able to prove that fighters from the camp were involved in an attack on the Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur in Sudan; once home to 500,000 internally displaced people, it is now an RSF military base. A massacre took place there, and most of that number were forced to flee again. CIR traced the camp by studying phone footage RSF fighters had posted online and cross-referencing satellite images showing light sources from desert encampments at night. Investigators then built 3D models of vehicles from the footage, identifying them by markings such as words written in the dust on windscreens and existing damage. Famine took hold in Darfur as food supplies dried up, but the supply of military equipment to the RSF hadn't, and CIR traced where some of it was coming from. Much of CIR's work uses this kind of technology. Many of their published investigations include interactive maps, with dots marking specific incidents; click on one and you might find phone footage that's been verified through geolocation. "Our ability to harness technology, and the methodology that some of us learnt in government — and some of us learnt outside of government — has allowed us for the first time to really move from simply collecting information to collecting evidence that can be used for an impact on the ground," says Rutland. As well as raising public awareness of harms around the world, that evidence is used in national and international courts to prosecute war crimes and other abuses, helping deliver justice for victims, he explains. From diplomacy to digital investigation Rutland was drawn to this work after 15 years as a Foreign Office diplomat, posted to a variety of countries. "In all of those places there were obviously harms, sometimes by authoritarian regimes and sometimes by online actors. And when I came back to the UK, I was determined to do something about it," he says. Geographically at least, he's still close to government: CIR's office is housed in a 19th-century building near Whitehall. Centre for Information Resilience launched in 2020 and now employs 65 people, with a further 200 investigators and analysts working across 42 countries. Rutland describes CIR as a high-end research organisation. "We like to find really difficult, hard-to-find information and package it up for news organisations, for governments, for NGOs, primarily to help the fight against human rights abuses and online harm," he says, explaining the organisation's revenue model and who its clients are. Casting our lot Rutland admits the work CIR does is "quite dark sometimes", which is partly what led the organisation to enter last year's UK Social Enterprise Awards. "I thought it was a good idea for us to maybe just lift our head up a little bit, look at the other social enterprise organisations doing good in the world, and just cast our lot to see if people thought what we were doing was worthwhile." Rutland describes the win as "fantastic," and a tribute to the hundreds of people behind CIR's work. His acceptance speech wasn't planned. "I wanted people to know that they can't commit crimes in the dark, that there is a light shining on what they're doing. And ultimately, somewhere, at some time, justice will be served." info-res.org

By Jovan Owusu-Nepaul - Head of Public Affairs at Social Enterprise UK Today (Monday 20 June) Andy Burnham entered Downing Street. With an already warm slogan shaping his world view, 'good growth in every postcode and hope in every heart', he marries together heart and head in hopes of re-casting the direction of British politics. In it, forging a new path for how we arrange our social and economic life. Despite the fact that he will inherit an economy still on a quest for growth and increasingly squeezed by a ballooning welfare state, Burnham sets to inherit greater economic stability, and one where interest rates have climbed down to more manageable levels. Albeit not the 2.5% BoE target. However, all of this is completely irrelevant if communities still feel far too disconnected from economic prosperity. After six previous Prime Ministers, Burnham's government will rightly be judged on whether it can deliver growth that reaches every part of the country. This isn't just growth in GDP, but growth in opportunity and wellbeing in a more resilient economy. Social enterprises are ready to deliver on this mission. In Britain today, there are around 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, with a collective turnover of £60 billion and employing around 2.3 million people. They provide childcare, health and social care, housing, education, culture, environmental services and reignite the high street with purpose. Unlike conventional businesses, their profits are reinvested into the communities they serve. Andy Burnham has long recognised the value of business with purpose. As Mayor of Greater Manchester, he championed the role of social value in procurement and demonstrated how economic development can be aligned with community benefit. His commitment to ensuring public contracts properly account for social value is an important foundation. But there is an opportunity now to build. If a Burnham government wants to build an economy that works for everyone, social enterprise must be at the heart of this economic and reindustrial strategy. This includes as part of government's public service reform and devolution agenda. Here are five actions that could be taken within the first 100 days. 1. Give social enterprise a seat at the table Establishing the Office for the Impact Economy was a great step for social enterprises but they have too often fallen between government departments, considered as neither wholly business nor wholly civil society. That must change. Government needs to formally recognise social enterprise as part of the UK's business economy, with ministerial responsibility sitting within the Department for Business and Trade, working in tandem with social enterprises on the ground and experts who work collaboratively with the Office for the Impact Economy. 2. Launch a cross-government social enterprise strategy The contribution social enterprises make to economic growth is outsized. Consider employment, health, housing, education, net zero and local regeneration, to name a few.  Yet policy affecting the sector remains fragmented. Within its first 100 days, government should commission a cross-government Social Enterprise Strategy, coordinated from the centre of government (No10 and the Cabinet Office) with clear responsibilities between departments and measurable outcomes, and working together with social enterprises, sector leaders and civil servants. This would ensure social enterprise becomes a delivery partner for the government's agenda rather than an afterthought. 3. Put social value at the heart of public spending Government spends hundreds of billions of pounds each year buying goods and services. Burnham has already committed to strengthening social value in procurement. The next step is implementation: ensuring every department measures social value consistently and equitably, whilst increasing opportunities for social enterprises to compete fairly, and removing unnecessary barriers that favour large incumbents over innovative local providers. Public money should create social value. 4. Make growth more inclusive Labour has committed to creating a stronger economy and supporting more diverse business models. Social enterprises already demonstrate that commercial success and social impact can go hand in hand. We do not need to farm our services and domestic assets (housing, children's care) to overseas private equity. Government should ensure social enterprises are fully included in business support programmes, regional growth funds, export support and innovation initiatives. They should not need separate programmes, they should have equal access to mainstream economic policy. It is time to support the British social entrepreneur who leads in their community and creates localised community prosperity. 5. Back community wealth building Economic growth is strongest when wealth stays within local communities. Government should work with mayoral authorities and local councils to expand community wealth building, supporting local procurement, employee ownership, community businesses and social enterprises as anchors of local economies. Greater Manchester has already demonstrated what is possible; the challenge now is to make this a national model. A different way of doing business Burnham has often spoken about building an economy that works for working-class people and communities across the UK. Social enterprises represent that ambition daily. They generate revenue, create jobs, innovate in public services and reinvest profits to tackle the very challenges government is trying to solve. The first 100 days of any government sets the tone for the years that follow. By recognising social enterprise as a central part of Britain's economy, Burnham could unlock billions in economic activity while strengthening communities across the country. The sector is ready to help. What it needs now is a government prepared to put it at the heart of its economic strategy.

If you’ve ever doubted the value of your business network, consider the following: one business was set up because clients kept asking for a particular kind of service. That network was SEUK’s Buy Social Corporate Challenge.  Connection Crew is a social enterprise that has been creating opportunities for people affected by homelessness for two decades, providing event crew work, paying staff at least the London Living Wage and giving them valuable industry experience. As an SEUK Recommended Supplier – a database of B2B social enterprises that trade with large corporate clients – Connection Crew has been a regular attendee of SEUK’s Social Procurement Meetups. These events are an opportunity to connect with corporate buyers signed up to the Buy Social Corporate Challenge and other social procurement programmes run by SEUK. “We joined the cohort and spoke to the corporates about the kind of services they needed. And what they really needed was event production and sort of exhibition stand solutions,” explains Margarita Ktoris, Connection Crew’s Communications Manager. “And even though that wasn't what Connection Crew was doing at the time, we had expertise in the business. So essentially, we expanded our portfolio to cover it. And that's how Stitch was born.” Since launching, Stitch has grown into a full-service event production company, delivering everything from large-scale exhibitions and global summits to panel events and breakfast seminars. The service is end to end, from design and build through to filming, streaming and social media assets. And crucially, social and environmental impact is built in from the outset, not bolted on afterwards. On the environmental side, Stitch takes a circular approach to production, investing in reusable modular stock so that the vast majority of materials on any given project are built for reuse. On a recent panel event series for one of their corporate clients, 94% of the production was circular, meaning almost nothing went to waste. On the social side, revenue from Stitch productions funds places on the Connection Crew Academy, a training programme for people affected by homelessness that builds event crew skills, confidence and employability. As Stitch grows, so does its capacity to create those opportunities. It has also helped break the glass ceiling for Connection Crew employees. Crew members could gain experience, build confidence and develop skills, but the pathway into next-level event production roles simply didn't exist. With Stitch, those opportunities now exist. The relationship with corporate clients fostered through the Buy Social Corporate Challenge has been central to Stitch’s growth. It has been added to the preferred supplier rosters of major corporates, generating repeat work and long-term partnerships that allow impact to build over time. Across one such partnership alone, Stitch has generated over 3000 hours of London Living Wage work for people affected by homelessness. Around a third of startups fail within the first few years, so how has Stitch stayed in business? Ktoris’s answer is straightforward: "I think the impact - both environmentally and socially - is really important to clients. But comes down to being able to deliver events well. And being nice probably helps too!" It's a characteristically down-to-earth summary of what Stitch has achieved. Connection Crew saw a gap in the market and had the ambition to fill it. Stitch is not just raising the bar for sustainable event production, it's raising the glass ceiling for the people who make those events happen. stitchlive.co.uk