The results are in: Lendlease UK spent over £3m with social enterprises in 2021
Making our everyday spend go further by procuring with social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations
- 24 Feb 2022
- by
- Lendlease Author Better Places
Lendlease spent an impressive £3m with social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations in 2021. These were organisations that create a positive impact on society by reinvesting profits into programmes that tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues.
The company is using its procurement power as a force for good by choosing to buy from businesses that trade for a social purpose. Turning everyday spend into social spend.
Examples of the goods and services that Lendlease procures through social enterprises includes:
- Corporate caterers employing ex-offenders
- Waste management firm addressing barriers to meaningful employment
- Stationary supplier supporting female entrepreneurs from developing countries
- Signage provider securing employment for people with disabilities
- Training companies raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing
In 2019, Lendlease joined Social Enterprise UK’s Buy Social Corporate Challenge. This initiative brings together a group of high-profile businesses from a range of industries around a collective mission to spend £1 billion on social enterprises.
Since joining the Challenge, Lendlease has spent a total of £5m with social enterprises. It’s done this by embedding social impact requirements into procurement decisions across the business and raising awareness of the positive impact created by opting to buy from social enterprises.
For example, the Sustainability team led an education campaign which saw 500 members of staff learn about social value and identified ways that individuals, teams, and departments can help increase the positive social impact created by the business. Increasing spend with and supporting social enterprises and not-for-profits was highlighted as a tangible action which all parts of the business could contribute to.
Lendlease recognises that there is still more to be done and is committed to increasing social spend. The company recently became a founding member of the Social Partnership Portal (SPP), a collaborative industry-wide tool designed to improve contractors’ access to social enterprise, voluntary and community suppliers.
Andy Fulterer, Head of Supply Chain, said: “We are proud to see our social spend double over the past year. This is testament to Lendlease’s commitment to diversifying our supply chain and creating a positive social impact for the communities in which we operate. We continue to be impressed with the performance, range and quality of services, and cost of our social enterprise suppliers - proving that it’s not only supporting society but makes good business sense too. With the support from initiatives like the Buy Social Corporate Challenge and Social Partnership Portal, we feel equipped to continue increasing our social spend and to work with our supply chain to do so too.”
For more information on the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, visit https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/corporate-challenge/.
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