Social value in FM can unlock £billions and help achieve net zero targets

News

The Social Value Conference took place this week with IWFM’s Head of Policy and Research, Sofie Hooper, chairing a panel discussion on ‘Reinventing Facilities Management’. The session discussed the importance of social value, how the FM industry is ideally placed to unlock over £26bn in social value every year, and the opportunities to do so. If you couldn’t make it, here is an introduction to social value and the FM opportunity.

In practice, social value involves organisations implementing initiatives which improve the communities they operate in. Guy Battle, CEO of our partner Social Value Portal, captured the opportunity for FMs in the January-February 2023 issue of Facilitate:

‘FMs are in a unique position to improve standards and conditions by actively promoting community engagement so the occupier and their community can flourish. A flourishing community increases land prices and asset value, meaning FMs fulfil their fiduciary duty to the investor and deliver on social value.’

Guy continued: ‘Our net zero deadline is creeping closer and we’re simply not on track. As part of a wider social value strategy, FMs can play a role in lowering carbon emissions. By reducing waste, procuring from local suppliers, choosing low-carbon technologies and sourcing renewable energy where possible, FMs can contribute to what must be a globally collaborative effort.’

In summary, driving social value in FM simply makes good business sense. But how do you include social value in contracts and measure it?

Include social value in your contracts with the NEC4 FMC and practice note

The NEC4 Facilities Management Contract (FMC) suite, developed by NEC and IWFM, includes a set of four contracts created specifically for the facilities management sector, plus user guides and flow charts to help with using them. Find out more.

NEC and IWFM also created a practice note on including social value in the FMC. This sets out the principles and purpose of social value using the National Themes, Outcome and Measurement methodology (TOMs), and explains how the social value requirements would be incorporated into the Scope and Performance Table in an NEC FM contract. Find out more.

Measure social value with the National TOMs Facilities Management Plug In

IWFM, Social Value Portal, and the National Social Value Taskforce developed an FM-specific measurement framework for social value called the National TOMs Facilities Management Plug In (NT FM Plug-In). This tool helps organisations to measure, manage and maximise the social value they create through the delivery of their services and report the value created as a financial contribution to society. Find out more.