Blog | Understanding Social Value: Why It Matters and How Lakeside Group Delivered Impact in 2024

In today’s business landscape, organisations are increasingly measured not only by their financial success but also by their contribution to people, communities, and the planet. This is where social value comes in – a way to recognise the broader impact businesses have beyond profit.

What is social value?

Social value is about maximising the positive outcomes of business activity for society. It takes into account everything from supporting local jobs and nurturing supply chains to reducing environmental impact and supporting community wellbeing.

To measure these contributions effectively, Lakeside Group uses the National TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, and Measures) framework – a trusted standard for quantifying social value. By assigning clear metrics to our actions, we can transparently demonstrate our commitment to building stronger communities and a healthier environment.

Why social value matters

For us, social value is more than just a set of numbers – it’s a way to embed responsibility and purpose into our operations. Here’s why it’s so important:

Strengthening communities – Investing in local projects, jobs, and services helps create thriving places to live and work.
Protecting the environment – Embracing sustainable practices reduces our footprint and safeguards natural resources for the future.
Engaging our people – Initiatives such as volunteering foster employee pride, connection, and motivation.
Building trust – Demonstrating tangible social impact sets us apart and deepens our relationships with customers, partners, and communities.

Social value is about impact – not income

We know that some business leaders worry that social value reporting might expose sensitive commercial information. We’d like to reassure our customers and partners that social value is completely separate from financial performance reporting.

Social value reporting focuses on outcomes, such as:

The number of people employed or supported.
How much your organisation engages with local suppliers.
Environmental actions like reducing emissions or adopting sustainable practices.
Community-focused contributions, including volunteering or donations.

It does not require disclosure of profit margins, balance sheets, or any commercially sensitive financial data. Instead, it demonstrates impact in a clear, relatable way, helping businesses showcase their positive contributions without revealing confidential information.

Lakeside Group’s 2024 social value impact

We’re proud to share that Lakeside Group delivered £458,882 in Social and Local Economic Value (SLEV) in 2024. This figure represents the combined value of our work to:

Create and retain local jobs.
Invest in our regional supply chain.
Reduce emissions and champion greener transport solutions.
Support community initiatives through funding and volunteering.

This achievement reflects the collective effort of our people, partners, and communities, and shows that social value is a practical, measurable way to demonstrate our commitment to doing business responsibly.

Our goals for 2025

Looking ahead, we’re aiming to:

Launch a formal internal volunteering scheme to boost staff involvement.
Double our charitable donations to support more community projects.
Provide social value reporting guidance to customers as a value-added service.

Let’s talk about your social value

If you’d like to learn more about social value – or explore how to calculate your own organisation’s social value score – our team is here to help. We’d be delighted to discuss how your business can measure its positive impact in a way that’s clear, practical, and aligned with your values.

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