Social value in procurement

Social value within procurement provides additional benefits generated by a service beyond its primary purpose.

Additional social value improves the lives of people, for instance, through securing employment and training benefits for local residents; improving emotional and physical health and wellbeing of local residents; reducing carbon emissions or pollution levels, and supporting community groups and projects as part of a procurement process.

For relevant contracts, we will specify green standards we expect providers to meet and we may also include green criteria when we evaluate tenders. We will always make any green requirements or criteria clear, and you can read our Guide to sustainable procurement (see quick links above) before you tender. Any green standards or requirements will always be relevant to the type of goods, works or service we’re buying.