Different teams use different terms. Expectations vary across sectors. And it is not always clear how social value fits alongside ESG, CSR or sustainability strategies.
If you are asking “What does social value mean for my business, in practice?” you are not alone.
Social value: an evolving concept for businesses
At its core, social value is about the positive difference your organisation creates for people and communities.
That has not changed. What has shifted is how widely businesses apply it and where it shows up in decision making.
For many organisations, social value started in procurement, demonstrating how contracts would benefit local communities. Today, it stretches far beyond that and influences how organisations operate day to day.
It shapes how businesses:
- Engage employees in meaningful ways.
- Support communities across multiple locations.
- Work with social purpose organisations.
- Integrate social impact into commercial decisions.
In other words, social value is becoming a practical lens for decision-making across organisations.
How social value differs from ESG and CSR
One of the biggest challenges we hear is the confusion between social value, ESG and CSR.
They often share the same motivations: building trust, engaging employees, and creating positive social impact alongside doing business. However, they serve different roles in your organisation:
- CSR often focuses on programmes and initiatives, so what your organisation does.
- ESG focuses on frameworks and reporting and therefore how you measure and communicate performance.
- Social value focuses on outcomes and what difference your actions create for people and communities, often expressed in financial terms.
That distinction matters. It helps you move from activity to impact. It also gives social value a unique role: connecting your business strategy to tangible benefits for society.
What social value means in practice for your business
When businesses treat social value strategically, it changes how decisions are made, not just how programmes are delivered.
Commercially, it helps you:
- Strengthen your position in procurement and tenders where social value is increasingly weighted.
- Build trust with clients, investors and regulators by showing measurable social impact.
- Differentiate your brand in competitive sectors through a credible, outcomes-led approach.
- Support long-term growth by aligning social impact with business priorities.
Operationally, it helps you:
- Bring together disconnected activity across CSR, ESG, community investment and employee engagement.
- Use resources more effectively by focusing on what creates the most impact.
- Simplify charity partnership management with a clearer structure and governance.
- Give employees a clearer role in delivering social impact, increasing engagement and participation.
Instead of running multiple initiatives in parallel, social value gives you a way to align effort so your activity works harder and delivers more meaningful results.
What ‘good’ looks like in practice
The organisations making the most progress treat social value as part of their overall business strategy, not as a standalone activity.
They:
- Define what social value means for their organisation.
- Align it with business goals and stakeholder priorities.
- Create a structured approach to how they deliver social impact and who they partner with.
- Measure outcomes, not just activity.
- Give employees clear and accessible ways to get involved.
Landsec’s ambition to deliver £200 million of social value by 2030 through a coordinated, long-term approach, shows what changes when social value is treated strategically.
They moved from fragmented, local giving to a structured, business-wide approach, defining a clear focus on social mobility, creating a £20m fund for charitable giving (Landsec Futures), and building a consistent model for grantmaking and partnerships.
This shift made their corporate giving easier to manage, measurable and scalable, while increasing employee engagement and strengthening partnerships.
The key takeaway:
Landsec did not increase activity, they aligned what they were already doing into a clear strategy, linked to long-term business priorities.
That is what makes the model effective. It turns social value into something structured, measurable and commercially relevant rather than a set of disconnected initiatives.
A more practical way to think about social value
If there is one shift, it is this:
Social value is more than another framework to manage. It is a way to connect what your business already does with the impact it creates.
That means you do not need to start from scratch. Instead, you can:
- Build on existing CSR or ESG activity.
- Bring together programmes that already exist across your teams.
- Focus on where you can create the greatest benefit for people and communities.
And importantly, you can do this in a way that works for your sector, your footprint and your stakeholders.
What leaders should do next
If you are looking to take a more strategic approach to social value, the first step is to create clarity.
Leaders should focus on:
- Clarifying what outcomes matter most to your organisation and stakeholders.
- Auditing existing activity across CSR, ESG and community programmes.
- Identifying gaps, duplication and opportunities to focus your effort.
- Choosing how you will measure success, including how you define and track outcomes.
- Building a plan that links activity directly to business priorities.
This does not mean starting from scratch, it means strengthening what you already have and making it work harder for your business.
How CAF can help you create social value
As the concept of social value continues to evolve, clarity matters.
At CAF, we help organisations turn their ambitions into structured, practical approaches, whether that is shaping a strategy, managing partnerships or measuring social impact.
Our focus is on helping you embed social value into existing activity and demonstrate the difference it creates.
