The UK construction industry delivered £1.08bn of social value from nearly 500 construction projects worth £4.57bn completed in 2022, according to the third annual Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report.
The report, which is produced by social value measurement and monitoring platform Social Value Portal and SCAPE, found that the industry’s overall total social value return on investment increased by more than 4%, from 19.55% in 2021 to 23.62% in 2022.
Although local spend and employment measures continue to provide the bedrock of the social value generated, the report found a more diverse range of other social value delivery taking place, including the increased use of environmental measures to support regional and national decarbonisation targets.
Nathan Goode, chief strategy officer at the Social Value Portal, said: “The construction industry was an early adopter of social value, and this report shows that momentum is being sustained. Companies in the sector have built social value into their business models and are now looking to move social value onto the next stage.
“This third annual Social Value in Construction Benchmarking Report reveals a number of significant trends – most notably increasing focus on environmental concerns and a desire for greater collaboration and adoption of social value in the private sector, all of which will be interesting to monitor and report on over the coming years.
“Historically, social value return on investment has been thought of as something that can only be delivered through large projects. This report serves to demonstrate that projects of varying sizes can – and do – have a meaningful impact.”
Alison Ramsey, social value and performance manager at SCAPE, added: “In the overall process of delivering construction projects, social value is one of a number of priorities, so there is a shared responsibility to ensure it’s embedded as efficiently as possible in order to maximise the opportunities. The findings of the report, combined with discussions amongst industry partners, show a sector that is rapidly maturing in its approach to social value.”
