Bloom receives the Social Value Quality Mark Bronze Award

We're delighted to announce that we've been awarded the Social Value Quality Mark's Bronze Award!

Social Value Quality Mark® CIC is an independent social enterprise that challenges rigour, celebrates high standards, and drives local spend. The purpose of the Quality Mark is to cultivate and recognise the highest known standards in values-led business.

The award recognises our commitment to creating social value through our operations, providing benefits for our people, clients, communities, and the planet.

In order to secure the award, we had to demonstrate our commitment as a business to creating, measuring, and accurately reporting social value. In simple terms, social value refers to the wider financial and nonfinancial value created by the business through its day to day activities - in terms of both the wellbeing of individuals and communities, social capital created, and the environment.

Key requirements included...

• Creating a clear view of how we plan on delivering social value for our people, customers, and communities across the UK
• Producing a coherent, internal definition of social value that's specific to the business and its activities
• Demonstrating an understanding of our social legacy and competent social governance 
• Committing to a series of pledges and key value indicators, to frame the way we think about, and measure, social value as a business
• Providing a roadmap, highlighting how we intend to develop, measure, and report on social value over a 12-month period 

Sarah MacNab, Bloom's Head of Social Value, said “we are delighted to have been awarded the Bronze Social Value Quality Mark which demonstrates our commitment to creating social value through our business and projects. Everything we do is to benefit society, our employees, customers, communities, and the planet. Social Value isn’t created in isolation, but rather through spreading great practice, setting high expectations of others, and highlighting the benefits.”

Since the commencement of the NEPRO³ framework back in September 2019, we've created over £200m worth of social value. We're exceptionally proud of this achievement which, in part, has been made possible by the fact that over 70% of the contracts awarded via our marketplace are received by SMEs. As of now, 92% of our accredited suppliers have SME status.

We'll continue to to champion a level and equal playing field for SMEs, fostering growth within the local economies they serve; delivering measurable social value and lasting outcomes for both the public sector and the communities it serves. If you’re interested in learning more about the impactful work that we do as a business, then please follow this link to see our most recent annual Sustainability and Social Value report.