Putting the Social in Economic Development

Ethical gifts and a values-led supply chain

A national initiative Buy Social Scotland aims to support social impact through procurement. The project is based on the proposition that business leaders in Scotland can play a positive role in helping to create a fairer and more sustainable local economy by embedding innovation, diversity and social value into their supply chains.

There are over 6000 social enterprises in Scotland which impact in different ways on social and environmental aspects of community well-being. Procurement in the public and private sector can support the communities in which they and their customers live and work. The project makes using a business for good as a supplier within a business supply chain much easier than has been the case until recently.

The project began as a pilot at the end of 2020 with the launch of a website and a campaign which promoted the products of social enterprises across the Scotland as ‘presents for a purpose’ in the lead-up to Christmas. Such was the response that in September 2021 the project was scaled-up on a new website promoting services from social enterprises and highlighting benefits through case studies of working towards a values-led supply chain.

The project has just been given a huge boost when Glasgow City Council has invested almost almost £8 million with local social enterprises as part of its policy commitment to fostering community well-being and social value through its own procurement needs. By signing the Buy Social Scotland Pledge, Glasgow City Council has joined a growing number of public sector organisations, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), larger businesses and corporations, and academic institutions who are driving positive social and environmental change through their spending power.

The Buy Scotland Pledge asks for signatories to make 5 key commitments:

- to recognize Fair Work principles;

- to make a commitment towards a Net Zero Policy;

- to promote Social Enterprises within the organization’s procurement and supply chain;

- to agree to prompt payment to its suppliers, and

- to commit to reporting annual spend with social enterprises.

Social enterprises are businesses that reinvest their profits into social and environment causes which can make them important vehicles for social change. Investing in social value in this way helps creates opportunities for disadvantaged groups, supports local employment and contributes to a more inclusive local economy.

Buy Social Scotland is supported by Skills Development Scotland, a Scottish Government Agency, and is part of a growing international campaign with schemes now operating in 10 countries. By diverting money that local government, businesses, institutions and organisations would spend anyway through their procurement programmes towards enterprise within communities, the initiative offers an import alternative model for the support of community enterprise and community development.

It is amazing where an initiative to promote the sale of ethical Christmas gifts can lead.