The Year in Review

This year has been a monumental turning point for social value, and not just in terms of policy and legislation announcements.  For organisations and individuals alike, the events of  last 12 months have brought to the fore new priorities and forced new ways of doing things that will redefine our future.

Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has dominated the headlines and this has triggered consumers, employees and investors to put increasing pressure on organisations to behave more responsibly and with purpose.

The sentiment is simple:  People want organisations to prioritise social, environmental and governance issues above profits.  Company vision and values have been put firmly to the test and any firms unable to evidence practical examples of what they are doing to action change have been called to account. 

​These are issues that are already influencing, and will shape the political and social landscape in 2021 and beyond. ​​

JANUARY​

The year began with catastrophic bushfires across Australia. At the end of 2019 the European Parliament had declared a climate emergency and climate change would stay firmly in the headlines all year.

The Guardian became the first global news organisation to ban oil and gas companies from advertising on its platform.

The World Economic Forum held its 50th meeting at Davos focusing on how stakeholder capitalism can change the world for the better.

FEBRUARY

Storm Dennis hit the UK and devastated many UK homes and businesses and research revealed that life expectancy in England had stalled for the first time in 100 years due to austerity.

Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape. Not only did it bring the #MeToo movement back into the spotlight, but ‘justice’ and ‘equality’ have been leading social issues this year.

The UK Government committed to phasing out coal power by 2024 and reaffirmed its commitment to becoming net zero carbon by 2050.

MARCH

The World Health Organisation declared coronavirus as a pandemic and lockdown came into effect in the UK.   The World Stock Market crashed and we entered the largest economic recession since the great depression.

APRIL

​The pandemic dominated our lives and highlighted the glaring lack of equality in our world, reminding us that the people who keep our society running are not the ones being paid the most.  Community spirit ignited across the country and people pulled together to support their neighbours and local charities.

The bottom fell out of many industries such as travel and retail while other sectors thrived or adapted to survive.
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Business leaders who made sacrifices to support their staff and save jobs were celebrated, whilst billionaires who asked for government bailouts were crucified in the press.​​​

As more of us logged in from home, the line between our working lives and our personal lives became more blurred. Kids joining zoom calls became the norm and company values were put to the test. Employees demanded empathy, trust and flexibility to enable them to juggle their family and work commitments, whilst investors rewarded the companies that prioritised staff safety and were seen to be supporting their local communities. ​

MAY

The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis led to waves of riots on both sides of the pond and kickstarted the global Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice. In the UK crowds flocked to London to protest reminding us that racism remains a systemic problem in our country.

The UK Government came under fire after it was revealed that £1billion of state contracts had been granted to suppliers without tender.​

JUNE

Lockdown eased in many places with businesses able to reopen.  Customers expected companies to prioritise customer safety and social responsibility above profits, despite many firms being desperate to make-up the shortfall from the spring.  Ikea was one of the first of many companies to come forward and pay back bailout money which was very well received by the public.​

Momentum for the Black Live Matters Movement grew.  Diversity, race and equality shot to the top of the business agenda with many firms quick to make supportive statements. In a stark reminder that it is essential for organisations to prioritise action over words when it comes to addressing social or environmental issues lots of brands were called out for virtue signalling and using the movement for publicity whilst others were exposed for outright hypocrisy.  

JULY

Clothes retailer Boohoo is investigated for under-paying and exploiting workers at a factory in Leicester and is swiftly drooped by Next and ASOS. Throughout the year the pandemic revealed flaws, malpractice and vulnerabilities in lots of business supply chains, with some collapsing entirely.

CBI published it’s ‘Valued Partnerships’ report which recommended strengthening the role of social value in procurement and delivery.

AUGUST

An enormous explosion in the port of Beirut raised ethical questions around global shipping and social responsibility.

Tesco suspended one of its suppliers due to animal mistreatment. ​

SEPTEMBER

​The Government published PPN06 which mandated the inclusion of social value in all central government contracts from January 2021 and rolled out a training programme to 4,000 civil servants.

OCTOBER

The UN announced new voluntary Sustainable Development Goals for private equity funds. The goals were the first in a series of standards that are being published that will transform the way that organisations measure their progress towards the sustainability.

​A number of private sector companies came under fire for paying out dividends to shareholders after taking a tax break from the government during lockdown.

Marcus Rashford launched his campaign to fund school meals during half term with big brands and local businesses stepping up to support communities.

NOVEMBER

Boris launched his ten-point climate change plan, promising thousands of green jobs and billions of pounds worth of investment to help kickstart the economic recovery.

Corporation Tax hit the headlines.  
The OECD drafted principles for $100bn global corporate tax revolution designed to prevent global companies from avoiding paying tax.

​Google launches an advert encouraging consumers to support local businesses – although the marketing move is somewhat ironic given that the company continues to be criticised for the amount of corporation tax it pays in the UK.

DECEMBER

Following public pressure, a number of supermarkets came forward to pay back COVID relief money.

Arcadia Group and Debenhams went into administration, marking the end of an era in retail.
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What can we expect in 2021?

So, what are our predictions for the year ahead?​

• The Government’s new social value model will come into effect.  Social enterprises, community and other third sector organisations are likely to be the big winners as the UK Government's 34 strategic suppliers, many of whom have been caught out by the speed with which Social Value has impacted public sector procurement, seek to find ways they can support them.  
• Climate change will remain a top priority ahead of the COP26 in Glasgow, but corporate and Government targets will need to be evidenced with action and practical solutions.
• Corporation Tax will be a hot topic.  As the economy struggles to bounce back and the sheer scale of the hit the Treasury has taken to bail us all out is felt, any company which doesn’t pay their fair share of tax here in the UK but chooses to pay out shareholder dividends and corporate bonuses can expect to find itself in the firing line.  Multinational companies that means you.  
• Non-financial annual reporting will become even more important.   Annual reports give companies an opportunity to prove to stakeholders that they are practicing what they preach and firms not doing this will find their reputation severely impacted.

And here at Samtaler?
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2020 was a growth year for us and we anticipate 2021 will be even stronger. Our priorities
include.…

​​1.  Producing a range of training courses to help public sector suppliers understand what social value is and how they can develop an offer for their bids.

2. Helping more organisations understand and embrace the commercial benefits of implementing social value into their operating model.

3. Continuing to publish the monthly Social Value Files. It's quite time consuming but we love that it gives us a vehicle to share lots of Social Value goodness for free

4. Growing our business, employing more staff, paying more tax, and doing everything we can to do our bit to help the post-COVID recovery. 

To find out how we help your business drop us a line and arrange a free discovery call.  

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