Businesses have an opportunity to create value that extends beyond their immediate commercial objectives, using their resources and professional networks to support communities, address social challenges and contribute to their wider environmental goals.
The Warm and Healthy Homes Project in Blackpool is a strong example of this approach. The initiative brought together Blackpool Coastal Housing, Cadent and the Cadent Foundation to help vulnerable households improve the energy efficiency and condition of their homes, providing practical support with energy costs, household finances and wider wellbeing. Warren Ward, Executive Director at Barkers, helped connect the organisations involved through his professional networks and involvement with the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network, demonstrating the role that business leaders can play in creating social value in their communities.
For organisations looking to create wider social, economic and environmental benefits through their activities, Barkers’ procurement services can also help embed responsible procurement and ESG considerations into procurement strategies.
What is social value?
Social value refers to the wider economic, social and environmental benefits that organisations can create through their activities, beyond the immediate goods or services being delivered. In procurement, this can include outcomes such as supporting employment and skills development, contributing to local communities, improving environmental performance and creating opportunities for businesses and voluntary organisations.
Social value doesn’t mean prioritising social outcomes at the expense of value for money. Instead, it recognises that procurement and business decisions can have effects beyond the immediate transaction. This makes social value increasingly relevant to organisations looking to balance commercial objectives with their wider responsibilities to employees, communities, suppliers and the environment.
How businesses can create social value through collaboration
Creating meaningful social value doesn’t always require an organisation to establish an entirely new initiative. Existing business relationships and professional networks can provide opportunities to connect organisations with complementary resources, expertise and community needs, and this collaboration can be particularly effective where different organisations bring different strengths to a shared objective. One organisation may have funding available, another may have specialist knowledge, and a community organisation may best understand the needs of the people being supported.
Bringing these capabilities together can create an impact that would be more difficult for any one organisation to achieve independently. The Warm and Healthy Homes Project, explored in detail below, provides a practical example of how this approach can work.
The Warm and Healthy Homes Project
Tackling fuel poverty in Blackpool
According to figures from 2024, Blackpool had the highest proportion of households in fuel poverty in Lancashire at 13.9% – a startling statistic, particularly when compared with the national average of 9.9%. Blackpool also had the third-highest fuel poverty rate of any local authority in England.
The reasons for this are complex and varied, including factors such as inefficient homes, high energy costs and household financial pressures, and addressing the issue requires action across multiple areas. Many organisations across the North West are already working hard to address this issue. But what if efforts could be enhanced in a specific area, such as Blackpool, through channelling resources and working smarter together?
Warren Ward of Barkers believes wholeheartedly in the power of connecting organisations to effect change. An Executive Director on the Fylde Coast Responsible Business Network, Warren already knew of the Cadent Foundation, which supports initiatives aimed at tackling issues such as fuel poverty and supporting vulnerable communities.
Warren connected Julia Dwyer, Director of the Cadent Foundation, with Maggie Cornall, Director of Operations at Blackpool Coastal Housing (BCH), a company owned by Blackpool Council that provides housing management and support services. Together, Blackpool Coastal Housing, the Cadent Foundation and Cadent collaborated to fund and establish the Warm and Healthy Homes Project, an initiative that helps vulnerable households access support with energy efficiency, heating, household finances and wider wellbeing.
Bringing organisations together
The collaboration brought together the local knowledge of Blackpool Coastal Housing with funding and support from the Cadent Foundation and Cadent.
Julia Dwyer, Director at the Cadent Foundation, explains: “The cost of living crisis is a very real issue of concern affecting thousands of households across the country. We’ve all heard the headlines that gas and electricity prices will almost double by the end of the year, which has the potential to plunge countless households into uncertainty. That’s why the Warm and Healthy Homes Project is so vital. The more that we can do to help people to make their homes energy efficient, the lower those bills will be.”
Cadent also identified additional funding that could support the project. Edward Allard, Customer Safeguarding Manager at Cadent, said: “In addition to Cadent Foundation’s contribution, we realised quickly that other sources of funding that Cadent has access to could be put to great use on this project. We were able to allocate additional funding from our Vulnerability and Carbon Monoxide Allowance. This has funded a dedicated case worker and has enabled Blackpool Coastal Housing to provide personalised support for local residents. The impact of this has been incredible – life-changing really for many people living in vulnerable situations.”
Supporting vulnerable households
The Warm and Healthy Homes Project provided individual assessments by a trained advisor, followed by solutions tailored to the needs of each household. Support could include heating repairs or improvements, energy efficiency measures and support to address issues such as damp and condensation. Households could also receive advice on affordable warmth, support with managing fuel debt and assistance with claiming the Warm Home Discount.
In the first three months of the project, 67 households benefited from the scheme. Combining funding from the Cadent Foundation and Cadent enabled Blackpool Coastal Housing to provide a more holistic approach, addressing both practical issues within homes and some of the wider financial challenges faced by vulnerable residents.
The impact of the project
One example of the project’s impact is Jean, who had to give up work to care for her husband with a brain injury. Her boiler had broken, leaving them with no heating or hot water, and Jean had reached crisis point. After contacting the local carers centre, an advisor visited Jean and referred her to BCH Community to discuss what help she could receive.
Jean’s hot water and heating were restored, and she was provided with a dehumidifier to draw moisture out of the property. As a consequence, the damp in their home was greatly reduced, helping to improve their living conditions and wellbeing.
This example demonstrates why social value initiatives are most meaningful when their impact can be seen in people’s lives. Rather than being an abstract commitment, the project provided practical support that directly improved living conditions for vulnerable residents. Warren explains: “Cadent and The Cadent Foundation was the perfect pairing for Blackpool Coastal Housing. The organisations care deeply about alleviating fuel poverty and enhancing living conditions for all, so the connection seemed an obvious one to make. It’s great to see the Warm and Healthy Homes Project benefiting 67 households already, with many more opportunities to support vulnerable people identified.”
Maggie Cornall, Director of Operations at Blackpool Coastal Housing, added: “It’s been fantastic to work with the Cadent Foundation, and then Cadent itself too, the result of which has seen a real and tangible benefit to individuals and families in Blackpool. We are committed to continue this work and have identified additional opportunities for Cadent and BCH to focus on improving our impact on the wider community. We are in discussions to lower our carbon footprint for example, and Cadent are supporting us through this process.”
What can businesses learn from the project?
Collaboration can amplify existing resources
The Warm and Healthy Homes Project demonstrates how addressing fuel poverty does not have to depend on one organisation acting alone. Different organisations brought funding, expertise, local knowledge and relationships together around a shared objective.
This collaborative approach can be applied to many social and environmental challenges. Businesses may already have resources or capabilities that could create greater impact when combined with those of another organisation.
Business networks can create social value
Professional networks are often associated with commercial opportunities, but they can also provide a mechanism for creating wider social impact. For example, business leaders can use their relationships to introduce organisations that have complementary objectives, expertise or resources.
In this case, Warren’s knowledge of the Cadent Foundation and his connection with Blackpool Coastal Housing helped bring together organisations capable of making a tangible difference to local households. He commented: “I feel the real value we can bring as business leaders is connecting other businesses within our networks to the causes we support. If we can inspire other organisations to use their networks for good then individuals, communities and wider society can all realise the benefits.”
Social value can support environmental objectives
The Warm and Healthy Homes Project also demonstrates how social and environmental objectives can overlap. Improving the energy efficiency of homes can help households reduce energy consumption and manage costs, whilst also contributing to wider efforts to reduce carbon emissions. This interconnected approach is increasingly relevant to organisations considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives, where environmental and social outcomes do not always exist in isolation.
Meaningful impact should be measurable
Social value is most effective when organisations can understand what they’re trying to achieve and assess whether their activities are making a difference. In the Warm and Healthy Homes Project, the number of households supported provides one clear measure of activity. The individual experiences of residents provide another perspective on the project’s impact.
For businesses, the appropriate measures will depend on the objectives of an initiative, which could include employment opportunities, training, community investment, environmental improvements or other defined social outcomes.
Social value, ESG and responsible procurement
Social value and ESG are closely connected, with both recognising that business decisions can create wider social, economic and environmental outcomes. The Warm and Healthy Homes Project demonstrates this in practice, supporting vulnerable households whilst improving energy efficiency.
Procurement can play an important role in creating this wider value. Decisions around supplier selection, contract requirements and supplier management can influence outcomes such as local employment, skills development, environmental performance, ethical supply chains and community investment, alongside traditional considerations such as cost, quality and performance.
This is particularly relevant in public procurement. For in-scope central government organisations, the UK government’s Social Value Model provides a framework for incorporating relevant and proportionate social value requirements into covered contracts. More broadly, organisations can use responsible procurement to support their wider ESG objectives, provided these commitments are meaningful and proportionate rather than simply a box-ticking exercise.
The Warm and Healthy Homes Project provides an example of what can happen when organisations with shared objectives work together. It also illustrates a principle that’s increasingly important for businesses: commercial success and positive social impact do not have to be separate objectives. This is why Barkers provides specialist procurement support for organisations looking to embed ESG, social value and responsible procurement into their wider procurement strategies, helping align commercial decisions with broader organisational and ethical goals.