Leading infrastructure provider and consultancy Amey has announced an ambitious four-year spending target with social enterprises, making it the first strategic supplier to commit a percentage of its addressable spend to businesses who use their profits to create positive, social change.

John Cully, Amey’s Chief Procurement Officer, made the commitment at social enterprise Good Hotel, in London’s Royal Victoria Docks, where approximately 70 guests from across government and the private sector were invited to discuss the issue of social value and the importance of social enterprise engagement.

At the event, John Cully welcomed the attention given by government and industry on social value and championed the procurement reforms underway as part of the Cabinet Office’s new Outsourcing Playbook and Code of Conduct.

“In June,” he said, “we responded to the government’s social value in procurement consultation and welcomed proposals to legislate for more social value in public services, including the introduction of a minimum weighting for social value on new government contracts.

“We want to see social enterprises flourish as part of these procurement reforms because we understand the immense value they can unlock for local communities and the significant innovations and solutions they can offer businesses like ours.”

He went on to commit 1% of Amey’s annual addressable spend with social enterprises by 2020, increasing to 5% by 2023. The new commitment will build on the progress Amey has already made with SMEs, which now account for 75% of Amey’s UK supplier base and 47% of its spend, equal to over £1.4bn each year.

Claire Dove, the government’s Crown Representative for voluntary, community and social enterprise outlined current government plans in this area, commenting:

"Social value and social enterprise are integral parts of the government's Civil Society Strategy, a key aspect of which is improving the diversity of public service supply chains. From next April central government departments will expand their use of the Social Value Act, meaning major procurements - including goods and works - will include social value, as appropriate, rather than just consider it. It's now over to our sectors to take up the opportunities that this will present us.”

Amey’s spending pledge with social enterprises is part of a new Social Value Supply Chain Charter, which the company is embedding in its procurement process as part of a drive to place social value at the heart of its services.

This includes a net zero carbon strategy in line with the government’s 2050 target and a raft of measures to encourage more diversity and inclusion among its 19,000 employees.