Procurement for Good – The Buy Social Corporate Challenge

26 September 2022

At Foodbuy, we’re proud to be one of 30 major businesses on the Buy Social Corporate Challenge – a billion-pound challenge that raises the bar for businesses to procure with purpose.

We joined the Buy Social Corporate Challenge in 2019 - a ground-breaking initiative supporting large businesses to direct their procurement spend towards social enterprises. Since then, we have spent over £4.8 million with social enterprise suppliers and are well on our way to exceeding our £5 million spend target.

What sets social enterprises apart from other businesses is that they reinvest at least 50% of their profits into their social or environmental mission.

When a social enterprise profits, society, and the environment benefits too:

• Innovation: 66% of social enterprises introduced a new product or service in the last year, compared to just 35% of UK businesses as a whole.
• Diversity: 47% of social enterprises are led by women, compared to just 16% of mainstream SMEs.
• Sustainability: 20% of social enterprises are addressing the climate emergency as part of their core mission.

From Social Enterprise UK’s Year 6 Report

At Foodbuy, we work with over 20 social enterprise suppliers to help generate social and environmental change through the Buy Social Corporate Challenge.

The Buy Social Corporate Challenge - Year 6 Impact Report

The Buy Social Corporate Challenge (BSCC) released its year 6 impact report today which shows that the blueprint of corporates purchasing from social enterprises has resulted in millions of pounds going to support businesses tackling social and environmental issues. To date, Foodbuy and other Challenge members have collectively spent £255 million with social enterprises, helping to create 2,700 jobs.

You can find out more in the Buy Social Corporate Challenge Year 6 Impact Report here: www.socialenterprise.org.uk/seuk-report/buy-social-corporate-challenge-year-6-impact-report/