Posted 5th June 2020
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK (SUEZ) is celebrating World Environment Day by announcing its Social Value Pioneer membership of Social Value UK.
SUEZ recycling and recovery UK is a business unit of the global SUEZ group. In the UK, SUEZ employs over 5,600 people, operating across hundreds of sites, and handles in excess of 10 million tonnes of waste materials every year – a significant proportion of the UK’s total waste. Through collection, treatment, recycling and logistics operations, it serves more than 30,000 business customers and millions of householders throughout the country.
As the first company in the resources sector to become a social value pioneer member, SUEZ joins a vibrant community of like-minded organisations committed to generating social value.
By looking beyond conventional financial metrics to take into account the wider social, economic and environmental impacts of its activities, SUEZ can understand the social value created by the essential services it provides to the communities it serves around the UK.
SUEZ has invested in resources to better understand its social value in order to factor this into its decision making and maximise the benefits it can bring. As well as joining Social Value UK, SUEZ entered into a partnership with Social Profit Calculator to baseline its social value (£2.42 per £1 spent in 2018) and created its Sustainability and Social Value Lead position to focus on this area.
With social value becoming increasingly important to councils and their local communities, SUEZ’s commitment to social value has helped it secure high profile new contracts, most recently the Somerset Waste Partnership waste collection contract, one of the largest collection services in the UK.
John Scanlon, Chief Executive Officer for SUEZ recycling and recovery UK said: “Society is increasingly calling on business to look beyond the bottom line and consider its impacts on the environment and communities. As a Pioneer member of Social Value UK, we can benefit from its expertise to take a more holistic view of the value created by the essential services we provide, maximising the benefits we bring to communities around the UK.”
Rebecca Harvey, Membership and Networks Manager for Social Value UK said: “Social Value UK is thrilled to welcome SUEZ to the network as Social Value Pioneers. As one of the foremost resource management companies in the UK, SUEZ is in position to ensure widespread social value is delivered throughout its core activities and supply chain. We are looking forward to working with SUEZ to embed the principles of social value, placing social, environmental and economic benefits front and centre in its decision making.”