Thriving communities

We’re committed to understanding what it takes for communities to thrive and then work to maximise our contribution nationally and locally.

We have a longstanding track record of delivering impact for communities through a range of initiatives. This includes our Recruit Regional programme and jobs fairs, actively encouraging our people through paid time off for volunteering, and improving the accessibility of our places.

Our approach is now evolving with the world around us. This work is driven by our purpose of creating lasting and shared prosperity as we look at the impact we can have locally, in specific places and across the country. We will be guided by the following core principles.

Community participation and listening to diverse voices

We will involve people impacted by our work and actively seek perspectives from diverse groups of people. They are the experts of their own experience. We will ask ourselves “who is not in the room?” to make sure that we hear all perspectives.

This includes our work with AccessAble ambassadors providing insights to shape more inclusive places, and our youth voice panel to develop our vision for London.

Collaborating for impact

One of our key strengths is that we can bring people together to make a positive impact. Our unique position means that we have a significant role in addressing some of society’s most challenging issues. We’re focused on building partnerships that strive for long-term systemic change.

This includes exploring the skills gap – and potential employment opportunities – for retrofitting heritage buildings with our partners Grosvenor, Peabody, Historic England and the National Trust. We’ll continue to build on our longstanding relationship with the Department for Work and Pensions in providing employment opportunities through Recruit Regional, including how it can be expanded to green skills. We will test new collaborations, like our partnership with Arts ARKADE hat will see a prime Central London retail space transformed into a hub for urban arts which will also serve to support young people in developing vital skills for the future.

Extending impact throughout our supply chain

We’re committed to amplifying our impact through working with our supply chain and collaborating with suppliers who share our vision and values. This includes our Supplier Charter, which outlines specific requirements for suppliers to demonstrate their commitment to our priorities in five key areas: Health, Safety and Wellbeing; Sustainability; Ethical & Inclusive Practices; Privacy & Information Security; and Innovative Business Practices.

We are part of the Social Enterprise UK's Buy Social Corporate Challenge, a group of high-profile businesses is aiming to collectively spend £1 billion with social enterprises through their procurement. This includes our commitment to source more of our core facilities products from social enterprises. We're also using our convening power to bring together our supply chain and charity partners to support refugee, care leaver and disability groups in Westminster. We’re continuing to explore wider opportunities to access and support the social economy.

For the first time in our offshore wind leasing (Offshore Wind Leasing Round 5), we have established requirements for applicants to incorporate a social value model. This means that to be successful they will need to demonstrate how they will work with local communities, provide employment and skills, tackle inequality and provide environment benefits.