The Growth Company is an award-winning, accredited social enterprise, private company limited by guarantee without share capital. We are committed to creating a sustainable inclusive society, actively managing our operations in ways which optimise our value to the communities in which we work. Social Value is therefore intrinsic to everything we do, for this reason, we manage Social Value through a suite of interdependent policies and procedures which collectively deliver our objectives. This policy applies to all Growth Company colleagues, subcontractors, associates, secondees, agency staff and third parties who undertake activity for and on our behalf. It applies to the goods and services we procure, our direct operations and the services we provide to our customers.
We are a values-based organisation whose purpose is to enable growth, create jobs and improve lives; creating a future where everyone has the chance of a better quality of life, through new skills, investment, and opportunity. Our staff promote, influence, train, explore and advise to deliver maximum benefit for the communities in which we work.
This policy provides an effective framework for realising our commitment to embedding, maintaining and where possible enhancing the Social Value we create in the communities we work within, both as an employer and a provider of services.
All colleagues are responsible for ensuring that this Policy is adhered to and cascaded to associates, secondees, agency staff and third parties in accordance with our shared values: Make a positive difference; Stronger together; Empower people; Do the right thing and Build on success. As referenced, some activities within the scope of this Policy are covered by additional dedicated policies and procedures to ensure that our Social Value objectives are delivered.
As an accredited social enterprise, we reinvest any money we make to enhance our service delivery, supporting growth that has real impact. Our Vision is for a society where economic growth and prosperity is inclusive, sustainable and leaves no person or community behind. The future we will help to create will be founded on promoting sustainable growth - with thriving businesses, creating well-paid jobs for empowered individuals across our diverse communities.
We deliver activities across five service areas: Business Support & Finance, Education and Skills, Employment, Marketing Manchester and Consultancy Services. With over 1,600 colleagues across 53 sites, we recognise that our activities have wide-ranging and interconnected impacts on the economy, environment and society, which is key to our purpose as an organisation.
We are committed to contributing to a more sustainable society and to continue to improve the effectiveness of the positive impacts we make. Due to Growth Company’s significant presence nationally, regionally and locally, we recognise the contribution and direct impact we can make as a large employer. We also ensure our provision continues to meet the needs of both local and national commissioners alongside relevant frameworks such as the UK Government's Social Value Model and, more locally, Themes, Outcomes and Measures (TOMs) framework. Our impact can be categorised through four key commitments:
In order for us to realise these commitments, we have a Sustainability Steering Group which has senior representation from across the Group reporting to the Senior Management Team. The group’s activities feed into our planning processes and ultimately both the Business and Corporate Plan’s. The steering group acts as a central point bringing together relevant work streams from HR, marketing and communications, colleagues consultation, organisational development and the senior leadership team.
To realise our Social Value objectives, we recognise the need for and are committed to communicating these objectives to our suppliers, potential and existing colleagues, customers and wider stakeholders. This is achieved via our procurement and recruitment processes and our existing communication channels, including the Business Plan, Colleague Hub (intranet), employee consultative committee, newsletters, team briefings, staff induction processes and stakeholder engagement.
This policy and the actions arising from it will be annually reviewed as part of the business planning process, which involves GC's senior leadership and management teams with final approval via the GC Board.