Magnitude Social Value

CLIENT

• GLP

CLIENT INDUSTRY

• Logistics

SERVICES PROVIDED

• Social value measurement

LOCATIONS

• Magna Park, Milton Keynes

DATE

• September 2020

CHALLENGE
GLP commissioned the Savills sustainability team to measure the social value delivered by the construction of Magnitude, a logistics warehouse in Magna Park, Milton Keynes. GLP delivered a wide array of benefits to the local community as part of the construction of Magnitude. Over 39% of social value against contract value was delivered, well above the expectation of 10-15% of social valuedelivery for similar construction projects and 20% for typical construction projects.
Social value delivery was mapped against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), showing that the Magnitude construction project’s social impact is estimated to be aligned to 10 out of 17 SDGs and that social investments are aligned to all SDGs.

Social value measurement is used to understand the broader contribution that projects or properties makes to society. The measurement framework used was the National Themes Outcomes and Measures (National TOMs), created by theNational Social Value Taskforce to develop a consistent and comparable measurement solution for social value.

Each of the Measures in the National TOMs has been assigned a proxy value which allows organisations to report their delivery in financial and non-financial terms. These values stem from public sector data sources such as the Unit CostDatabase following the principles laid out by HM Treasury for monetising economic, environmental and social impact. For example, the TOMs will put a value on employing someone who is long-term unemployed by drawing on data around the average fiscal savings and economic benefit of that person now being in a job as opposed to claiming benefits.

SOLUTION
The measurement process involved 3 main stages: understanding the local needs, regular data collection and reporting aligned to the SDGs. The Savills sustainability team was responsible for engaging with the project manager to ensure they understood the social value requirements and to collect data at 3 points. A local needs analysis, including a review local and regional policies and analysis of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) of local wards, was carried out to identify key social value drivers in the area surrounding Magnitude. An action plan was created to maximise opportunities to generate social value by focusing on initiatives that address the needs of the local community and therefore create value. Priority measures were then selected to be the focus ofsocial value delivery for the remainder of the project.

Data was collected at 3 points during the project to monitor live social value delivery and help the project stay on track. A report was issued including asummary of key activities undertaken and value delivered against each of the 5 Social Value target themes:

1. Skills and employment
2. Promoting local and responsible businesses
3. Creating stronger, healthier communities
4. Protecting and improving our environment
5. Promoting social innovation

The report also contained the total social return on investment reported as a financial value and detailed how social value delivered is estimated to be linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

RESULTS
Magnitude is a speculative logistics warehouse in Milton Keynes, built over 6 months. GLP engaged with the construction contractor on sustainability from thestart and was able to deliver the building as the first Net Zero embodied carbon construction project in line with the UK Green Building Council’s framework.

Social value delivery was recorded against all main themes of the National TOMs and over 39% of social value against contract value was reported, almost double the amount of social value expected for typical construction projects, even though the construction of Magnitude was a short construction project. The benefits of this measurement exercise include the following:

• The development of social value targets help the development team understand the priorities of the local community and the local authority, supporting better relationships and well informed decisions.Better engagement with the local community can help improve the image of construction and raise awareness of construction as a career
• The measurement of social value delivered can be used to evidence the impact of the project on the local community and to benchmark the project against future GLP projects, supporting future planning applications and ensuring continual improvement 
• Social value measurement can be used to demonstrate monitoring of the development’s impact on the community, a GRESB indicator

TESTIMONIAL
“Great result and one we’re obviously delighted with!”