Report

Investing in social value

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at perspectives from the real estate sector.

This report examines the role of “social value” in real estate decision-making. A decade ago, the Social Value Act was passed. Now, the private sector is catching up, developing metrics and making decisions based on maximising social value, not just aiming to get a financial gain out of their decision-making. “Social value is huge with investors now…you cannot escape it”, as one participant put it. In addition to providing an overview of existing social value literature, the paper presents findings from a series of depth interviews with expert stakeholders in the real estate and investor community. Over time, the E of ESG has become more robustly designed and measured, and policymakers need to act to ensure that this is also the case for social value in developments so that they deliver long-term benefits to investors and society. There’s more to come later this year.