Compass supports VCSEs with £16 million spend

Compass Group UK & Ireland has continued to support Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs), reporting a £7.4m spend (in 2024), which is a 60% increase from the previous year. The business is on track to achieve its £30m target, having spent £16 million to date.

To support this ambition, in 2022 Foodbuy Group, Compass’ procurement division, launched its ‘Pitch Social’ initiative, designed to deliver social value and diversify the Group’s supplier base. The event gives social enterprises, as well as B-corps, and minority owned businesses with a high social and environmental value agenda the chance to pitch their business, providing an opportunity to access Foodbuy Group’s multibillion-pound supply chain.

The first event was held in London, and the 2024 event took place in Leeds, with the aim to now hold these annually. Examples of some of the suppliers that have joined Foodbuy Group’s supply chain with strong social and environmental values include The Uncommon, an English winemaker known for pioneering sustainable formats in award-winning sparkling wine production and One Water, supporting sustainable clean water and sanitation services in impoverished regions.

Foodbuy Group has recently launched a mentoring programme for suppliers that attended the events but were not selected to be listed – this enables them to drive further positive change.

Harinder Singh, Foodbuy Group’s Head of Sustainability and Compliance said: “Supporting VCSEs in this way, means we can make a meaningful difference through our spend. Pitch Social provides the opportunity to engage with numerous suppliers, gaining insight into their social missions and creates diversity within our supplier base. It is great to be building on our established work in this area.”

This is part of Foodbuy Group’s longstanding commitment to increase spend with social enterprises. It was the first food and drink company to join the Buy Social Corporate Challenge in 2019, with the wider Compass Group UK & Ireland business committing in 2020. Earlier this year, the Group was awarded Footprint’s Social Impact and Diversity Award for the team’s work in this area.

New figures released by Buy Social Corporate Challenge reveal a landmark surge in procurement spending with social enterprises, with 33 big businesses together spending £179 million with suppliers that use profits for social or environmental causes, a 46% year-on-year increase, the highest since the initiative launched in 2016.

The figures come from the Year 9 report of the Buy Social Corporate Challenge. The pioneering initiative led by national body Social Enterprise UK in partnership with the UK Government, which is helping some of the UK’s biggest businesses rewire their supply chains to deliver social impact alongside commercial value. Since launch, corporate partners have spent £656 million with 2,100 social enterprise suppliers, creating nearly 6,000 jobs.

Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive of Social Enterprise UK, said: “This isn’t just about doing good, it’s about doing good business. Social enterprises are delivering innovation, sustainability, and high-quality services to some of the UK’s most recognisable brands.”