Social value consulting

In order for human beings to flourish, governments, developers and asset managers need to consider the impact of their buildings on the safety, security and prosperity of the local community. This extends beyond health and wellbeing. Social value has wider socioeconomic impacts on local supply chains, affordability, community cohesion and future generations.

As a result, international standardisation of social value legalisation has been incorporated into the global sustainability agenda. For example the Sustainable Financial Disclosure Regulations (SFDR), European Social Impact Investment Taxonomy and the UK’s Social Value Act reflect the importance with which social value has been instigated into the global sustainability agenda.

Similarly to environmental impact, understanding the social outcomes of investments is a means to understanding resilience. We work with our clients to understand regulatory and legislative requirements, as well as how social policy can be implemented on projects.

Buro Happold’s social value consultancy experts come from a wide range of disciplines. Our multidisciplinary team includes architects, economists, engineers and social scientists. We adopt integrated thinking from professional practice, legislation, academic research and national/international standards to inform our social value work.

Above all, our holistic approach to the built environment engenders social and economic benefits. Our social value consultancy supports clients in delivering sustainable, healthy and thriving urban communities.

Our services include:

Understanding community wellbeing

Facilitating dialogues with stakeholders and local communities.
Hosting workshops to determine goals, outcomes and responsibilities.
Design management.
Advising on the funding and delivery requirement to implement action in public sector services, grants, real estate, voluntary sector, social impact investment, planning obligations and social enterprise models.

Strategy services

Social value project or organisation-level frameworks. These may also be integrated into sustainability services.
Social value appraisals of site and/or organisation-level strategy.
Advisory services for social objectives of investment portfolios.

Planning

Planning stage assessments e.g. HIA, EIA, socio economic appraisal, health and equalities impact assessment.

Design

Engage with design teams to maximise social value through design, procurement and construction.
Assessment of design against certifications schemes e.g. WELL Buildings and WELL Community Assessment.
Just community principles.

Understanding impact

Benchmarking the social value of projects to understand project performance against best practice.
Social value measurement and reporting through the use of financial proxy e.g. HACT, and TOMS framework.

expertise At every stage

Buro Happold enables our clients to realise social value across the design, construction and operation of buildings. Our multidisciplinary team adopt innovative practices to deliver social value on projects. Furthermore, we understand the social impact within a wider sustainability context.

Social value draws on principles from health and wellbeing, inclusive design, community cohesion and equity. As a result, these principles improve the livelihoods of those occupying the buildings we design. At both masterplanning and building scale, social value is key to a project’s strategic definition. It is a core element of the design concept and continues into the project handover and management. At an organisational level, we know it as the ‘S’ in environmental, social and governance (ESG).

Amidst the climate and biodiversity crisis, there is an expectation that our clients needs to evidence positive social outcomes in equal measure to environmental impact. To achieve this, our multidisciplinary social value experts work with developers, local authorities, academics and third-sector organisations to develop and deliver meaningful social value programmes.

Concept design

The most important task to carry out at the start of a social value project is to identify which communities, groups and individuals will be most impacted by the project.

Buro Happold engages with clients and stakeholders to identify their interests and meaningful outcomes of the project. A baseline assessment of socio-economic or focused health and wellbeing indicators may be undertaken.

The outcomes of early-stage engagement and research may be developed into an action plan for delivering a socially valuable project through detailed design, construction and operation.

Developed and technical design

As the project’s design develops, we use our experience of delivering health and wellbeing improvements and developing inclusive design strategies. This encourages community cohesion through building design and management to inform social value strategy.

At this stage, we may develop a bespoke social value framework, based on original research, engagement with impacted communities and our interdisciplinary knowledge and standards. These certifications include: WELL Community Standard, US Green Building Council’s (UGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and LEED Neighbourhood Development, International Living Future Institute’s JUST Label, Social Economic Environmental Design (SEED) Network and NAACP’s Centering Equity Framework.

Construction

social value consultants working on a project site

Our social value consultants take on the role of ambassadors for the human-centric side of sustainability. It is important to ensure community consultation and project team engagement takes place at every design stage.

Realising social value in procurement is key to achieving a just transition to net zero carbon. Buro Happold can take on the responsibility of embedding social value principles from the design through to construction.

Handover and in use

Social value can also be achieved through programmatic interventions as well as design. We create opportunities to participate in social and health-based events. And we also support small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) within ESG programmes. In addition, procurement can be quantified through the intelligent use of qualitative and quantitative social value metrics.

Through our involvement at the early design stages, we are able to tell the social value story of a development. Equally, through use of the HACT and TOMS framework, we can evidence wellbeing and exchequer uplift in monetary social value.

Clients we work with

Brent Cross Cricklewood Regeneration in London

City and local authorities

Regeneration is viewed as a key opportunity to address social value issues within a city or region. Our sustainability consultants and advisors enable city leaders to navigate the complex challenges posed by the creation and delivery of social value.

For example, our work on the Brent Cross Cricklewood Regeneration saw us lead an overarching health and wellbeing framework as well as provide strategy and design guidance. The project is one of the largest regeneration projects in Europe. It was undertaken as a joint venture between Argent Related and Barnet Council.

The project also adopts the innovative flourishing index to measure the wellbeing of the Brent Cross population. We are working with the local community, stakeholders and the University of Manchester to undertake a rare ‘before and after’ evaluation of the scheme.

London 2012 Olympics masterplanning including social value consultancy work — London 2012 Olympics Legacy and Masterplan

Developers and asset owners

Since 2014, Buro Happold has worked with Lendlease to develop a health and wellbeing public realm strategy for the International Quarter London (IQL). This urban development is a key legacy project of the 2012 London Olympics for East London.

We advised undertaking WELL certifications within the social value strategy. As a result, Buro Happold has led two WELL Buildings assessments and Europe’s first WELL Communities assessment. These covered the key buildings and outdoor spaces within the masterplan.

Architects

We have a long history of working with architects to deliver complex design solutions. Consequently, we have vast experience of ensuring that health, wellbeing and productivity principles are embedded into building design.

At Kuwait University, we worked with HOK to deliver both an indoor and outdoor health and wellbeing strategy. This provided the building and landscape designers with clear and practical evidence-based briefs. Furthermore, our client (Kuwait National Government) was able to see how the design proposal was likely to improve environmental and social outcomes.