Social clauses to embed CSR

The Cabinet Office based Office of the Third Sector, which exists to encourage those who identify with neither the public nor private sectors of the economy like voluntary organisations, charities, social enterprises and co-operatives, has concluded research into the insertion of social clauses in contracts awarded by the public sector.

These social clauses oblige contactors to deliver some objective – employ so many long-term unemployed, for example – over and above the service they’re primarily contracted to deliver. In pilots the idea will be trialled in waste and recycling, with those bidding for recycling contracts asked what additional benefits they can offer the community.

At first sight recycling seems an odd industry to pick on, given that it already has a high social worth. One might think saving waste from landfill sufficient social benefit and community recyclers are more used to accusations of not being commercial enough. However, community recyclers have always tended to address multiple social ills – by employing ex-offenders, say – and it’s these activities government seems keen to preserve as big business rapidly takes over.

Social clauses are difficult to draft and uphold and complicate efforts to measure value for money. However, they also challenge business to make commitments to corporate social reasonability meaningful and have the potential to make CSR a part of everyday business rather than an after thought.

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