Creating social value with pride throughout Sheffield

When I think of my career so far and the successes, I’ve been proud to be a part of, it is not only commercial performance that comes to mind but how the places I have worked at behave against social economic challenges that continue to be prevalent. 

You may know that I joined Henry Boot from British Land, but what you may not know is that I was also a long-standing Trustee for Landaid – the property sector youth homelessness charity. That role was a moving experience for me as I witnessed firsthand the struggles of young people impacted by homelessness. It also made me a strong believer that businesses have a crucial role to play in improving people’s lives in the communities we work within.

Nearly two years ago, I was approached by one of our longstanding partners Business in the Community (BITC) with a proposition. BITC are the UK’s largest responsible business network, set up by (the then) Prince Charles and operating for over 40 years.

At Henry Boot, we believe that being a successful business goes beyond commercial performance – it’s also about making a meaningful, lasting contribution to the communities we work within.

As a firm with nearly 140 years of history in Sheffield, we were proud to be invited by Business in the Community (BITC), the UK’s largest responsible business network, to support its Pride of Place initiative.  Our longstanding commitment to responsible business and social value was a key factor in BITC’s approach. While our heritage in Sheffield is well known, BITC recognised the real difference Henry Boot continues to make, through charitable giving, volunteering, and sharing our expertise with community partners.

Fast forward to today, we’re proud to be actively involved in shaping this work. As the Chair of BITC’s Sheffield Pride of Place Board, we collaborate with stakeholders at Sheffield City Council, both local universities, the NHS, the Chamber of Commerce, third sector leaders and many other local businesses to create a strategic plan for a collaborative approach to challenging some of the city’s most pressing problems.

Already we have spearheaded a social mobility campaign to increase support for careers education and are about to launch an inclusive recruitment campaign this summer.

Whilst Sheffield is England’s fourth largest city and successful in many ways, it is also a city that faces significant social division and deprivation. For example, life expectancy on one local bus route can drop by more than ten years depending on the area. These stark contrasts highlight the urgent need for collaborative, place-based action – something we at Henry Boot are committed to driving.

Our involvement in the Pride of Place is part of a broader responsible business strategy, through which we are on track to deliver over £1m of social value by the end of 2024. Since launching this strategy in 2022, colleagues across the business have played a key role in supporting communities through volunteering, mentoring, and fundraising efforts.

This commitment to our responsible business agenda is a reflection of who we are and what we stand for. Giving back, adding social value, is good for business. It helps us respond to the needs of our communities, it enhances our reputation and standing with our customers and people, and it develops our workplace culture.

As BITC recently shared with us:

“I am always in awe of all Henry Boot do to support communities, you really do go the extra mile and are a great exemplar for other businesses”.

We’re proud of that recognition and remain committed to continuing our shared hard work to help create a more inclusive, fair and resilient Sheffield – and we hope to inspire others to do the same.