In her first editorial for Infologue.com, Sharon McLaren, Quality and Compliance manager at Corps Security discusses how the 3 S’s security, sustainability and social value should be strongly intertwined to strengthen operational partnerships and business cases.
As the UK aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, we need entire supply chains to work together to deliver environmentally responsible solutions that address climate concerns and CO2 reduction.
A collaborative approach between client companies and security partners needs to underpin every step of their partnership. That relationship is essential for embedding security that encompasses environmental practices and developing social sustainability.
The empirical approach
Environmental sustainability needs to be scientific, empirical, and a fundamental element of any business strategy. While security providers can collate their own raw data, it is best to be guided by the experts.
External organisations can meticulously track all emissions to develop decarbonisation strategies for clients. The carbon management specialist Neutral Carbon Zone (NCZ) is one example. It can help organisations benchmark emissions with measurement tools to demonstrate sustainability achievements.
At Corps, our partnership with NCZ helped us redevelop our carbon footprint reporting on scope 1, 2 and 3 emission reports, meeting the ISO 14064 compliance standard. We received NCZ Gold accreditation after this reporting, but our scope 3 footprint – the indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain – changed.
The total emissions indirectly affecting our supply chain increased by several thousand tonnes. This might seem like regression at first, but its increase was due to more in-depth reporting methods to effectively track the areas we had not before.
With the help of an organisation like NCZ, security providers can be challenged to be as transparent as possible. Other organisations such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and EcoVadis also offer sustainable strategies. The SBTi provides standards, tools and guidance for greenhouse gas emission reduction, and EcoVadis supports ESG risk and compliance to develop improvement platforms for partners. These platforms can conduct life cycle analysis services that provide site-specific carbon reporting – for example, the emissions of on-site officers at different locations.
Collating and reporting on this data not only guides organisations on their next decarbonisation steps but also strengthens their business case. Carbon and ESG reporting bolsters security partners’ credentials and the ESG offering they provide at the tendering and contract renewal stages. Working together generates the most impactful outcomes.
Embedding social value
Social value commitments should be prioritised from the tender stage. For example, security providers can implement sustainable procurement protocols that embed social value principles throughout their entire supply chain.
Policies should guide organisations to engage in ethical sourcing, fair employment practices, and environmental responsibility. This may include a supplier code of conduct and diversity questionnaire to help assess whether supply chain partners are engaging with businesses owned by underrepresented groups. Through this approach, our spending with social enterprises increased by 88 per cent last year.
Supply chain partners should always champion fairness. Security providers can support fair pay initiatives, such as the Real Living Wage. Partnerships with charities can also enhance social value efforts—for instance, by establishing a voluntary programme in which a small percentage surcharge on contract values is donated to a designated charity.
Corps’ 1% scheme, for example, places a 1% surcharge on client contract value that is donated to our designated charity partner, Combat Stress. This amounted to £30,000 in 2024 – a small price for supply chain partners to pay that has significant benefits.
Working together
The integration of security, sustainability and social value creates a powerful framework for responsible business practices. When security providers collaborate with clients on shared environmental and social goals, they build deeper relationships and more resilient operations.
By combining these three Ss, organisations don’t just meet compliance requirements – they build stronger communities, protect the environment, and have a meaningful impact on all stakeholders.