ISS has entered into a global partnership with UK-based Social Value Portal which helps organisations measure, manage and report on social value they contribute to society.
Described as a 'first of a kind', the collaboration will develop a unified global framework for measuring the impact of the facility services provider's social sustainability initiatives across its 60 operating markets.
What is the positive impact on a local Australian community when ISS hires 50 new employees from marginalised groups?
Or when ISS enters a partnership with a local supplier in Chile who sources environmentally friendly vegetables? These are the types of social actions the new partnership aims to assess at a global level.
By adopting Social Value Portal’s Global TOM (Themes, Outcomes, Measures) System, ISS will be able to measure and report its social impact across borders through a unified metric for social value: the International Dollar.
ISS has already collaborated with Social Value Portal in selected markets since 2023, utilising its cutting-edge platform and systems to generate valuable data on local social impact.
However, it is becoming increasingly important to scale this approach to include all markets.
Margot Slattery, Global Head of Social Sustainability and Inclusion at ISS, tells FM Magazine: “The social sustainability agenda is rapidly gaining momentum, prompting many of our global customers to prioritise social actions in their strategies and concrete tenders.
By adopting this approach globally, ISS is helping to set a new standard for people- and community-first business practices worldwide.
This increases the need for ISS to provide global data and adopt a shared language to clearly demonstrate the social impact of our initiatives across borders, expressed as a monetary value.
By translating social value into monetary terms, we believe we can bring social sustainability even more to the forefront of global business.”
Guy Battle, Social Value Portal CEO, adds: “The Global TOM System is more than a measurement framework - it helps responsible businesses, like ISS, maximise the value they create for their customers and communities.
Using financial 'proxy values', the TOM System translates actions - such as hiring someone who was previously unemployed - into a measure of their wider impact on people, communities, and the economy.
Its unique use of the International Dollar provides a unifying currency, enabling social actions to be compared on a like-for-like basis across different countries.
"By adopting this approach globally, ISS is helping to set a new standard for people- and community-first business practices worldwide.”
In 2025, ISS Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway will be included in the partnership’s project scope with a global roll-out across geographical markets ISS operates in continuing into 2026 and beyond.
