A professional’s guide to the Procurement Act 2023. We explore the new legislation and offer a FREE COPY of our 50-page Procurement Act Handbook (published 2025). Expert guidance and checklists!

In this extract of the ESG Pro Procurement Act Handbook, we consider the key changes to the Procurement Act 2023 and especially your key /urgent readiness actions.

Adopting a Key Readiness Solution

As we have seen, the Procurement Act (2023) represents one of the most significant regulatory shifts in UK public procurement in decades. By embedding transparency, Social Value, sustainability, and digital innovation, the Act is set to redefine how businesses interact with public sector contracts. It is no longer enough for suppliers to focus on price competitiveness alone; they must also demonstrate how their operations contribute to long-term economic, social, and environmental outcomes.

As public sector procurement continues to evolve, businesses must remain proactive in understanding regulatory updates, adopting best practices in Social Value reporting, and investing in digital procurement tools. The success of any supplier in this new landscape will depend on their ability to integrate sustainability, ethical governance, and supply chain resilience into their procurement strategies.

Organisations must take immediate action to refine their compliance, supplier engagement, and sustainability strategies to be able to win public sector contracts and enhance their competitive advantage.

The Role of ESG Pro and the Social Value Sustainability Initiative (SVSI)

A Practical Solution to Social Value Compliance

One of the biggest challenges facing suppliers under the new Procurement Act (2023) is demonstrating and evidencing Social Value contributions in a way that is structured, verifiable, and aligned with procurement scoring methodologies. The Social Value Sustainability Initiative (SVSI), developed by ESG Pro, is designed to address this challenge by offering a simplified, efficient, and impactful approach to Social Value compliance and reporting.

The SVSI transforms Social Value compliance from a burdensome requirement into a strategic advantage, making it easier for businesses to measure, track, and report their contributions. By integrating supply chain auditing, Social Value funding, and compliance automation, SVSI enables businesses to demonstrate their impact effectively while unlocking new procurement opportunities.

How SVSI Works: A Collaborative Compliance Model

The Social Value Sustainability Initiative (SVSI) takes a collaborative and self-funding approach to Social Value compliance. The model helps businesses meet procurement obligations while simultaneously delivering measurable social and environmental benefits. The key components of the initiative include:

Holistic Supply Chain Auditing

• Businesses assess and map their supply chain to determine Social Value gaps.
• ESGPro conducts an independent ESG assessment of supplier operations, identifying areas for improvement.

Simplified Social Value Reporting

• The SVSIplatform provides a structured approach to Social Value compliance.
• Suppliers submit evidence through binary disclosures and document uploads, reducing complexity.

Social Value Funding Model

• A portion of supplier participation fees is directed toward independent social funding initiatives.
• This ensures that compliance activities generate real-world impact, such as community investment and carbon reduction.

Continuous Improvement and ESG Certification

• Suppliers receive tailored risk resolution workshops to rectify compliance gaps.
• Businesses can convert their SVSIparticipation into an independent ESG rating and certification, strengthening their credentials for future bids.

By leveraging SVSI, businesses can proactively meet Procurement Act (2023) requirements while gaining tangible benefits in procurement scoring, ESG performance, and community impact.

Key Benefits of SVSI for Procurement Compliance

For businesses navigating the Procurement Act (2023), SVSI offers a structured and sustainable solution to Social Value reporting. The initiative delivers several key benefits:

	Compliance Without Complexity – Businesses can streamline their Social Value compliance without the need for costly consultants or complex software.
	Procurement Readiness – SVSI aligns with key regulatory frameworks, including PPN 06/20 (Social Value), NHS Evergreen, and CSRD reporting requirements.
	Competitive Advantage in Bidding – Businesses that engage with SVSI can enhance their procurement scoring and demonstrate best-in-class Social Value practices.
	Self-Funding Model – Companies can offset the costs of participation through the initiative’s 10% reinvestment model, ensuring Social Value compliance is affordable and impactful.
	Real-World Social and Environmental Impact – By integrating social funding mechanisms, SVSI ensures that Social Value compliance translates into tangible, measurable community benefits.

Final Recommendations for Businesses

With the Procurement Act (2023) now businesses must implement a rectification plan with urgency. The following steps are essential for suppliers looking to achieve full compliance and enhance their procurement success:

Engage with ESG Pro and the SVSI Model

• Register with ESGPro’s Social Value Sustainability Initiative (SVSI) to simplify compliance.
• Participate in supplier workshops to identify and resolve Social Value compliance gaps.

Develop a Social Value Compliance Plan

• Align internal procurement strategies with PPN 06/20and sustainability
• Implement structured reporting tools to demonstrate Social Value contributions effectively.

Leverage Digital Procurement Tools

• Use e-procurementplatforms to enhance Social Value tracking and submission.
• Integrate AI-driven contract management solutions to ensure compliance monitoring.

Monitor Procurement Policy Updates

• Stay informed about future changes to procurement regulations beyond 2025.
• Engage in industry webinars, training, and government guidance updates.

Strengthen Supply Chain Engagement

• Collaborate with suppliers to improve Social Value contributions and drive shared sustainability
• Support ethical sourcing, diversity initiatives, and community engagement programs.

The ESG Pro SVSI Model: A Transformative Approach

In the wake of increasing regulatory scrutiny and the rising demand for ethical, transparent, and sustainable business practices, organisations must look beyond mere compliance and embrace models that drive meaningful impact. Enter the Social Value Sustainability Initiative (SVSI), powered by ESG Pro—a game-changer in supply chain auditing that transforms compliance from a burden into an opportunity for shared value creation.

The SVSI model is not just another audit framework. It is a pioneering, collaborative compliance solution that enables businesses to assess, enhance, and capitalise on social and environmental contributions across their supply chains. Developed as a response to the Social Value Procurement Act (2023), which takes effect in February 2025, the SVSI model offers a proactive, structured, and rewarding approach to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management.

This is more than compliance—it is a self-sustaining ecosystem of impact, where every audit feeds back into tangible social benefits, supply chain empowerment, and long-term resilience.

Why SVSI? Moving Beyond Traditional Auditing

Traditional supply chain audits have long been viewed as:

• Cumbersome and resource-intensive, often creating financial and administrative strain on suppliers, particularly SMEs.
• Adversarial in nature, placing suppliers on the defensive rather than fostering collaborative improvement.
• A compliance necessity, rather than a strategic opportunity to drive positive change.

The SVSI model reimagines auditing as an enabler of sustainability, offering:

• A streamlined, accessible audit process with binary disclosures and simplified documentation.
• Continuous support for suppliers to ensure compliance becomes an opportunity, not an obligation.
• A circular social funding model, where audit revenues directly contribute to community-based initiatives and ESG-driven progress.

This approach creates a virtuous cycle: As companies strengthen compliance, they build long-term resilience, reduce risks, and generate social impact—all while unlocking competitive advantages in procurement and tendering.

SVSI: A Self-Funding Compliance Ecosystem

Unlike conventional models that extract resources from suppliers with little return, SVSI inverts the equation:

• Collaborative Compliance: Businesses sponsor their suppliers to undergo an ESGgap analysis, receive consultancy support, and access affordable risk resolution.
• Circular Social Funding: As suppliers rectify risks, they contribute directly to independent social funding initiatives, ensuring real-world impact beyond corporate walls.
• Affordable ESGRatings: SMEs and larger suppliers alike can convert audit results into independent ESG ratings and certifications, levelling the playing field and enhancing supply chain resilience.
• Self-Funding Mechanism: 10% of supplier spending reverts to the programme sponsor, effectively offsetting costs while amplifying impact.
• Tangible Community Benefits: Beyond compliance, every pound spent in the audit process delivers measurable contributions to social and environmental initiatives.

This holistic approach ensures that every stakeholder benefits, transforming ESG compliance into an engine of shared value and sustainable progress.

Unlocking Competitive Advantage Through SVSI

1. Elevating ESGand Social Value Impact
   • Simplifies compliance with global sustainabilityframeworks such as NHS Evergreen, CSRD, CSDDD, SECR, and TCFD, ensuring businesses stay ahead of evolving ESG
   • Offers a transparent, data-driven framework that enables Scope 3 carbon reductionby guiding suppliers toward lower emissions.
   • Builds credibility with stakeholders, demonstrating proactive ESGleadership in a marketplace increasingly driven by ethical sourcing and sustainability
2. Strengthening Supply Chain Resilience
   • Encourages collaborative problem-solving, turning audits into opportunities for risk rectification and strategic improvement.
   • Provides customised supplier engagement, ensuring that every tier of the supply chain benefits from structured ESG
   • Establishes a clear framework for governance, social value, and sustainability, embedding ESGas a core business function rather than an afterthought.
3. Generating Direct Business Benefits
   • Qualifies companies for procurement contracts requiring social value assessments, ensuring compliance with the Social Value Procurement Act (2023).
   • Reduces reputational risks by ensuring supply chain partners uphold ethical and sustainable standards.
   • Offsets ESGcompliance costs, ensuring a return on investment through the self-funding structure.
4. Democratizing ESGfor SMEs
   • Traditionally, SMEs have struggled to keep pace with ESGdemands due to cost and resource constraints.
   • SVSIensures that suppliers of all sizes can affordably access ESG frameworks, transforming sustainability from an elite advantage into a universal standard.
   • Encourages SMEs to convert compliance efforts into independent ESGratings and certificates, boosting their marketability and resilience.

SVSI: A Model for the Future of ESG Auditing

The future of sustainable procurement and supply chain governance is clear: companies must be proactive, transparent, and impactful in their ESG commitments.

SVSI is not just a compliance tool; it is a catalyst for sustainable business transformation.

• For Programme Sponsors: It reduces reputational risk, simplifies regulatory compliance, improves data quality, and delivers organic Scope 3 emissions reductions.
• For Suppliers: It ensures an accessible, affordable pathway to ESGcompliance, complete with tools, insights, and ongoing support.
• For Communities: It channels corporate ESGefforts into social funding initiatives, ensuring tangible local and global benefits.

By choosing SVSI, businesses aren’t just ticking boxes—they are leading the charge in creating a more ethical, sustainable, and resilient global economy.

The time for reactive compliance is over. The time for proactive, impact-driven ESG strategy is now. SVSI is the future of ESG compliance—because compliance should be an opportunity, not an obstacle.