Finding & Measuring Social Value In Family Business

With their sense of legacy, long-term thinking and deep community links, family businesses are different from corporates in that they often have several different ways to measure success beyond short-term profit.

Many family businesses are firmly established and invested in the local communities, which means they understand the importance of social value - the family business’s impact on the community and wider society.

That social value can cover a wide range of options, including apprenticeship and supporting local causes - but measuring and reporting that social value in an organised, credible way is a challenge many firms face.

That’s where Axiom Sustainability Software comes in. As the only all-in-one platform that integrates social value, ESG, procurement, supply chain mapping and employee engagement, it gives family firms the tools they need to actually measure their impact beyond the balance sheet.

What Is Social Value - And Why It Matters

Social value is the benefit an organisation creates for its community, employees and wider society. For family firms, that can mean apprenticeship programmes, volunteering, local procurement, fair employment practices, charitable donations or employee wellbeing initiatives. These contribute not just to the companies’ reputation, but are also important to recruitment, employee retention, stakeholder trust and stability.

Demonstrating And Embedding Social Value In Family Firms

Family firms have a unique opportunity to create and measure social value in ways that strengthen both their businesses and their communities. This can take many forms:

• Apprenticeships and Training – Taking on apprentices, mentoring young people or investing in staff development builds local skills, supports succession planning and helps create a feeling of loyalty. Auditing what you already do often reveals you’re contributing more in this area than you might realise!

• Volunteering and Community Engagement – Encouraging employees to give time to local charities or support community events demonstrates values in action and builds strong relationships. Tracking and reporting hours volunteered provides real evidence of impact.

• Local Procurement and Supply Chains – Sourcing from smaller local businesses or socially responsible suppliers keeps economic benefits in the community. Highlighting these buying decisions as part of your ESG and social value reporting makes these choices visible to stakeholders.

• Fair Employment and Wellbeing – Inclusive hiring practices, flexible working, good pay and a focus on wellbeing create a positive workplace culture and help retain talent. Selecting relevant metrics, such as diversity measures or staff satisfaction scores, ensures these values are measured and recognised.

• Measuring and Communicating – The most powerful step is turning good intentions into measurable outcomes. Platforms like Axiom can capture real-time data, link social value to ESG, procurement and emissions, giving you a full reporting capability. Sharing these stories through case studies, sustainability reports or weaving them into your family business narrative builds trust. Legacy is not only about what you’ve built, but also about what you are building for others.

Where Axiom Makes A Difference

As we mentioned at the start, Axiom is the only all-in-one sustainability platform. What that means is we can measure your social value and help you improve your sustainability performance.

We’re proud members of the FBU and already work with several FBU members.

Here’s what we offer:

All-in-one platform covering ESG, social value and carbon footprint

Axiom integrates social value alongside environmental and governance metrics, emissions, procurement and more. That means everything from apprenticeship schemes to scope-3 emissions can be tracked in one place, removing duplication and blind spots.

Practical tools and support

We offer a free carbon emissions calculator for Family Business United (FBU) members to help firms measure where they are and set realistic goals. Expert guidance also helps family businesses navigate complex regulatory requirements.

Strong family business roots and credibility

Co-founder Joe Oughtred comes from a long line of family business, and is sixth generation in the William Jackson Food Group. This background means Axiom’s leadership has many of the same values - and challenges! - that family firms face, meaning they often have a good understanding of your business and your background.

Trusted by fellow family firms

Since our working relationship with FBU, we’ve started helping several family firms with their sustainability work, including the John Good Group and Bagnalls.

For family businesses, social value isn’t optional - it’s part of the legacy. But without structured measurement, it can be invisible. Axiom’s all-in-one platform gives family firms the tools to capture, manage and report social value as part of a broader ESG and sustainability strategy.

With leadership deeply rooted in family business, and practical tools like the free carbon calculator, Axiom understands and supports FBU members and their social value needs.

About Axiom Sustainability Software - Axiom sustainability reporting software has been designed to help organisations reduce their carbon emissions, achieve net zero quickly, and accelerate their sustainability performance.

Axiom is a powerful, cloud-based sustainability and environmental accounting platform that helps businesses monitor, analyse and improve sustainability performance. It provides a complete suite of tools to help organisations in every industry gain complete visibility and control over sustainability performance. For additional information visit their website here