Motorola Solutions is Partnering with Social Enterprise UK to Benefit Society through its Procurement Processes

The company’s everyday business spend will now address some of the UK’s biggest social challenges, from homelessness to the climate emergency.

Motorola Solutions has signed up to the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, run by Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) – a ground-breaking initiative which sees leading companies open up their supply chains to more social enterprises. As a global leader in mission-critical communications, Motorola Solutions’ commitment to innovation is fuelled by its dedication to employees, customers, communities and the environment. This new partnership aligns with the company’s three guiding principles: to operate ethically, to protect the environment, and to support the communities in which it operates.

The Buy Social Corporate Challenge is designed to help large businesses in the UK to engage with a range of innovative suppliers and embeds corporate responsibility and diversity into their core operations. By joining the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, Motorola Solutions identified several local social enterprises which are part of the scheme that the company has already worked with, including Stonewall Equality Ltd., Windsor Leadership Trust, The British Red Cross, Embrace Child Victims of Crime and St. John Ambulance.

“We will build on this foundation of working with important social enterprises to further expand our contributions to good causes,'' said Martin Woodford, Director of Corporate Development and Governance at Motorola Solutions UK Managed Services. “Our teams are working to identify suitable new social enterprise suppliers, operating across recycling, facilities management, HR services and web design, to expand our social commitment in the UK even further.”

Peter Holbrook, Chief Executive at Social Enterprise UK added: “There’s a simple premise at the heart of the Buy Social Corporate Challenge – that businesses can use their core procurement spend to make the world a better place. This is beyond CSR, it’s about embedding real impact into a business’s everyday spend. It’s a pleasure to welcome Motorola Solutions to the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, and we look forward to working with them to help them find more social enterprise suppliers. We hope many more businesses follow their example and sign up.”

There are approximately 100,000 social enterprises in the UK – these are businesses set up to trade for a social or environmental purpose. From coffee companies creating jobs for people who are homeless, to not-for-profit care services for the elderly – social enterprises now operate in nearly every part of the economy.

In signing up, Motorola Solutions joins 23 other companies from different industries, including Amey, Johnson and Johnson, PwC and Zurich. The Challenge has a bold ambition: to achieve a total, cumulative spend of £1 billion with social enterprises. The Buy Social Corporate Challenge is run by Social Enterprise UK, the membership body for social enterprises with the support of Business in the Community and the government’s Inclusive Economy Unit.