Tom Arthur, the Scottish Government’s minister for employment and investment, visited the construction company on Tuesday morning to understand the impact of its efforts.

Launched by Social Enterprise Scotland and backed by the Scottish Government, the Buy Social Scotland Pledge sees organisations that are committed to supporting social enterprises adopt five key actions:

1. Recognise Fair Work for All –champion fair work principles, prioritise Real Living Wages, narrow the Gender Pay Gap, foster Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and eradicate zero-hour contracts.
2. Environmental Impact for a Sustainable Tomorrow – embrace a net zero policy.
3. Support Social Enterprises – onboard and promote social enterprises within their supply chains, helping to foster an ecosystem that nurtures and supports these invaluable organisations, amplifying their positive impact.
4. Prompt Payment, Ethical Business – organisations will commit to prompt payment, resulting in ethical business relationships.
5. Measure Positive Impact – Commit to transparency and accountability by reporting annual spend with social enterprises.

The Buy Social Scotland Pledge has welcomed several “early-adopters” including City Building (Glasgow) LLP, Edinburgh Napier University, Glasgow City Council, Keegan & Pennykid, the Scottish Prison Service, Scotland Excel and Morrison Construction, and saw organisations generate a £9 million spend with Scottish social enterprises in the last financial year.

Jim Johnstone, head of communities and social impact at Morrison Construction, said “At Morrison Construction, creating community wealth within the communities we work is of the utmost importance to our business, and the Buy Social Scotland Pledge aligns closely with those aims.

“We look forward to working with Social Enterprise Scotland to fulfil the pledge and ensure we leave a lasting legacy through supporting and building capacity in the third sector throughout the country.”

Jamie Lawson, strategic partnerships and engagement manager, added: “We were delighted to be joined by Tom Arthur MSP to welcome Morrison Construction to the Buy Social Scotland Pledge.

“Morrison Construction has a long history of supporting Scotland’s social enterprise sector and their participation demonstrates their commitment to fostering social and environmental impact and driving positive change.”