Measuring Impact: Tracking Disability Inclusion and Social Procurement Outcomes
This article is part of our ‘ESG Insights: Driving Impact through Inclusion’ series, which was originally published on our LinkedIn on September 23, 2025. To get immediate access to future articles in our exclusive content on ESG and inclusion, be sure to Follow us on LinkedIn.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
As companies increasingly embrace disability inclusion and social procurement as fundamental to their Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments, a crucial question arises: how do they measure the true impact of these efforts? Effective and credible impact measurement not only validates investments but also strengthens accountability, guides improvement, and bolsters stakeholder confidence.
This article explores the key metrics, frameworks, and tools for tracking disability-led social procurement outcomes within ESG reporting. It highlights best practices for both corporations and social enterprises, presenting an integrated approach to measuring social value that aligns with current reporting standards and supports a sustainable, inclusive economy.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
The Importance of Measuring Disability-Inclusion and Social Procurement Impact
Social procurement — the intentional inclusion of disability-led social enterprises and other marginalised suppliers in purchasing — delivers significant social and business value. But value is not just monetary. It encompasses improved employment outcomes, greater accessibility, community empowerment, and tangible progress on diversity and equity goals.
Governments, investors, and consumers demand transparent reporting of these outcomes. They want to know:
How does procurement translate to real inclusion for persons with disabilities (PWD)?
What is the social return on investment (SROI)?
How does this effort contribute to broader ESG performance and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
Consistent, credible impact measurement creates frameworks for understanding value beyond traditional financial metrics, enabling more strategic, targeted social procurement practices.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Essential Metrics for Disability-Led Social Procurement Impact
Measuring disability inclusion and social procurement impact involves multiple dimensions reflecting social, economic, and business outcomes. Key types of metrics include:
Employment and Economic Inclusion
Number and percentage of PWD employed directly or through suppliers
Job retention and career progression data among employees with disabilities
Income levels, benefits, and job quality indicators
Number of disability-led social enterprises contracted and spend with them
Accessibility and Product/Service Innovation
Number and reach of accessible products or services developed
User satisfaction and accessibility testing results involving PWD
Innovations improving inclusion across value chains
Social Wellbeing and Empowerment
Improvements in participants’ confidence, independence, and quality of life (often measured through surveys and interviews)
Community impacts such as reduced stigma and enhanced social cohesion
Organisational and ESG Outcomes
Corporate compliance with disability inclusion-related regulations and standards
Employee engagement scores and diversity indices
Positive media or stakeholder feedback on inclusion initiatives
Alignment with SDGs, notably Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and Goal 10 (Reduced Inequalities)
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Impact Measurement Frameworks for Disability-Inclusion and Social Procurement
Several globally recognised frameworks assist organisations in capturing and communicating social procurement and disability inclusion outcomes.
Social Return on Investment (SROI)
SROI is a robust, stakeholder-inclusive methodology that quantifies social value in financial terms relative to investments made. It accounts for social, environmental, and economic outcomes that may not be reflected in traditional accounting.
By involving service users — including PWD — and key stakeholders, SROI reveals the broader impact of disability-led social enterprise procurement on individuals and communities. It enables corporations and partners to evaluate cost-effectiveness and make informed decisions on resource allocation.
“Example: A study of disability-led social enterprises in the UK found an SROI ranging from £1.81 to £116 for every £1 invested, driven by enhanced employment, wellbeing, and community participation.”
B Impact Assessment
Developed by B Lab, this comprehensive impact measurement tool evaluates companies on Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. The assessment includes specific indicators for disability inclusion and supply chain diversity, enabling businesses to benchmark and improve social procurement practices.
Achieving B Corp certification signals credibility in ESG performance and social impact, including meaningful disability inclusion efforts.
Screen capture of the official B Corp website (© B Corp)
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards
GRI standards offer extensive guidelines for sustainability reporting, including social criteria relevant to disability inclusion and procurement practices. Indicators such as GRI 404 (Training and Education) and GRI 414 (Supplier Social Assessment) help organisations disclose their initiatives transparently and consistently.
Screen capture of the official GRI website (© Global Reporting Initiative)
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Aligning procurement and inclusion impact with SDGs motivates a global perspective. Goals 8 and 10 especially relate to decent work and economic growth, and reducing inequalities. Corporations increasingly frame their social procurement outcomes as contributions toward these targets.
Screen capture of the official SDG website (© United Nations)
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Bridging the Language Gap: A Common Framework for Corporations and Social Enterprises
One of the challenges in measuring and communicating impact in disability-led social procurement is the different perspectives and priorities between corporations and social enterprises. Corporations often focus on standardised ESG metrics, compliance, and risk management, while social enterprises prioritise community outcomes, empowerment, and qualitative change. This difference can create confusion or misalignment in impact reporting and value perception.
Fortunately, there is growing convergence toward shared frameworks and a common language that both sides can adopt, enhancing transparency, trust, and collaboration.
The B4SI Framework: A Shared Standard
The B4SI (Business for Societal Impact) Framework is one prominent example widely used by corporations and increasingly adopted by social enterprises. It structures impact measurement along three pillars:
Inputs: Resources invested (e.g. procurement spend, staffing, time)
Outputs: Direct tangible results (e.g. number of PWD employed, procurements made)
Outcomes and Impacts: Changes resulting from outputs (e.g. increased PWD income, improved wellbeing, innovation)
Screen capture of the official B4SI website (© B4SI)
“In 2016, PwC UK joined Social Enterprise UK’s ‘Buy Social Corporate Challenge,’ committing to spend £10 million with social enterprises over six years, until the 2023 reporting year.”
This flexible and modular approach lets corporations map social procurement activities and social enterprises capture the changes they contribute to in communities with the same indicators and metrics. The B4SI Framework’s adaptability means organisations can apply it at their own pace and tailor it to their maturity, creating a shared language that aligns the two perspectives.
Monetising Social Impact — A Universal Value Metric
Although social impact is multidimensional, there is movement toward monetising social outcomes to create a common metric usable by both business and social stakeholders. Monetisation translates various forms of impact — economic, social, environmental — into a financial value that supports comparison, decision-making, and communication.
Scholars and institutions advocate for this approach, aiming for social impact accounts akin to financial reporting. Social Return on Investment (SROI) frameworks like Social Value International or Social Value UK already provide guidelines and guidance for this, helping both corporate buyers and social suppliers quantify the value generated by social procurement.
Screen capture of the official Social Value International website (© Social Value International)
“Social Value International is proud to be a founding collaborator of the ImpactWorks Alliance, a global partnership for action on sustainability convened by UNDP and ISO that was announced today at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4).”
Monetisation encourages understanding of trade-offs, benefits, and resource allocation in a universal language — money — while still preserving qualitative narratives for context and nuance.
Alignment with Global Reporting Standards
Both corporations and social enterprises increasingly align their reporting with global standards like the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These standards provide transparent, comparable, and widely recognised indicators for social impact, including disability inclusion and procurement practices.
By building impact reports that map to GRI indicators (e.g., GRI 414 on Supplier Social Assessment) and SDG targets (such as SDG 8 for decent work and economic growth, and SDG 10 for reduced inequalities), both parties communicate on a common platform recognised by investors, governments, and civil society. This fosters trust and boosts the credibility of social procurement outcomes.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
This convergence empowers corporations and social enterprises to:
Speak a unified "impact language," facilitating clearer stakeholder engagement and reporting
Co-design measurement systems that satisfy both business accountability and social mission outcomes
Track and demonstrate the value of disability-led social procurement with rigour and transparency
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Guidelines & Tools for Facilitating Social Procurement
For Corporations (Social Procurement)
Socially Responsible Public Procurement Manual: Procura+ (a network of European public authorities and regions) published a manual that guides the public and private sectors with procedures for implementing social procurement.
Supplier Diversity Dashboards: Many large companies use proprietary or third-party software (e.g., SAP Ariba, EcoVadis) to monitor supplier diversity, including disability-led businesses, and report metrics internally and externally.
Grants Management Software: Platforms like Submittable or Fluxx enable social enterprises to track performance against outcomes, client feedback, and impact stories.
Screen capture of the official Procura+ website (© Procura+ network)
For Social Enterprises (Social Value Suppliers)
Global standards: Institute for Social Value offers established standards for social value measurement and management for global procurement.
Social Value Measurement Tools: Tools such as the Social Value Portal or the Social Value Calculator help social enterprises quantify their social impact, including employment and capacity building outcomes for PWD.
B Impact Assessment: As noted, this supports social enterprises in benchmarking their impact and improving transparency for corporate clients.
Guides for Annual Impact Reports: Many social enterprises produce stakeholder-focused reports that showcase their mission-driven outcomes with qualitative and quantitative evidence. Established platforms, like Sopact and Impact Reporting UK, provide guideline or even assistance for social enterprises' impact reporting.
Screen capture of the official Sopact website (© Sopact)
“A workforce development program uploads a 100-page end-of-cohort evaluation report, plus 200 learner survey responses. (Sopact’s) Intelligent Cell instantly identifies that while confidence scores improved (quantitative), recurring comments flagged childcare conflicts and mentor matching delays (qualitative). These findings are tagged, scored, and exported as structured data—ready for program staff to act on immediately.”
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Best Practices in Impact Measurement and Reporting
Engage Stakeholders Early: Co-develop metrics and reporting criteria with disability-led enterprises, employees, and community representatives for relevance and authenticity.
Use Mixed Methods: Combine quantitative data (e.g., employment statistics) with qualitative insight (e.g., user stories) to fully capture impact.
Set Clear, Measurable KPIs: Link procurement goals to specific social outcomes with timelines and transparency.
Integrate Impact Reporting into ESG: Embed social procurement metrics within broader ESG frameworks rather than siloing social reporting.
Communicate Impact Transparently: Share results widely with internal teams, clients, investors, and communities to build trust and drive continuous improvement.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Looking Forward: Impact as a Driver of Inclusion and Innovation
Measuring disability inclusion and social procurement outcomes is more than a reporting exercise — it is a strategic tool for business and social transformation. By tracking social and economic value effectively, companies can enhance ESG credibility, strengthen their stakeholder relationships, and contribute meaningfully to an inclusive economy.
Disability-led social procurement is a powerful pathway to achieving these outcomes. With credible measurement and clear frameworks, corporations and social enterprises alike can demonstrate the significant, lasting value of these inclusive partnerships.
Interested in getting started? Explore Social Value UK and B Lab resources to benchmark your disability inclusion impact today.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Design Studio MZ+MM makes Social Procurement sensible.
Design Studio MZ+MM is a social enterprise (SEE Mark No. SEE 0114) based in Hong Kong, providing various types of graphic design services. Currently, the team is composed of hearing-impaired and hearing designers who practice disability inclusion, which is the primary reason for promoting "diversity, equity and inclusion" in corporate organizations. We support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDGs: 10 “Reduced Inequalities” and 17 “Promote Partnerships for the Goals”.
In addition to providing job opportunities for diverse talents, this social enterprise also helps corporate clients implement advanced governance concepts. We also firmly believe that Design Studio MZ+MM is still the only social procurement solution practitioner and provider in Hong Kong, providing professional design services in the true sense of social procurement and adding multiple levels of added social value. To learn more about the vision and mission of this social enterprise, please click this link to jump to the Social Impact page.
