Network Rail has appointed Manchester’s Impact Reporting to measure and analyse the value of its social value efforts.
Impact was established by the founders of Reason Digital and is a CSR and sustainability reporting tool.
“We’re becoming the go-to social impact tool for the rail sector because we collect the data which drives the values set out in the CSIF. Impact can capture and measure all aspects of community, social and employee engagement and demonstrates what good CSR analysis looks like in real time,” explained Chris Farrell, Managing Director of Impact.
“We can help rail clients build a clearer picture of the important social value activities they’re engaged in, such as outreach in schools, rail safety, suicide prevention, apprenticeships and local economic spend. As a tool Impact then allows clients to set targets for further CSR initiatives such as increased volunteering hours, further time spent training and more sustainable development, all of which deliver community benefits.”
CSIF, or the Common Social Impact Framework is a way to measure, monitor, and evaluate social impacts of rail projects.
“Network Rail owns and manages Great Britain’s railway infrastructure, which includes tracks, bridges and stations. We are publicly funded and impact millions of passengers and their surrounding communities every day, so we have a social responsibility to be community-focused and provide societal benefits for the British taxpayer,” added Sarah Borien, Sustainability Strategy Manager at Network Rail.
“We want to measure our social value in a meaningful way and take into consideration a broad range of activities that we know are being delivered across the network, but rarely measured. For example, we will be examining employee’s volunteering time, STEM engagement, railway safety, social regeneration and community rail initiatives.”
