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NEPO’s three-year strategy includes ambitious plans to ensure that the millions spent through public procurement creates value within the local economy, positively impacting our communities and the environment.

Over the past four years, NEPO’s procurement solutions have driven job creation, apprenticeship placements and reduced carbon emissions, representing social value commitments totalling £215m. We want to go further over the next three years. We have worked with regional stakeholders to identify where we can make the greatest impact, and have taken that insight to develop a delivery plan with six key areas of activity:

1. Embed the North East social value model in everything that we do
2. Stimulate economic growth through job opportunities, apprenticeship placements and training
3. Tackle environmental challenges, delivering on net zero ambitions, and harnessing the region’s talent and innovation to show that the North East is leading the way
4. Collaborate with key regional stakeholders, including the Combined Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnership and anchor institutions, such as universities, to deliver on our shared ambition
5. Support our suppliers, acting as a trusted partner, to ensure that they can achieve their ambitions and create growth and opportunity
6. Recognise and celebrate supplier success to show that the North East is not a problem to be solved, but a solution to the UK’s challenges

Want to know more? Watch Simon Hanson, Economic Development & Policy Manager at NEPO, explain our social value ambitions.