WIREDGOV

I was proud that yesterday we announced an investment with Cumbria Community Foundation that will help Transform West Cumbria.

The programme touches all of our social impact objectives.

I believe this will make a real difference to our local community.

You would expect an organisation of our size to have a social impact programme and to do work that benefits the community.

What makes our approach different, is that we believe social impact doesn’t just benefit our communities, it’s good business.

Let me explain why:

No business exists in a vacuum.

Healthy surroundings are essential for any businesses to thrive.

And the best businesses don’t just benefit from what’s around them, they help build it.

That’s the principle at the heart of our social impact approach.

We’ve got 100 years’ worth of work at Sellafield.

To deliver this work, we need a skilled, resilient, and resourceful community. One capable of hosting a complex eco-system of businesses.

That requires a healthy and motivated population, high levels of educational attainment, self-reliance, and entrepreneurialism.

Those attributes don’t just appear. They are nurtured.

And that’s what our social impact programme is all about.

We’ve called it Slx – social impact multiplied – because we want it to be more than the sum of its parts.

All of the projects under the Slx banner are collaborations.

Whether they’re improving education, inspiring business start-ups, supporting families, or strengthening community organisations, they are designed, developed, and delivered by experts.

All are co-created with the community and aligned to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

They leverage funding from other sources and address longstanding issues in communities most in need of help.

Crucially, they will help deliver the ambitions of the Government’s Industrial Strategy with its emphasis on place-based economic development and building on the strengths of the regions.

This is not about generating headlines. It’s about tangible, long-term social and economic improvement.

Like every other element of our operations, we are seeking best value for our funders, the UK taxpayer and we expect to be held to account on our delivery.

External scrutiny always improves performance. I want everyone with a stake in our business to examine and understand the aims of the Slx programme and let us know if we fall short in achieving those improvements.