Neighbourly, a tech-for-good platform trusted by the likes of Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and M&S to deliver social impact through local giving, volunteering and surplus food redistribution, has reached a major milestone in its community impact journey, having delivered £2 billion in social value through its platform since 2014.
The milestone comes as businesses face growing pressure to evidence social outcomes with the rigour and auditability applied to financial and environmental performance. With social value increasingly influencing procurement decisions and investor expectations in sectors from FMCG to construction, structured, data-led reporting has moved from a voluntary CSR activity to a commercial requirement.
The scale of impact – which currently averages over £1m for every day of the year – reflects both the volume of resources donated through the platform and the ongoing level of need experienced by communities across the UK. Community organisations continue to report sustained pressure linked to cost-of-living challenges, rising demand for food provision and constrained local funding.
By providing a strategic framework for businesses to plan community investment and engagement, the platform ensures that resources like surplus products, volunteer time and financial support are matched precisely to verified local needs.
Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, said: “Hitting the £2bn social value mark is a testament to the power of a tech-enabled approach to community investment. It’s no longer enough for businesses to simply ‘give’; they need the infrastructure to manage and evidence their entire social portfolio from a single dashboard. This milestone demonstrates that when social value is planned for, delivered through precision giving and measured in an auditable way, it becomes a powerful, credible tool for sustainable community development.”
The £2bn milestone reflects a diverse, multi-channel approach to delivering measurable social value. To date, Neighbourly has facilitated more than £44m in direct local grants and funding, 320,000 hours of time-based giving and the redistribution of 330 million meals alongside 5,300 tonnes of non-food products. Together these efforts have supported over 19,800 charities and community groups across every UK postcode, collectively reaching more than 7.4 million people every week.
A spokesperson from Marks & Spencer said: “M&S has been working in partnership with Neighbourly to donate unsold food to those who need it most, for over a decade. As one of their longest-standing partners, we’ve seen first-hand how a strategic, data-led approach to community investment can deliver real impact to communities. Our ongoing collaboration has helped shape and strengthen some of the platform’s most significant programmes, and it continues to demonstrate the power of consistent, purpose-driven partnerships in supporting communities across the UK.”
Neighbourly’s methodology goes beyond volume alone, providing businesses with a centralised framework for hyper-local impact reporting. This approach distinguishes between the raw value of donations and their real-world social impact, allowing companies to report on the quality and outcomes of their investments rather than just the quantity.
