Why ESG and Facilities Leaders Need to Be at the Social Enterprise Village
Something is shifting in the way businesses think about their supply chains, their spaces, and their responsibilities. As a leading UK event for workplace experience and workplace and facilities innovation, this shift is reflected in how industry professionals gather to share best practice and strategies for the future.
It is not a sudden change. It has been building for years, through ESG frameworks, social value legislation, and a growing recognition that the organisations we choose to work with say something about who we are and what we stand for.
But for many ESG and facilities professionals, the question is still a practical one.
What does it actually look like in practice? Where do you start? And who can help you get there?
This April, some of those answers will be in one place. The Workplace Event 2026, scheduled as a co-located series from 28 – 30 April 2026 at the NEC Birmingham, is designed to bring together professionals from multiple disciplines, including facilities, HR, technology, real estate, design, architecture, and consultants who bring specialised expertise and insights, to share best practice, strategies, and ideas for workplace and facilities management.
We are proud to be co-hosting the Social Enterprise Village alongside our friends at Social Enterprise UK. The Social Enterprise Village focuses on workplace and facilities innovation, showcasing the latest innovation in workplace optimization, digital technology, and building management, and providing a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration that supports workplace experience by connecting professionals across facilities, procurement, ESG, HR, technology, real estate, design, architecture, and consulting.
And at the heart of that village is the ESG Hub (a dedicated stage where, across three days, speakers, practitioners, and social enterprises will explore what sustainable, impact-driven workplaces really look like).
The event also addresses the importance of workplace culture, highlighting how inclusive and well-designed environments drive employee satisfaction and engagement. Here is what you need to know.
What is the Social Enterprise Village?
The Social Enterprise Village is a dedicated space within The Workplace Event 2026, taking place 28–30 April at the NEC Birmingham, and forms a central part of the event’s role as a ‘home for workplace’ professionals.
It has been co-curated by Waste to Wonder Worldwide and Social Enterprise UK (two organisations that spend every day working at the intersection of business, sustainability, and social impact). The agenda has been built not around what sounds good, but around what facilities and ESG professionals actually need to know.
Inside the village, you will find:
• The ESG Hub stage: a theatre space hosting panel discussions, keynotes, and practitioner sessions across all three days, offering free to attend content
• Social enterprise showcases: live demonstrations of organisations delivering essential products and services, including social enterprise goods and services, with measurable social and environmental impact, providing practical solutions for workplace and facilities challenges
• Conversations that connect sustainability strategy to real procurement decisions
The village is designed to foster innovation and support organisational performance by delivering actionable insights and solutions. Attendees can take advantage of networking opportunities through cafes, workshops, and summits, sharing the latest insights into evolving work trends and workplace experience.
Why social enterprises matters for workplace and FM professionals right now
It is easy to assume that social enterprise is a concern for someone else (a sustainability team, a procurement director, a board-level ESG lead).
But the reality is different.
As employee expectations shift, the focus on employee experience and workplace performance has become crucial for organisations aiming to stay competitive. Facilities managers and ESG professionals make decisions every day that touch directly on an organisation’s environmental and social footprint. Office clearances, cleaning contracts, catering suppliers, furniture, equipment, and services all present opportunities to improve workplace experience and support evolving employee expectations. Each of those decisions is an opportunity (or a missed one).
Engaging employees through meaningful workplace experiences can improve workplace experience, productivity, and job satisfaction. The Social Value Act, Procurement Act 2023, and growing pressure from investors, employees, and clients mean that ESG is no longer an optional extra for UK businesses. It is becoming embedded in how contracts are awarded, how suppliers are assessed, and how organisations report on their impact.
Social enterprises are increasingly being chosen as suppliers across both public and private sector supply chains, not out of charity, but because they combine competitive service delivery with demonstrable social and environmental outcomes. Procurement and supply chain decisions can directly impact employee experience and workplace performance, making these choices even more significant.
For ESG and facilities teams, understanding how to identify, procure from, and work with social enterprises is becoming a practical professional skill, not just a values statement.
The Social Enterprise Village at The Workplace Event 2026 is built around that reality.
The organisations behind the village:
Waste to Wonder Worldwide
We are a certified social enterprise that transforms office clearances into opportunities for change.
When an organisation moves, refurbishes, or closes a space, it faces a common problem: what happens to everything that was in it? Desks, chairs, screens, storage, the contents of a modern workplace represent significant value. And yet, too often, they end up in a skip.
We do something different.
By collecting surplus office furniture and equipment and redistributing it to schools and charities in underserved communities worldwide, we help organisations eliminate waste, reduce their carbon footprint, and create a lasting legacy, all through what would otherwise be a routine clearance.
On average, 98% of everything we clear is reused. Nothing goes to landfill. And every client receives a full report on where their goods went, along with a detailed carbon savings measurement to support their ESG reporting.
To date, we have redistributed over £55 million worth of furniture to communities across the globe. We are Global Gold Winners at the Green World Awards, UK Social Enterprise Award winners, and proud recipients of recognition from the Ministry of Economy, UAE as a Future100 Social Impact Innovator.
But more than any award, what we are proudest of is this: a school in Cameroon with desks. A community centre in the UK with equipment it could never have afforded. A child with somewhere to sit and learn.
That is what an ethical office clearance makes possible.
Social Enterprise UK
Social Enterprise UK is the national trade body for social enterprise in the UK. They champion social enterprises, build the evidence base for the sector, and advocate for policy change that supports mission-driven business.
Through programmes like the Buy Social Corporate Challenge, they help businesses of all sizes make a practical commitment to spending more with social enterprises, and connect them with the suppliers who can deliver. By leveraging their spending power, businesses can support social and environmental goals, driving positive economic impact.
Their Social Procurement resources, Social Enterprise Directory, and expertise in social value are invaluable tools for any ESG or procurement professional looking to understand and act on this agenda.Supporting social enterprises contributes to better outcomes for society, promoting social mobility, diversity, and inclusion.
Together, we have built a programme at the ESG Hub that reflects both organisations’ values: practical, honest, and focused on what change actually looks like.
What’s on at the ESG Hub: sessions across three days
The ESG Hub agenda has been curated by Waste to Wonder Worldwide and Social Enterprise UK, with sessions taking place across all three days of The Workplace Event 2026. Complementing the ESG Hub, a dedicated Knowledge Hub will cover key topics such as hybrid working, AI, digitization, and sustainable workplaces. The event will also offer CPD-accredited content to help professionals maintain their certifications. Emphasizing themes of diversity, equity, inclusion, employee wellbeing, and sustainability, the event will feature industry leaders and leading thinkers, including at the Workplace Leaders Summit.
Here is a look at what is already confirmed: theworkplaceevent.com/esg-hub.
All sessions are free to attend as part of your event registration.
How to buy from social enterprises as a business: a practical starting point
If you are thinking about how your organisation could start working with social enterprises, the good news is that the infrastructure already exists. Following best practice and adopting new strategies to source solutions from social enterprises can help organisations stay ahead in workplace and facilities management. As employee expectations shift, it is increasingly important for organisations to bring together insights and innovations in workplace and facilities products and services to enhance workplace performance.
Social Enterprise UK’s Social Enterprise Directory allows you to search for accredited social enterprises by sector, location, and service type. It is a straightforward way to find suppliers who have already been verified as meeting the criteria.
The Buy Social Corporate Challenge is a practical programme that helps businesses make a public commitment to spending with social enterprises, and provides support to help them follow through. Organisations that have taken part include some of the UK’s largest businesses, and the results show that switching spend to social enterprises does not require a compromise on quality or value.
For facilities teams in particular, there are social enterprises operating across cleaning, catering, security, waste management, furniture, and office services, all areas where the choice of supplier has a direct impact on an organisation’s ESG footprint.
The sessions at the ESG Hub will help you understand how to evaluate, procure from, and report on social enterprise suppliers, in a way that is practical, measurable, and meaningful.
Why this is the must-attend event for ESG-conscious workplace leaders in 2026
The Workplace Event 2026 brings all workplace and facilities innovation under one roof at the NEC Birmingham, making it the only UK event of its kind that unites professionals from across the workplace experience sector. Attending or speaking at this event can significantly enhance your professional visibility and credibility within the industry. The event is designed to help professionals stay ahead of rapidly evolving trends such as hybrid work design and digital transformation, while providing a unique platform to connect with industry leaders and changemakers, fostering collaboration and innovation in workplace management.
It is not a niche sustainability conference. It is the mainstream event for the workplace profession, with a strong focus on performance, workplace strategy, facility and workplace performance, and creating more effective working environments, showcasing the latest solutions and best practices to optimize organisational success and employee experience. This is exactly why the Social Enterprise Village matters.
The conversations happening at the ESG Hub are not on the fringe. They are becoming central to how facilities and ESG teams operate, report, and lead.
Whether you are just starting to think about ESG procurement, already working with social enterprises and looking to deepen that practice, or simply want to understand what the landscape looks like in 2026, there will be something in this programme that is directly relevant to your role.
And it is free to attend.
Register now: join us at the Social Enterprise Village
The Workplace Event 2026 takes place 28–30 April at the NEC Birmingham. Registration is free.
This event is a hub for sharing innovative ideas and gaining valuable insight from industry leaders and practitioners. If you are working in ESG, facilities management, or workplace leadership and want to understand how social enterprise can become a genuine part of how your organisation operates, we would love to see you there.
Come and find us in the Social Enterprise Village. Meet the team, hear from the speakers, and spend some time with organisations that are already showing what a different kind of business looks like in practice.
Because the real question is not whether your organisation can work with social enterprises.
It is what is stopping you from starting.
→ Register free for The Workplace Event 2026
→ Learn more about the Social Enterprise Village
→ Find a social enterprise supplier
Waste to Wonder Worldwide is a certified social enterprise and registered charity. We provide ethical office clearances that redistribute surplus furniture and equipment to schools and charities worldwide, with zero to landfill. Find out more at wastetowonder.com
