Ventia Implements Social Value Measurement, Achieves AU$4.32B Impact in 2023

The situation

Ventia, an infrastructure services provider based in Sydney, Australia, recognised a gap in its ability to measure and communicate the full scope of its social impact. While the company was already directing substantial portions of its spending to Australian suppliers, it lacked a systematic framework to quantify the broader social, economic, and environmental value being created through its operations. This measurement challenge reflected a wider industry issue: many organisations could track financial outputs but struggled to translate their procurement and operational decisions into measurable social outcomes.

The company sought a solution that would provide transparency and rigour to its social sustainability efforts, enabling it to understand and report on the tangible benefits flowing from its business practices.

The approach

Ventia implemented the Social Value Portal's TOM System™, a framework designed to quantify social, economic, and environmental impacts across an organisation's operations. By adopting this system, Ventia became the first company in the Asia Pacific region to deploy the TOM System™ at scale.

The implementation built upon Ventia's existing supplier engagement strategy. The company was already directing 99% of its spend to Australian suppliers, with 73.5% of that spend flowing to suppliers within the same state. These procurement decisions, made with strategic intent, created the foundation upon which the TOM System™ could measure cumulative impact. The framework allowed Ventia to translate these spending patterns into quantifiable social value metrics.

"Our approach to Social Value is deeply embedded in our long-term strategy." — Dean Banks, Group CEO and Managing Director, Ventia

What happened

Following the implementation of the TOM System™, Ventia quantified AU$4.32 billion in social value created during 2023. This figure represented the aggregated social, economic, and environmental benefits generated through the company's operations, supplier relationships, and community engagement activities during that year.

The measurement revealed the scale of impact flowing from Ventia's commitment to local and in-state procurement. By concentrating spending with Australian suppliers—and particularly with businesses in the same state—the company demonstrated how strategic procurement decisions could generate measurable social returns beyond the immediate transaction. The TOM System™ provided the analytical infrastructure to make these connections visible and quantifiable.

The successful implementation also positioned Ventia as a regional leader in social value measurement. The adoption signified a meaningful shift in how the company approached accountability and reporting on its sustainability commitments.

The takeaway

Ventia's adoption of the TOM System™ demonstrates that rigorous measurement of social value is both achievable and strategically valuable for large infrastructure services organisations. By implementing a standardised framework, the company moved beyond qualitative claims about social responsibility to quantified, auditable outcomes.

The implementation sets a precedent for other organisations in the Asia Pacific region. As companies face increasing stakeholder expectations around social and environmental performance, the availability of proven measurement systems—and examples of their successful deployment—provides a pathway for broader adoption. Ventia's experience suggests that organisations with existing commitments to local procurement and community engagement can unlock deeper insights into their impact by applying systematic measurement frameworks. The AU$4.32 billion figure quantified in 2023 serves not as a final outcome but as a baseline from which the company can track progress, identify improvement opportunities, and communicate value to stakeholders with precision.