In addition to our focus on delivering value and outcomes for our clients, Hippo is committed to driving social impact in the regions we operate. Since launching our Social Value Strategy in 2023, we have been working towards delivering our target of £100m social impact by 2030.
As we launch our third Social Value report covering FY26 we are proud to report that this year we enabled a further £18.2m of social impact, bringing the total to £67.7m. It has been made possible thanks to the dedication of our Hippos and our social value team.
We continue to use Thrive and the Impact Evaluation Standard (IES) to measure, monitor and report on the social value we have enabled at Hippo through our projects. The independent IES converts our social value activities, like creating new jobs and supporting small and medium businesses, into a monetary value. This allows us to effectively track our progress year on year.
This Year in Focus
Behind the headline number, here’s some of what FY26 looked like.
Jobs, in the places we work. We created 90 new permanent full-time equivalent roles, with more than half in the North of England or Scotland. 7% were filled by people declaring a disability, and 44% by people from groups under-represented in tech. We also achieved Disability Confident Leader status.
Opening the door to early careers. We hosted four T-Level students through UTC Leeds and Manchester Digital’s T-Connect programme, and they’re set to join us as apprentices in FY27. One new internal apprenticeship began, and we delivered 395 person-hours of skills training, mock assessments and careers advice in schools, colleges and universities across four cities. We have also worked alongside other organisations like NurtureMe in Leeds.
Spending closer to home. £8.5m went to local businesses supporting the delivery of our contracts, 84% of it with SMEs, charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations.
A lighter footprint. Our FY26 Carbon Reduction Plan shows a 58.1% reduction in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions against our FY24 baseline. We’ve started the process of setting Science Based Targets.
Supporting people. Our median gender pay gap narrowed from 15% to 7.2%; we joined the Slave-Free Alliance and supported 13 mental health first aiders in the business. Our dedicated Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DI&B) Lead, supported by our DI&B Forum, continues to work to build teams that represent our diverse society, foster understanding of challenges faced by the end users of the services we design and build, and to nurture an environment of true belonging.
As we move into FY27, we’re already two-thirds of the way towards our 2030 goal. We are excited about opportunities to expand our presence in the North of England, to continue to create jobs, build tech skills in communities, and support the wellbeing of our people.
