With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the widescale adoption of a new set of fiscal rules, its importance to the fight back from global recession has been underlined. In the first half of 2020, ESG stocks outperformed non-ESG counterparts, proving that social value has never been more valuable. Key questions remain. How can social value be accurately measured? Can social value considerations inform procurement? And what can be done to demonstrate the social value of large scale projects?