SOCIAL INNOVATION PROCUREMENT
How does a company file for Buying Power?
Every year, companies set aside budget for festival gifts and employee activities. When that same money is spent with a social innovation organisation, it still does its original job — and it can also be filed under Buying Power and give you social data you can use in your sustainability report. This page walks through the filing process and what Selvans Social Farm provides along the way.
Our registration status: Selvans Social Agriculture Development Enterprise is registered in the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Social Innovation Organisation Database, so purchases from Selvans can be included in a Buying Power filing.
See our listing on the social innovation platform (in Chinese) →Four steps to a filing
Confirm the supplier is a social innovation organisation
The supplier must be registered in the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Social Innovation Organisation Database. Selvans Social Agriculture Development Enterprise has completed this registration.
Make the purchase and keep the paperwork
Gift boxes, volunteer days and the Xishou Herb Partnership all count. Keep the invoice or receipt; Selvans will also send an itemised list of what was bought and the amounts.
Get the impact documentation
Selvans provides the impact figures behind the purchase — how many disadvantaged employment hours it supported, which social-welfare organisation's farm it went to, and what concretely changed. This is the part a filing needs most, and the part companies find hardest to produce on their own.
File according to the organisers' announcement
During the announced filing period, submit the proof of purchase and procurement story. The filing is made by your company; Selvans supports it with documents and data.
Filing periods, tiers and selection criteria are announced by the organisers each year; please follow the latest announcement on the Ministry of Economic Affairs' social innovation platform. Selvans supports the filing with documents and data; the filing itself is submitted by your company.
What Selvans provides for your filing
Proof of purchase
An invoice or receipt, plus an itemised list of what was bought and the amounts.
Impact data
The disadvantaged employment hours, participant numbers and partner farm behind the purchase, traceable to the week.
Procurement story material
On-farm photos, how the people the farms serve took part, and the background of the partnership, ready to quote in your filing.
Frequently asked questions
What is Buying Power?
Buying Power is the Ministry of Economic Affairs' incentive mechanism for buying social innovation products and services (Buying Power 社會創新產品及服務採購). It encourages companies, government agencies and other organisations to buy from social innovation organisations. Participants file their actual procurement spend over a set period, together with the story behind those purchases; after a selection process, awards and public recognition are given.
Can purchases from Selvans be filed under Buying Power?
Yes. Selvans Social Agriculture Development Enterprise (思凡社會性農業發展企業社) is registered in the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Social Innovation Organisation Database, so it is a social innovation organisation that can be included in a filing. Spending on gift boxes, employee volunteer days and the Xishou Herb Partnership can all count towards the procurement amount.
What documents does a filing need?
Usually: proof of purchase (an invoice or receipt), an itemised list of what was bought and for how much, and a short account of the social benefit the purchase created. Selvans provides the proof of purchase and matching impact documentation, including how many disadvantaged employment hours the purchase supported and which social-welfare organisation's farm it went to.
What support does Selvans give during the filing?
Every Selvans partnership plan includes Buying Power filing support: proof of purchase, an itemised procurement list, and impact figures and procurement-story material you can quote directly. The filing itself is still submitted by your company; Selvans does not file on your behalf.
Is there a minimum spend? How much do we need to buy for it to be worth filing?
Eligibility and spending tiers are announced by the organisers each year — please follow the latest announcement on the Ministry of Economic Affairs' social innovation platform. On the Selvans side, the ESG gifting plan starts from 100 boxes, employee sustainability experiences are quoted according to the size of the event, and the Xishou Herb Partnership is a three-year engagement. Its spending is continuous, backed by complete data, and stays with the same farm for all three years, which usually makes it the best fit for a filing.
Can the Buying Power results also go into our sustainability report?
Yes, and we recommend doing both: the same purchase can be filed under Buying Power and also used in the social section of your sustainability report. In ESG evaluations, the indicators this purchase maps to most directly are G-32 (concrete sustainability plans and their results), under "procurement from social enterprises", and S-3 (community development). Selvans is registered on the Ministry of Economic Affairs' social innovation platform, so the social-enterprise status of your supplier can be checked publicly. E-16 and E-14 require your company to already have the relevant policy in place; what Selvans supplies is data on how it was implemented. A quarterly ESG data report is issued in your company's name.
Want to see how the data is produced and checked? Read our methodology or the live impact data.
Not sure whether your purchase can be filed?
Tell us your budget range and what it is for, and we will come back with workable options and the filing material you would receive.