Third Factor

Social procurement that promotes inclusion

The Buy Social platform connects businesses with the third sector for the purchase of products and services including job placement

by Francesco Guarnieri

10 April 2026

Al lavoro. Operatori della Cooperativa Orso Blu di Biella

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

The other side of procurement
Turin Social Impact, a growing ecosystem
Buy Social: the platform that unites profit and non-profit
From good practice to cultural change
A model that sets the standard

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

"I didn't think that a job could change my life like this," says 44-year-old Davide, a cognitively impaired worker, who now works as a cleaner in the Turin plant of Dumarey Automotive Italia, a multinational company active in the development and production of advanced propulsion systems for the automotive sector. Until recently, he spent his days at home, with no prospects. Then the meeting with the Orso Blu social cooperative in Biella and a new chance in life: a stable job, a network of relationships, newfound confidence. 'Now I have a purpose, every day I try to improve,' she reports.

Like him, Bianca (27), a graduate in communication sciences, now working in the front office, enthusiastically recounts her experience: "I am grateful to be able to help others". Alongside her is Alessandro (48), an IT expert, who now feels fully part of the company: "We are the face of the company

These are just some of the stories of labour insertion that have arisen thanks to the collaboration between Dumarey, and Orso Blu, which has been accompanying fragile people towards autonomy for over thirty years. Today, more than 30% of the cooperative's worker members come from situations of hardship. "We offer a safe context that enhances aptitudes and skills," explains Isabella Carlone, responsible for logistics and coordination with partner companies.

For three years now, Dumarey has chosen to entrust the cooperative with cleaning and reception services (under an agreement pursuant to Article 14 of Legislative Decree 276/2003, which allows companies to fulfil part of their obligations to employ people with disabilities through agreements with social cooperatives). 'Fragility is not synonymous with inexperience,' observed Gianluca Gatti, Senior HR Business Partner at Dumarey during the 'Buying with Impact' event organised by Torino Social Impact with the Unione Industriali di Torino on 3 June 2025. "It is the opportunity to create true inclusion, in fact we have shifted the focus from having to do it to deciding to do it."

The Other Side of Procurement

The Dumarey-Orso Blu case represents a concrete example of social procurement, a strategy that integrates social impact into procurement policies for goods and services. In Italia, the topic is growing, driven also by the Third Sector Reform and the European guidelines on sustainable procurement.

Created to combine competitiveness and positive impact,social procurement allows companies to choose suppliers that not only guarantee quality and convenience, but also produce value for the community. Social cooperatives, benefit enterprises and impact organisations are increasingly sought-after partners for companies that want to strengthen their social responsibility and reputation.

Turin Social Impact, a growing ecosystem

In Turin, this model has found fertile ground thanks to Torino Social Impact (Tsi), a platform created in 2017 on the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce to foster collaboration between the public, private and Third Sector. Today, Tsi brings together over 400 organisations and represents one of Europe's most advanced experiences in the social economy.

"Our goal is to make Turin a laboratory of impact innovation," explains Simona De Giorgio, coordinator of the Social Entrepreneurship Committee. The new Metropolitan Plan for the Social Economy 2025-2030 sets out six strategic areas: inclusion, impact finance, training, governance and technological innovation andsocial procurement, accompanied by two transversal axes: measurement and communication.

Buy Social: the platform that unites profit and non-profit

Among the most concrete projects of Torino Social Impact is the Buy Social platform, created to facilitate the meeting between traditional enterprises and social organisations. The portal brings together 214 impact enterprises, including cooperatives, benefit societies, start-ups with a social vocation and social enterprises, offering products and services in various sectors, from the circular economy to business services.

"Buy Social is a bridge between two worlds that can contaminate each other and grow together," emphasises Raffaella Scalisi, senior advisor at Tsi. "For companies, it is a win-win opportunity: reputation and impact are improved, and the Third Sector finds new market spaces. The Turin Social Impact programme for the promotion of social impact procurement and purchasing also offers B2B events, training courses and informative meetings, in cooperation with Unione Industriali Torino.

In this context, Torino Social Impact aims to promote a culture of impact buying through communication, awareness-raising and collaboration activities with the platform's players. The actions in the field also include the introduction of lead generation mechanisms, aimed at better understanding the profile of companies interacting with the portal and developing more targeted and effective communication activities.

From good practice to cultural change

Adopting social procurement requires a change of perspective, as Carlone did, moving from being a logistics manager in a clothing company to a social cooperative. "It can be scary at first," admits Carlone. "But when people get to know their colleagues with disabilities, they discover new forms of relationship and growth." At Dumarey, the workers placed by Blue Bear have learnt to handle relations with customers and colleagues with professionalism and confidence.

Trust is the key to everything. We need openness on the part of the companies and support from the cooperatives. It is a path of mutual contamination, where innovation also passes through human relations. 'Their ability is sometimes our disability,' adds Carlone and 'without them the world would be sadder'.

A model that sets the standard

Social procurement is emerging as a competitive and social lever. In many public and private tenders, up to 10% of the score is awarded on the basis of impact criteria, rewarding those who create employment for disadvantaged groups or promote inclusion projects.

Turin is thus a candidate to become a national model, thanks to an ecosystem that unites enterprises, institutions and the Third Sector. Among the ongoing actions is the European project Proseco, launched in 2025, aimed at enhancing the capacities of local authorities and social economy actors in social procurement practices

Looking ahead, the challenge will be to spread this culture beyond local borders, because every purchase can become an impactful choice. As De Giorgio says, 'social buying is not charity, it is building a fairer future together'.

Francesco Guarnieri participates in 'Terzo Fattore', a partnership between Il Sole 24 Ore and the Catholic University with the support of TechSoup. The initiative aims to promote knowledge of the third sector. Students carry out internships in non-profit organisations and talk about the most significant aspects of their experiences.