Responsible procurement delivered sustainably
Our frameworks offer a supported and managed procurement route driving a robust performance management regime. The critical success factors include time, cost, quality/defects, Small to Medium Enterprise (SME) engagement, Health and Safety (RIDDOR), employer/client/supplier satisfaction and social/environmental/economic benefits including fair payment.
Specific targets are set for local labour, local spend and engagement and spend with SMEs and micro-businesses, to make sure that the maximum benefit of the capital expenditure is felt within the local community. Your projects are supported throughout the life of their project by our team who monitor performance both monthly and quarterly.
We facilitate the delivery of sustainable development for our clients, whatever your local priorities are for social, economic and environmental outcomes.
Our approach to the Construction Playbook
Unlocking sustainable outcomes in projects
During framework procurement, in prequalification we take forward only those bidders that have a proven track record in the management and delivery of social value. This includes their capabilities to manage local socioeconomic outcomes and address carbon emissions and waste effectively. We then only appoint delivery partners to our frameworks who have set out, at invitation to tender stage, a method of operation that can deliver locally targeted, sector-leading outcomes for projects. Our tender selection criteria exceed the requirements of PPN 06/20 - social value selection, and PPN 06/21 carbon reduction.
We’ve invested in the development of a new optional procurement pathway for construction projects - our Lifecycle approach. This pathway seeks to embed whole life carbon assessments and in-use building performance evaluation as part a transformed approach to delivering projects. The Lifecycle pathway is ideal for supporting delivery of emerging net zero standards for new build, decarbonisation and retrofit projects.
A key advantage of our approach is to provide client project teams with the earliest possible access to sector-leading expertise on delivering sustainable outcomes. This is critical to not only minimise carbon emissions and waste, but also to maximise social value - our research and benchmarking shows clients can deliver greater social value by starting early.
Performance management that accelerates your project
Our framework performance management approach gives you confidence that there is a plan for delivery, with success measured and benchmarked against outcomes achieved by your public sector peers across the UK.
We work closely in collaboration with organisations including the UK Green Building Council, Social Value Portal, the Considerate Constructors Scheme, and the Construction Waste Portal, to ensure the highest standards of measurement and reporting are used consistently across our partner community.
Using our framework processes, and supported by our partners' experts, you will:
identify local priorities and set project-specific targets for local spend, local labour and other social value and environmental measures
establish a delivery plan with your delivery partner to maximise these outcomes
be confident you will see measured and managed results that are demonstrated for local stakeholders in the communities where their investment really matters
Collaborating for change
Our work doesn't stop with procurement and framework management:
- We facilitate and support national and regional social value collaboration involving all of our delivery partners through our Community Legacy Programmes.
- We contribute to local and national campaigns linked to sustainability in the built environment.
- We co-produce the annual Social Value in Construction Benchmarking report
- We invest in pioneering research in low carbon project delivery, like our Circular Twin research
- We lobby policy makers for change, including promoting the use of lifecycle carbon assessments in public sector projects
- We are collaborating with the BRE to promote the adoption of sustainable project delivery in infrastructure projects including the adoption of the BREEAM Infrastructure scheme
- We are members of the National Association of Construction Frameworks (NACF) where we collaborate on procurement and framework management best practice
