Search
X Search
Events
× Search
Log In Sign Up

Month: November 2024

A new comprehensive guide to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and procurement authorities effectively integrate social value into SME operations has been launched today. Developed in collaboration between Supply Chain Sustainability School and Cardiff Business School, and delivered by Action Sustainability, the guide aims to support SMEs in creating social value while navigating procurement processes in both the public and private sectors.

Why SMEs Struggle to Deliver Social Value

Despite representing 99.9% of all businesses in the UK and contributing significantly to employment, SMEs often struggle to embed social value in their operations. Challenges such as limited resources, complex procurement processes, and lack of clear guidance frequently prevent SMEs from fully realising their social, environmental, and community impact. The new guide, Embedding Social Value in Procurement: A Practical Guide for SMEs, is designed to address these issues, providing SMEs with actionable strategies, tools, and insights to help them understand and deliver social value effectively.

“As SMEs increasingly shape the future of our economy, it’s essential that their contributions to social value are recognised and embedded into procurement practices,” said Vaishali Baid, Social Value Lead & Senior Consultant, Sustainable Procurement at Action Sustainability. “This guide provides SMEs with the tools and strategies to incorporate social value into their operations, ultimately creating long-term benefits for their businesses and the communities they serve.”

Practical Tools and Resources to Empower SMEs

The guide equips SMEs with a variety of practical resources, including:

  • A checklist to integrate social value into operations.
  • Strategies for overcoming common challenges such as limited resources and lack of understanding.
  • Advice on aligning social value with local community needs and business goals.
  • Recommendations for procurement authorities on how to engage with SMEs to maximise social impact in procurement processes.

Dr Jane Lynch, Professor of Procurement for the Logistics and Operations Management Section at Cardiff Business School, added, “This guide translates the concept of social value into clear, actionable steps SMEs can apply immediately. Cardiff Business School is committed to equipping SMEs with research-based tools that empower them to make meaningful contributions, both to their success and to the communities they operate within.”

Based on Extensive Research and Industry Best Practices

The guide draws on extensive research, including surveys and focus group discussions with SMEs across diverse sectors such as Civil Engineering, Rail, Infrastructure, and Manufacturing. It also incorporates insights from industry best practices, highlighting methods SMEs can use to engage locally, create jobs, and adopt sustainable practices.

As procurement authorities increasingly align purchasing decisions with social value goals, SMEs are in a unique position to drive positive change within their communities. However, existing challenges like resource constraints and complex procurement processes can hinder SMEs’ efforts. This guide aims to support SMEs in overcoming these barriers and in making a meaningful impact.

To access the full guide and additional social value resources, register for free membership on the Supply Chain Sustainability School website, then visit this page.

This month marks the first anniversary of the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s pioneering retrofit programme, proudly sponsored by NatWest Group. Launched to help combat climate change by upskilling the built environment sector, this free programme has achieved remarkable success in just one year, with 4,668 individuals and 1,844 companies actively engaged exceeding its initial two-year goals and demonstrating strong demand for sustainable construction practices.

With buildings contributing approximately 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions, achieving net-zero targets requires a large-scale retrofit of existing structures. However, a key challenge is that the current workforce lacks the necessary skills and awareness to deliver retrofitting at the scale needed.

In response, the School, in collaboration with NatWest Group, developed a comprehensive retrofit programme offering free CPD-accredited training. This includes e-learning modules, training assessments, workshops, webinars, and conferences designed specifically for professionals in the built environment.

This programme, created in collaboration with industry leaders, addresses vital sector needs. Organisations such as the Construction Leadership Council, British Standards Institution, Welsh Government, Historic England, Wates, CBRE, Robertson Group, and Canary Wharf Group have actively shared their expertise at events, ensuring that the programme drives meaningful progress in retrofitting and sustainability across the UK’s built environment.

Programme Success to Date:

In its first year, the retrofit programme has exceeded its initial two-year goals, demonstrating strong demand for sustainable construction practices.

Key milestones include:

  • 4,668 professionals engaged
  • 1,844 companies participating
  • 2,108 e-learning resources downloaded
  • 693 training needs assessments completed

These achievements highlight a growing appetite for sustainable practices within the industry, a positive development for those championing the decarbonisation of the built environment.

Alyssa Sharkey, Bid Team Manager at Seddon (a member of the School), commented: “Engaging with Supply Chain Sustainability School and their retrofit learning has been key to Seddon’s approach to sustainable construction, equipping our teams with technical knowledge and practical skills in delivering high-quality retrofit solutions. This expertise has strengthened our capability to tackle complex sustainability challenges while ensuring we meet PAS2038 and PAS2035 standards. The School’s training has become a foundation of our strategy to reduce carbon emissions and improve building performance across our projects.”

A Collaborative Effort Driving Sustainability

With over 240 industry Partners and their supply chains, the School is uniquely positioned to catalyse positive change. The School provides free access to sustainability training for over 44,000 members, covering not only retrofitting but also key topics such as energy and carbon management, the circular economy, and waste reduction.

Holly Hansen-Maughan, Sector Manager for Retrofit at the Supply Chain Sustainability School, added: “Leading this programme since its inception has been an inspiring journey. This success would not have been possible without collaboration – from our partnership with NatWest Group to the 27 organisations that have shared best practices this past year. We’re proud of our achievements and excited for the future impact of this programme.”

As one of the largest lenders in Britain, NatWest has a key role in supporting consumers and businesses to transition to more energy-efficient buildings that are not only warmer and cheaper to heat but also emit fewer carbon emissions. However, according to Energy Systems Catapult, the UK is not fully prepared for the scale of retrofitting required to meet its net-zero target by 2050; achieving this goal will require retrofitting eight homes every minute.

To make this transition feasible, the industry must develop both the skills and companies needed to carry out retrofit work at scale. Recognising the skill gaps as a significant barrier, particularly for retrofitting the built environment, NatWest became the first bank to partner with the Supply Chain Sustainability School. Together, NatWest and the School have established a free retrofit training programme to build the necessary skills within the construction industry to retrofit both residential and commercial buildings, helping to cultivate a more mature retrofit supply chain.

Laura Capper, Head of Construction and Manufacturing at NatWest comments: “As the need for sustainable solutions in the built environment grows, we’re proud to support initiatives like the retrofit programme, which empowers professionals with essential skills to drive real change. By investing in upskilling and collaboration, this programme is bridging critical gaps in retrofit expertise, equipping thousands to deliver sustainable solutions at scale and accelerating progress toward a net-zero future for the UK.”

Get Involved

To learn more about the retrofit programme and take part, visit the programme page here.

As a global leader in the delivery of sustainable solutions, RSK Group is leveraging its partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSS), to drive employee engagement with and delivery of its own 2030 sustainability strategy.

RSK launched its new sustainability strategy, Second Nature, in December 2023, reflecting an evolution in the company’s approach to sustainability. Second Nature is built around five core themes: finance and governance, our people, our value chain, society and the environment.

As for all organisations, sustainability is a journey, and for a business made up of over 200 companies, it is critical that everyone across the RSK family plays an active part in that journey, so we can meet our short term and longer-term ambitions. This is why instilling greater accountability for, and engagement with, sustainability across the group is such a core element of our new strategy.

This greater focus on accountability resulted in each group company and central function adopting a series of sustainability KPIs at the end of FY24, linked to the core themes within the strategy. These KPIs will bring greater clarity and focus on sustainability initiatives through FY25, while contributing to the delivery of group level targets.

Under the theme of “our value chain”, one of the KPI options teams could choose was for colleagues involved in procurement activities to complete sustainable procurement training via the SCSS, to enhance their knowledge of sustainable procurement practices. This ties into RSK’s 2030 goal to have embedded sustainable procurement processes across all businesses in the group.

To achieve this, our sustainability and central procurement teams developed a structured learning pathway using the School’s comprehensive resources. This pathway guides our employees through a series of e-learning modules, designed to boost understanding of and engagement with sustainable procurement topics.

We are proud to have over 200 employees currently enrolled on the learning pathway and expect this will translate to ~400 hours of accredited professional development in sustainability for our procurement professionals by the end of FY25.

As our business continues to grow, we are committed to leveraging the School’s resources to upskill our workforce. The high quality resources available help us equip and empower our teams to play an active role in the delivery of our sustainability commitments, together enabling us to make a bigger collective impact.

We strongly encourage other partners of the SCSS to fully engage with the wealth of resources available. By embracing these tools, organisations can ensure they extract maximum value from their membership and drive meaningful progress towards a more sustainable future.

RSK Group adds CAN to its growing stable - CAN Limited