Home / Insights / Blog / New Support for Social Enterprises New Support for Social Enterprises Constructionline is delighted to announce that social enterprises can now benefit from free Constructionline Supplier membership and free SSIP with Acclaim, as we strive to support organisations throughout the construction industry to deliver social value. We have partnered with Supply Change, an organisation dedicated to making social procurement easier, faster and more impactful for businesses, to deliver our new social enterprise service. Constructionline will provide free membership and SSIP with Acclaim, and Supply Change will be helping us to verify businesses’ eligibility to receive this support. By working together, we’re making it easier than ever for social enterprises and main contractors to connect with each other and deliver projects.We believe that this new service will not only benefit the social enterprises we support, but also the thousands of buyers and suppliers on our platform – here’s why… What is a social enterprise?Our partners at Supply Change define a social enterprise as an organisation that is, “led by an economic, social, cultural, or environmental mission consistent with a public or community benefit. They trade to fulfil their mission, derive a substantial portion of their income from trade, and reinvest the majority of their profit/surplus in the fulfilment of their mission.” Supply Change - Social procurement in construction Why is it so important for construction companies to work with social enterprises? In the UK, the construction industry accounts for 6% of GDP and employs around 2.7m people. The sheer size of the industry, and the diverse range of companies that operate within it, means that the construction sector could make a huge difference to communities across the UK by prioritising Social Value and working with Social Enterprises where possible. Many construction companies therefore work with social enterprises simply because they believe that it’s important to give back to the communities they work within, and using social enterprises throughout their supply chain is an excellent way of doing so. However, there are also increasing external pressures on construction firms to provide social value, which has prompted growing numbers of businesses to partner with social enterprises in recent years. Those who bid on public services contracts are now required to set out what they will deliver in terms of social value and how they will deliver it, for example, since the Social Value Model was introduced in January 2021. And social value is a key priority for construction companies working on private sector projects, too, as businesses become increasingly focused on improving their environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts to boost their reputation among customers, stakeholders and investors alike. How is Constructionline helping social enterprises?Construction buyers and suppliers are looking for suppliers that can help them to support their social value goals. However, they also need to ensure that the suppliers they work with can do the job safely, efficiently and to their high standards.By providing all eligible social enterprises with free Constructionline Supplier membership, we’re enabling them to prove that their organisation meets industry standards, as our question set is aligned with PAS91 and our team verifies all of our suppliers to ensure they comply with these standards. As a Constructionline Supplier, Social Enterprises will also benefit from a searchable profile on our platform, which means the thousands of buyers and suppliers that use Constructionline can easily find and contact them about new opportunities.All of our Suppliers are invited to our in-person and virtual Meet the Buyer events, which gives social enterprises the opportunity to discuss upcoming projects directly with our buyers. And with free SSIP with Acclaim also included in our social enterprise offering, eligible businesses can also demonstrate that they meet high standards of health and safety, which is key for construction buyers. Once they’re verified by one SSIP scheme, they have satisfied the criteria for all other SSIP members’ schemes, which can also save social enterprises significant time and money.By becoming a verified Constructionline member, social enterprises should therefore be able to connect with more buyers, access more opportunities and grow their revenue. Find out more about how we're helping Social Enterprises How can buyers and suppliers benefit too?We know that many of our buyers and suppliers are striving to work with more Social Enterprises, as they recognise that doing so is a great way to provide social value.So we have added a new filter to our search function to enable buyers and suppliers to find and reach out to Social Enterprises more easily within our platform, which means our members can now search specifically for social enterprises in Constructionline. As all of our Social Enterprise members will be verified by our team, buyers can rest assured that these companies can not only help them to boost their Social Value credentials, but also deliver high-quality work in line with industry standards. Think your business might be eligible for FREE Constructionline Supplier membership? Comeplete our form today to find out if your business is eligible for a free Constructionline supplier membership and SSIP with Acclaim. Complete our form If you need asistance regarding your profile, get in touch with our teams via Live Chat or via our website and a member of the team will be happy to help you. In Summary: We have partnered with Supply Change, an organisation dedicated to making social procurement easier, faster and more impactful for businesses, to deliver our new social enterprise service. Verified Social Enterprises may be eligible for a FREE Constructionline membership and SSIP with Acclaim. Are you a Social Enterprise? Complete our form today to start the verification process and find out if you’re eligible for a free Constructionline membership. Find out more Blog Buyers, Social Value, Supplier Related case studies Supplier Case Studies Hill Hill is one of the country’s top house builders, specialising in developing homes of distinction across London and the South East. Innovation, design excellence, quality build and respect for the local environment are key to their success, which has been recognised through several major industry awards. … Read more Buyer Case Studies VINCI Construction UK VINCI Construction UK saves 22,000 man hours in procurement and supply chain management with Constructionline and the COINS iPortal VINCI Construction UK is a market leading national construction and facilities company, and part of the VINCI Group. The organisation employs 4,000 people across four divisions … Read more Buyer Case Studies Wates Group Following a comprehensive review of their supply chain data management systems and the providers of this technology available in the market place, construction and development firm Wates Group adopted Constructionline in a bid to streamline procurement processes and reduce risk across all its contracting divisions. … Read more See more
