Contractors hoping to trade with social enterprises based near their sites – boosting local spend and community benefits in line with the Social Value Act – could soon gain access to a new brokerage service to help them locate suitable businesses.
The Social Enterprise National Brokerage service has been set up by Wates as a “one stop shop” for sourcing social enterprises, or businesses run to provide a social benefit.
It is being run in partnership with Social Enterprise UK, the sector’s national body, and allows site managers to search for local social enterprises that can provide low-risk site services, such as cleaning, catering, recycling or waste management. The service can be accessed via an online directory or telephone helpline.
Wates this week launched the service to boost the use of social enterprises across all its construction sites, with a target of spending £5m within the sector by 2015. But as the volume of firms it works with across the country increases, it is planning to roll the service out for use by other UK contractors.
Rachael Woolliscroft, sustainability director at Wates told CM: “We want to increase the directory of firms before we start to move the service out to the market, but Social Enterprise UK is now building partnerships with other contractors in the industry to help populate the directory.
“By trading long term with social enterprises, Wates also plans to help them build capacity and be in a better position to trade with other businesses within and outside of the construction sector.”
Wates has been working with social enterprises in its supply chain for more than three years, but feedback from a recent business review revealed that many of its site personnel found it difficult to source social enterprises, either due to geographical constraints, or because the firms were unable to offer a competitive service.
“In response we decided to work with a partner, Social Enterprise UK, to help us source local and reliable social enterprises and establish a leadership position with this type of work in the construction sector,” said Woolliscroft.
