Highways England’s first supplier award scheme open for entries

Highways England is providing its suppliers with the opportunity to boost their profiles by putting themselves forward for a series of awards through the launch of its supplier recognition scheme.

The scheme will highlight the vital contribution made by Highways England’s suppliers who help to maintain, modernise and operate the strategic road network in England.

Over 90% of work carried out on England’s motorways and major A roads is by the supply chain and Highways England are keen for as many of them as possible to nominate themselves across eight key areas:

• Building capacity and capability
• Customer experience
• Communities (new)
• Delivering sustainable value and solutions
• Inclusion
• Managing down cost/improving value
• Safety, health and wellbeing, which includes:
  – Public/road user safety
  – Road worker safety
  – Occupational health and wellbeing
  – Supply chain management

The new Communities category relates to suppliers able to demonstrate that through engagement with community groups from the outset, they have grasped the real issues that matter to them and have found ways in which these can be incorporated into their work.

Those suppliers who are eligible to nominate themselves for an award include those in direct and indirect contact with Highways England, including join ventures and the extended supply chain.

Simon Diggle, Chair of the judging panel, said: “Suppliers who demonstrate they can deliver benefits in a leading, innovative or efficient way, deserve as much recognition as possible – this is why we run our award scheme.

“I would urge them to take this unique opportunity, in the first year of Highways England, to put a marker down and show us they can be part of our five-year journey.

“We hope the certainty of a five-year funding cycle will enable them to plan ahead with confidence and develop the skills they need to deliver.”

This year marks the first time that the annual recognition scheme has been held under the new government owned company. Over the next five years, Highways England and its suppliers will deliver £11Bn of improvements.

At last year’s awards, there were up to three winners in each category, with small and medium enterprises taking 25% of the awards, a record since the scheme’s inception five years ago.

SME Recycling Lives, alongside EM Highways, won an Inclusion award for a scheme, which included helping two homeless people into work.

Steven Jackson OBE from Recycling Lives said: “Winning the award has helped profile our every-day work with vulnerable people and EM Highways’ positive approach to corporate social responsibility.

“It was also heartening, in receiving the award, to be shown that this responsibility is endorsed by industry and we hope many others will follow suit.”

Full guidance and entry forms can be found on the Highways England section of GOV.UK at http://ift.tt/1dg5p0f

Entries are open until 25 September 2015.

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