Costain Skanska joint venture delivers significant ‘social value’  to communities in London

2 July 2020 | Costain Skanska Joint Venture

The Costain Skanska joint venture (CSjv) team working in partnership with HS2 has today shared details of its legacy programme that has created vast numbers of local jobs, invested in SMEs and challenged the stereotypical diversity of a construction project.
 
These outcomes known under the term ‘Social Value’ support the long-term wellbeing and resilience of individuals, communities, and society in general. 
 
The social value activities CSjv has delivered support economic growth, local job creation and opportunities for local businesses. The joint venture’s activities also promote healthier and safer communities and protect the environment. Working with Social Value Portal (SVP), the project has been able to quantify the value of its legacy programme, achieving an equivalent of £115m of Social Value across seven London boroughs.
 
Nathan Goode from the SVP, which has independently verified CSjv’s social value figures said:  
 
“SVP was very pleased to work with Costain Skanska joint venture on the HS2 Enabling Works (EWC) programme, which showed how value can be added for communities by planning for social value and proactively managing supply chain. 
 
“There is no doubt that CSJV has achieved a strong result on social value delivery and the EWC programme is performing well against its regional comparables. This provides a strong base for the construction partners to build their future social value strategies."
 
Louise Dailly, Costain Skanska’s Head of Legacy said: 
 
“A key focus for our team on the Enabling Works Contract in London is to provide local jobs and support economic development to leave a lasting social legacy in the communities we’re working in. We’ve also looked at how we can deliver additional social value across our programme. One example is tackling homelessness. 
 
“Two of our boroughs – Camden and Westminster – have some of the highest rates of homeless people in London. So we wanted to see how we could improve the lives of these vulnerable people and create opportunities to help them off the street and into sustainable jobs. Through partnering with local charities and community groups we have supported nine homeless people into accommodation and jobs on HS2.”
 
Costain Skanska’s social value activities have included partnering with Buses for Homeless (B4H), a social enterprise which aims to get homeless people off the street and into full time sustainable employment and accommodation. B4H refurbishes decommissioned London buses into spaces suitable for their guests to live and takes them through an intensive 12-week training programme. The site set up includes separate buses for sleeping; cooking and eating; learning; and wellness and therapy. Speaking of the initiative, Dan Atkins, Founder of Buses 4 Homeless said:
 
“From the day we moved onto the HS2 site in October 2019, we have had nothing but support from CSjv and HS2. The team gave us the opportunity we needed to be able to get our pilot programme up and running and it would not have been as successful as it is without their support and commitment. 
 
“Not only have they provided us with key equipment, supported us with paperwork and the land to run our project, most importantly, the team have helped us upskill our guests and through their Supply Chain, they have offered full time employment on the HS2 programme, giving our guests a big confidence boost to be able to gain independence and get back on their own feet. 
 
“We couldn’t be more grateful for the incredible support we have received since we moved onto site and we can’t wait to welcome the next cohort of guests on board so we can, together, help change their lives” 
  
Julie King, Director of Community and Stakeholder Engagement, HS2 said: 
 
“Investing in skills, employment and education is crucial to HS2 achieving its vision of being a catalyst for growth and a creator of new opportunities across the UK.  
 
“Costain Skanska joint venture has demonstrated its commitment to be a good neighbour within the communities it works, ensuring the benefits of social value activities are realised locally. This support is just one of many ways in which HS2 is contributing to Britain’s post-pandemic economic recovery.”  
 
Liz Crowhurst, Head of Infrastructure, CBI said: “The CBI is committed to seeing social value placed at the heart of government contracts given the substantial benefits it can bring to cross-sector partnerships.
 
“The social value generated by Costain Skanska on the HS2 contract show how public-private partnerships can deliver for communities when businesses are supported to deliver innovative and impactful programmes. This project provides an insight into what can be achieved if more government contracts focus on generating social value rather than lowest price.”
 

 
Notes to Editors

 

  • For more information, please contact Jo Field (M: 07788 131347) or Michael Tarrega (M: 07741 736651), Costain Skanska JV. 
  • Louise Dailly, Head of Legacy, Costain Skanska JV; Dan Atkins, Founder of Buses for Homeless; and Nathan Goode from the Social Value Portal are available for interview on request
  • Charities that CSjv has worked with on projects to tackle homelessness include: Centrepoint, New Horizons, C4WS, Buses for Homeless and St Mungo’s. 

 
About Costain Skanska:
 
Costain and Skanska have a 30 year history of working together in the UK. In joint venture we have successfully delivered many major infrastructure projects, including: the M25 in the 1980s; High Speed 1 in the early 2000s; and London’s Crossrail, which will be completed later this year. Our company cultures are aligned and we have built sustainable relationships at all levels, with our clients and throughout our supply chain. Our long history of working together means we are trusted to deliver.
 
Costain helps to improve people’s lives with integrated, leading edge, smart infrastructure solutions across the UK’s energy, water, transportation and defence markets. We help our clients improve their business performance by increasing capacity, improving customer service, safeguarding security, enhancing resilience, decarbonising and delivering increased efficiency. Our vision is to be the UK’s leading smart infrastructure solutions company. We will achieve this by focusing on blue chip clients whose major spending plans are underpinned by strategic national needs, regulatory commitments, legislation or essential performance requirements. We offer our clients leading edge solutions that are digitally optimised through the following five services which cover the whole lifecycle of their assets: future-shaping strategic consultancy; consultancy and advisory; digital technology solutions; asset optimisation and complex programme delivery.  Our culture and values underpin everything we do. For more information visit www.costain.com 
 
Skanska is a world leader in construction and project development on select markets in the Nordic region, Europe and USA. Driven by the Group’s values, Skanska wants to contribute to a better society. Skanska provides innovative, sustainable solutions for both simple and complex assignments. Skanska has about 35,000 employees, and 2019 revenue totalled SEK 177 billion.
 
About the Social Value Portal:
 
The Social Value Portal is an on-line solution that allows organisations to measure and manage the contribution that their organisation and supply chain makes to society, according to the principles laid out within the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012. Our solution allows organisations to report both non-financial AND financial data and rewards organisations for doing “more good” in the community.
 
About the social value report:
 
• The SVP report is available on the HS2 website 
 
• The social value activities delivered by Costain Skanska joint venture include: 
o 2,182 hours to help young people into work
o 1,891 hours of school / college visits and mentoring
o 5,659 weeks of apprenticeships
o 426 local people (FTE) employed directly with CSjv
o 783 local people employed in supply chain
o Local supply chain spend equivalent to £73m GVA
o £86m supply chain spend with medium and small businesses 
o 2,288 days of work placements
o Equivalent of 42 long term unemployed people supported into work over the life of the contract, with a social value of £805k
o £23K donated to voluntary and community social enterprises by the CSJV, its supply chain and its staff
o 8,068 volunteer hours donated to support community projects
o 662K CO2e saved through reduced fuel consumption and efficient demolition practices