Supply Chain, Procurement & Compliance Insights

01 Jun 2026

Why Most Net Zero Strategies Fail Before They Reach the Supply Chain

Over the past few years, net zero has moved from a sustainability initiative to a boardroom priority. Businesses are measuring carbon emissions, publishing carbon reduction plans and setting ambitious net zero targets. Yet many organisations still struggle to achieve meaningful progress. The reason is surprisingly simple. Most net zero strategies focus heavily on internal operations while overlooking the area that often contributes the largest share of emissions: the supply chain. For many organisations, particularly in construction, facilities management and infrastructure, supplier-related emissions can account for the majority of their overall carbon footprint. Until businesses gain visibility of their supply chains, meaningful carbon reduction will remain difficult to achieve.

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27 May 2026

How to Reduce Supplier Onboarding Time

Slow supplier onboarding can create unnecessary delays, frustrate internal teams and impact project delivery. In construction and complex supply chains, onboarding often involves collecting compliance documents, validating supplier information, reviewing insurance, checking certifications and completing approval workflows, many of which are still managed manually. When processes are inconsistent or heavily reliant on spreadsheets and email, supplier onboarding can quickly become a bottleneck. This guide explores the most common causes of supplier onboarding delays and practical steps organisations can take to accelerate the process without compromising compliance or governance.

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25 May 2026

Common Assessment Standard for Buyers and Main Contractors

For buyers and main contractors, the Common Assessment Standard (CAS) is a tool for de-risking your supply chain: one industry-agreed pre-qualification standard that lets you assess every supplier on a consistent basis, refreshed annually and shared across assessment bodies. This guide covers how to mandate CAS across your supply chain, what level to require, how to handle building safety obligations, and how to monitor compliance at scale without drowning your team in admin.

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25 May 2026

Common Assessment Standard vs SSIP: What's the Difference?

The Common Assessment Standard (CAS) and SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement) are often confused, but they cover very different ground. SSIP deals only with health and safety competence and provides mutual recognition between H&S assessment schemes. CAS is far broader - a full pre-qualification framework covering 10 areas, of which health and safety is just one. CHAS and Constructionline are not standards at all; they are assessment bodies that can certify you against both SSIP and CAS. This guide explains how they relate, where they overlap, and which your business actually needs.

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25 May 2026

PPN 03/24 Explained: What It Means for Construction Pre-Qualification

Procurement Policy Note PPN 03/24 is UK Government guidance, issued in March 2024, that directs public sector contracting authorities to use the Common Assessment Standard (CAS) when pre-qualifying suppliers for construction works. For public sector projects above the £5.337 million threshold, CAS is now the preferred pre-qualification method, replacing PAS 91. PPN 03/24 is guidance to buyers rather than a law imposed on contractors - but in practice it means CAS compliance is increasingly a gate to public sector construction work. This guide explains what PPN 03/24 says, who it affects and what suppliers and buyers should do about it.

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25 May 2026

The Common Assessment Standard Checklist: All 10 Sections Explained

The Common Assessment Standard (CAS) question set is divided into 10 sections, each covering a different area of compliance and risk management. To pass your audit, you need the right evidence ready for each one - not just a yes/no answer. This checklist explains all 10 CAS sections, what each looks for, and the documents you should have to hand before you start. Use it to gap-check your own readiness, then download our free CAS checklist to track your progress section by section.

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25 May 2026

What Is the Common Assessment Standard (CAS)? A Complete Guide

The Common Assessment Standard (CAS) is the UK construction industry's standardised pre-qualification questionnaire (PQQ), developed by Build UK. It replaced PAS 91 - which was withdrawn by BSI in April 2023 and is now the preferred pre-qualification method for public sector construction procurement under Procurement Policy Note PPN 03/24. CAS uses a single industry-agreed question set, divided into 10 sections, that lets a supplier prove their capability and compliance once and share it with multiple buyers. The current Version 5 (published 1 July 2025) made the Building Safety section mandatory. Around 21,000 suppliers now hold CAS certification through one of seven Recognised Assessment Bodies.

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25 May 2026

How to Get Common Assessment Standard Certified: A Step-by-Step Guide for Suppliers

To get Common Assessment Standard (CAS) certified, you apply to one of the seven Build UK Recognised Assessment Bodies - such as Constructionline, CHAS or Compliance Chain - complete the industry-agreed question set, submit supporting evidence and pass either a desktop or site-based audit. Certification lasts one year. Because of CAS data sharing, you only need to be certified once and can then share the result with other bodies and clients. This guide walks through the process step by step, explains the two audit levels, and shows how to prepare so you pass first time.

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20 May 2026

How to Score Supplier Risk

Not all suppliers carry the same level of risk. Some suppliers may be financially stable, highly compliant and operationally reliable, while others may introduce significant risks that could impact project delivery, compliance, safety or reputation. However, many organisations still assess suppliers inconsistently, often relying on subjective judgement, spreadsheets or incomplete information. A structured supplier risk scoring process helps organisations make more informed decisions by identifying, measuring and prioritising supplier risk in a consistent and measurable way. This article explains how to score supplier risk step by step and includes a practical supplier risk matrix approach that can be used across construction and supply chain operations.

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18 May 2026

How to Validate ISO Certifications

ISO certifications are often used as a key indicator of supplier quality, safety and operational standards but simply receiving a certificate does not guarantee compliance. Expired documents, invalid certificates and misrepresented accreditations can create significant risk if they go unchecked. Whether you’re onboarding a new supplier, carrying out a compliance review or completing a supplier audit, knowing how to properly validate ISO certifications is an essential part of supplier due diligence. This guide explains exactly how to review and verify ISO certifications step by step.

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