New procurement framework for a safer built environment developed from lessons learned from Grenfell Tower tragedy
8 April 2025
A new Competence Framework for Procurement in the Built Environment has been developed, informed by CIPS Global Standard and RIBA Plan of Work 2020 to uphold the highest industry standards across the lifecycle of a building and at all levels within the supply chain.
“Those who procure, design, create and maintain buildings are responsible for ensuring that those buildings are safe for those who live and work in them.” Dame Judith Hackitt.
The Building a Safer Future report published in 2018 identified that poor commercial and procurement practices in the years leading up to the Grenfell fire had driven a ‘race to the bottom’ where the focus was on price and margin at the expense of safety. The report presented the findings of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety, chaired by Dame Judith Hackitt.
In 2024, a working group was formed made up of representatives from across industry to develop a new competence framework defining the core procurement requirements for all professionals working in a built environment. The ‘Competence Framework for Procurement in the Built Environment in England’ has been developed on behalf of Sector Led Group 8 of the Industry Competence Steering Group and informed by CIPS Global Standard and RIBA Plan of Work 2020.
Its purpose is to promote and uphold the highest industry standards across the lifecycle of a building and at all levels within the supply chain.
Procurement competency in the built environment sector requires the right skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours to respond to the complexity and life-cycle needs of a building.
Specific training and assessment schemes will be developed based on the framework so that industry bodies can educate their members who undertake procurement on behalf of their clients or their employers.
Ben Farrell, CEO of The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply said: “This framework is essential to ensure the industry has learnt the lessons from the Grenfell Tower tragedy. At its heart, this framework is the recognition that procurement professionals have a responsibility to ensure that the products and services that they procure deliver buildings that are safe for those who use them.”
Dame Judith Hackitt, said: “The publication of this framework marks a really important step in changing culture and achieving better outcomes in the built environment. Procurement sets the tone of the whole project and must promote collaboration, early stage design work which involves the whole supply chain and delivery of real value and fit for purpose buildings. The challenge now of course is to ensure that the framework is adopted and put into practice – we must not assume that is a given but take steps to ensure that it is taken up across the board.”
Guidance
The Framework references the Collaborative procurement guidance for design and construction to support building safety - GOV.UK which highlights four fundamental features of a procurement that need to be present in any project:
- Selection by value that avoids a race to the bottom
- Early supply chain involvement that improves safety and reduces risks
- Collaborative relationships that improve commitments and involve residents
- A golden thread of information that integrates design, construction and operation
These features can be implemented via any form of contract or method of procurement and are essential to ensuring that the 10 recommended contracting and procurement questions which are defined in the guidance are incorporated into the gateway applications.
