National Highways Supply Chain Development

We are the government company charged with operating, maintaining and improving England’s motorways and major A roads. Our road network totals around 4,300 miles – carrying a third of all traffic by mileage and two thirds of all heavy goods traffic.

We work to provide free-flowing, safe, serviceable, accessible, and integrated roads. Our network helps drive economic growth across the country, creating jobs, supporting businesses, and opening areas for development.

We are committed to cutting our carbon footprint, and fully support government’s drive to achieve net-zero carbon by 2050. We launched our Carbon in Contracts Policy which supports the integration of net zero into our construction and maintenance contracts and ensures that all construction related contracts, including design contracts, meet the construction related aims of the Net Zero Highways 2030-2050 Plan. The policy will be reflected in the National Highways Model Contracts Scope and conditions of contract.

Access the National Highways Learning Pathways (scroll down) to enrol and complete learning of strategic importance for our supply chain. Hear Nicola Bell, Executive Director, Major Projects who sets out in this short video why our new Learning Pathway on Productivity and PPC links in to our focus on lean, quality, productivity and predictability in our 2024 Training Programme through the School.

We have worked with several prime contractor supplier partners and the Supply Chain Sustainability School to develop a Supplier Development System (SDS), available to all materials, services and sub-contract suppliers working directly or indirectly in our supply chain.

This consists of a Self Assessment and linked Action Plan to drive individual / organisation learning.

The SDS is not linked to any commercial or procurement decision-making process. Its intention is to help develop a understanding of National Highways priorities and how the supply chain can best align to these.

Topics included in the Supplier Development System are:

• Health, Safety & Wellbeing
• Leadership & collaboration
• Efficiency & effectiveness
• Supply chain
• Net zero carbon & sustainability
• Social Value

Suppliers complete a self-assessment then receive an action plan to help build more sustainability knowledge.

Click here to find out more and enrol on the supplier development system.