Kier Transportation is the first company to be awarded the Platinum level accreditation by Social Value Quality Mark CIC (SVQM CIC). This level requires 2 years of evidence and is currently the highest independent award for social value excellence in the UK.
Achieving Platinum has been a 3-year process which has seen Kier Transportation awarded with Bronze, Silver and Gold consecutively. At each stage, the organisation has gone further to transform culture and drive benefits for its people, clients and local communities.
To achieve Platinum, the Transportation division underwent a thorough external audit, where SVQM CIC looked at its examples of innovation and collaboration to embed social value. For this elite level, Kier Transportation was also assessed for its influence in embedding best practice within supply chains and bringing about positive change across the sector.
Based on the 700 pieces of evidence provided, the awarding panel were particularly impressed by:
- Kier Transportation’s social value leadership and governance. The auditor commended the organisation’s ‘clear strategy and industry leadership in spreading its influence and innovation outwards’
- Kier’s systemic culture of employee volunteering, with a significant percentage of the workforce actively involved and consulted. This included an updated volunteering policy and simplified process for taking volunteering leave; both off the back of employee feedback
- Its exemplary dedication to diversity & inclusion, which is reducing barriers for women, young people, ex-armed forces, ex-offenders and other minority groups. Its approach includes sharing best practice with clients in innovative ways such as its Expect Respect board game and use of scenarios
- Kier Transportation’s structured approach to collaborating with and upskilling its supply chains to maximise collective impact. This includes a strong approach to integrating charities and social enterprises.
Over the audit period which ran from 1 January 2024 to 30 June 2025, Kier Transportation has:
- Generated £154,794,237 in added social value
- Delivered 172 work experience weeks
- Completed 9,699 apprentice weeks
- Created 1,123 new employment opportunities
- Delivered 13,465 hours of volunteering (including environmental volunteering)
Donna Howard, head of social impact and inclusion at Kier Transportation, said:
"This is an incredible milestone, which demonstrates our success at delivering our Building for a Sustainable World framework and highlights our commitment to embedding social value into every aspect of our work. From supporting local communities and creating opportunities for underrepresented groups to driving sustainability and delivering measurable impact.
I’m incredibly proud of our teams and partners who have embraced the journey to Platinum, which has been both challenging and rewarding. It’s included: building robust frameworks to measure and report social value, collaborating with our supply chain and partners to amplify impact, upskilling teams and embedding social value principles into decision-making, and continuously innovating to ensure our actions create real, lasting change."
Donna has since been invited to be on the Social Value Quality Mark Oversight Panel. The Oversight Panel plays a crucial role in helping SVQM CIC maintain and uphold the highest levels of transparency and trust.
Richard Dickins, managing director of Social Value Quality Mark CIC, comments:
"Kier Transportation’s achievement of the Platinum Social Value Quality Mark is a landmark moment for the sector. This reflects not only their unwavering commitment to social value, but their pioneering approach to delivering it at scale and with measurable impact.
Their exemplary approach to inclusion, creating opportunity for underrepresented groups and championing women into engineering, sets a new benchmark. Kier is redefining what’s possible - making them worthy awardees of the UK's highest accolade for social value."
This award is the most recent addition to Kier Transportation’s collection of social sustainability accolades, which includes Leaders in Diversity and Disability Confident Leader (as part of Kier Group). The business has also formed meaningful partnerships with Women in Transport, The Institute for Social Value UK, and Chapter One.