The LAVA - Labour Agency Vendor Accord

Built Environment The Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator - BEJTA (UK)
Strategic partners

Summary

  • The Labour Agency Vendor Accord (LAVA) provides a practical set of criteria to support organisations assess, manage, and improve fair and decent work, health and wellbeing and workers’ voice across construction and retrofit value chains in the built environment..
  • It supports collaboration between cross-sector actors, including investors, clients, developers, tier 1 main contractors and project-delivery partners, their subcontractors, recruitment/labour agencies, labour-only subcontractors, to improve outcomes for workers and communities.
  • The voluntary framework combines clear criteria across three levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold – accompanying guidance, and a standardised reporting grid to help organisations measure performance, track continuous improvement, and demonstrate leadership.

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Background

The LAVA has been developed through a series of multi-stakeholder roundtables and engagements with companies, investors, policymakers, civil society organisations and unions that are part of the UK Built Environment Just Transitions Accelerator (BEJTA UK) LAVA Working Group.

Originally developed in 2012 as part of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Mayoral Development Corporation for the regeneration of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and surrounding areas, the LAVA was re-catalysed in 2025.

The LAVA builds on international human rights standards, practical industry experience, and responds to the growing demand for tools that respect workers’ rights to fair pay, voice and health and well-being across the built environment.

Aims and outcomes

The LAVA aims to:

  • Provide clear, practical criteria to improve outcomes for workers and communities.
  • Support consistent measurement and reporting across projects and portfolios.
  • Enable collaboration across the value chain, from investors and clients to contractors and suppliers.
  • Reduce social risks while maximising positive outcomes for workers, tenants, residents, and communities.
  • Accelerate a just transition by improving labour conditions and supporting re-skilling.

Who is this framework relevant to?

The LAVA is designed for:

  • Workers and unions to support fair and decent work, health and wellbeing and workers’ voice across the sector.
  • Clients and developers to integrate workers’ rights into procurement, project design, and delivery.
  • Contractors and suppliers to strengthen labour practices, manage risks, and demonstrate responsible performance.
  • Housing providers and asset owners to improve outcomes for communities and workers.
  • Investors and lenders to assess and manage social risks and opportunities across built environment portfolios.
  • Governments and regulators to embed labour and housing outcomes into policy, planning, and funding programmes.

Pilot projects and participating organisations

The LAVA is being tested through organisational sign-ups and pilot projects across the UK’s built environment sector.

Project activities

BEJTA UK is working with stakeholder pilot organisations to:

  • Test the LAVA Criteria across real projects and portfolios.
  • Refine guidance and reporting approaches.
  • Develop measurable outcome indicators.
  • Support integration into procurement, investment, and project delivery processes.

Get involved

Organisations can:

  • Adopt the LAVA Criteria and use the Accompanying Guidance and Reporting Grid.
  • Join the pilot phase.
  • Share examples of implementation.
  • Participate in future roundtables and stakeholder working group sessions.

Contact the project lead, Gordon Miller, at gordon.miller@ihrb.org to learn more or to express interest in adopting the LAVA.