About Cares

CARES is an independent, not-for-profit certification body, established in 1983 to provide confidence to the users, purchasers and specifiers of constructional steels through a regime of regulation, testing and inspection. It operates for the benefit of the construction industry offering certification schemes for companies that produce materials, components or offer services, primarily to the reinforced concrete industry. Clients can specify CARES approved companies and products with confidence that they will comply with the relevant product standards and without the need for verification testing by the purchaser or contractor.

CARES is controlled by its Members through its Board of Management which monitors all activities to ensure that high levels of competence, independence and integrity are maintained. The Members comprise professional bodies and trade associations representing users, specifiers, contractors and manufacturers, and includes owners of concrete structures such as the Highways Agency, British Airports Authority and Southern Water. The CARES Board of Management is chaired by Professor George Somerville, and is made up of nominees from its Members. Membership of the Authority is accepted on the basis that no sector predominates to ensure impartiality. The Members of the Board of Management are as follows:

The Authority is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) to ISO Guide 65 (product certification) and ISO 17021 (management systems certification using ISO 9001 and 14001). UKAS approves and monitors certification bodies on behalf of the UK government. CARES is a Notified Certification Body and a European Technical Approval Body under the Construction Products Directive for the following:

Certification by CARES can be used by manufacturers in support of CE marking. CARES is an international operator, providing certification in over 35 countries worldwide. In order to provide product users with the confidence that their products arrive at the construction site as specified, CARES certificates firms at all levels through the supply chain, from the production of hot metal through processing, stocking and distribution. CARES endeavours to ensure that its certification is required by major companies operating in the construction supply chain in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Far East in particular. In the UK, CARES certification is a requirement in major construction specifications such Specification for Highway Works, County Councils specifications, the National Building Specification and the National Structural Concrete specification.