Sustainable Procurement

What is Sustainable Procurement?• Effective protection of the environment • Prudent use of natural resources• Social progress that recognises the needs of

everyone• Maintenance of high and stable levels of

economic growth and employment

• A way of delivering a contracting authorities sustainable development objectives

EU Procurement Regulations

‘Positive action by purchasers, but not positive discrimination’

Key stages within the Procurement Process relating to Sustainability;

• Specifications - public bodies are able to specify their requirements in sustainable terms provided they do not discriminate against products or providers

• Selection Criteria – questions regarding the suppliers’ general sustainable policies are not permitted unless they are directly relevant to the subject/performance of the contract

• Award Criteria – must be relevant to the subject/performance of the contract and where possible should include whole life costing

• Contract Terms & Conditions – could be linked to the sustainable policies of the organisation e.g. whilst working on the organisation’s premises the contractor will comply as far as possible with its’ recycling policy

Employment Opportunities

Promotion of; Youth employment, gender balance, employment of persons from minority groups, job skill development programmes, promotion of inclusive and accessible work environments

Equality & Human Rights

Consider; ‘forced and child labour’, access to training, gender equality, access to basic social protection, diversity, health and safety

Social Inclusion

Equal access to procurement opportunities of firms owned by/employing persons from ethnic/minority groups; access to employment for persons with special needs to enhance their employability to secure decent work; language/cultural skills & knowledge

Accessibility & Design for All

Mandatory requirements in technical specifications to ensure access by persons with disabilities

Social Considerations

• Reserved Contracts– Restricting participation in a tendering exercise to supported

factories & businesses (50% + of workers with a disability)

• Community Benefit Clauses– Targeted recruitment and training clauses– Equal opportunities– Training for existing workforce– Supply chain initiatives– Community consultation– ‘Considerate Contractor’ schemes– Contributions to education– Promotion of social enterprises and resources for community

initiatives

Social Considerations

Emissions Emissions to air; emissions to water; impact on climate change e.g. green house gases; impact on health; impact from transportation.

Waste Solid waste e.g. packaging, empty containers – landfill;

Raw Materials

Reduction, alternative source of energy; transportationEnergy Usage

Sustainable forests, hazardous materials

Habitat

Impact on habitat, loss of biodiversity

Environmental Considerations

N.B. Discrimination on grounds of location and distance travelled would not be an acceptable consideration

Environmental

• Environmental Purchasing HierarchyRe-think e.g. service instead of product

Eliminate e.g. hazardous material content

Reduce e.g. emissions produced

Re-use e.g. packaging

Recycle e.g. paper, glass

Dispose e.g. minimise quantities and therefore cost

Supplier Diversity & Competitiveness

Productivity is a measure of how well an economy uses resources to produce output and is a fundamental determinant of international competitiveness and livings standards.

Solidarity – the healthy development of society depends on reducing inequalities and sharing the future benefits of growth among people.

Participation – increasing the number of people in employment adds to the productive capacity of the economy and makes better use of our human capital potential.

Cohesion – differences in income, participation and growth across communities act as a drag on the collective economic performance and potential.

Economic Considerations

Reducing the cost/burden of participation; enabling greater access by suppliers of all sizes to public procurement opportunities; sub-contracting opportunities visible and equal terms for sub-contractors

Components & Characteristics of

Growth

‘Voluntary adherence to Sustainability’

‘Working with contracted suppliers to encourage them to voluntarily go beyond contractual requirements in pursuit of environmental and social objectives in their daily business operations’

Monitoring

• Requirements placed on Contractors & Sub-Contractors, should be monitored via Contract & Supplier Management and evidence of their compliance obtained e.g. certification schemes

• Caution – balancing the monitoring process against not placing excessive burdens on the suppliers which could be a barrier to participation in the competitive process