How to implement sustainable procurement

What is sustainable procurement?

Sustainable procurement is about buying in such a way which not only benefits the purchasing organisation, but also benefits society and the economy while minimising damage to the environment. Achieving value for money is still vitally important but sustainable procurement enhances the buying process by taking a wider view of decisions and their implications in regard to social, economic and environmental objectives.

Practical examples of sustainable procurement

Social Objectives

• using the award of procurement contracts to exclude suppliers who have not reached a minimum standard in regard to equality issues.
• including a requirement within large contracts for the contractor to employ a certain number of apprentices in delivery of the contract.

Economic Objectives

• training local and smaller businesses in public procurement processes in order to better equip them to effectively compete for local authority contracts.
• making use of lots (or subdivisions of contracts) to enable smaller businesses to participate in a particular procurement.

Environmental Objectives

• including clauses in construction contracts to reduce waste content with a view to halving construction waste to landfill.
• purchasing voltage optimisers which can reduce a building’s overall energy consumption leading to financial savings and CO2 reductions.

The scope for sustainable procurement activities is very broad. It definitely does not mean just focusing on environmental issues.

How is it relevant to me?

The eight partner authorities across Lincolnshire have recently re-committed themselves to two main procurement objectives through the adoption of a Sustainable Procurement Policy.

These objectives are:

1. Delivering year on year efficiencies, but not at the cost of quality; and
2. Adopting a strategic approach to, and working towards, sustainable procurement.

All staff involved in taking procurement decisions should consider how they can support these objectives (of course, individual service areas will have their own specific goals which will still need to be achieved).

Guidance and support

To support partner authorities with putting sustainable procurement into practice, Procurement Lincolnshire has developed a range of tools and guidance materials which are available here.  

For example:

1. If you want to assess which social, economic and environmental issues could affect a particular contract/buying process use the sustainable procurement impact assessment tool.
2. To support local businesses while remaining compliant with legislation see the supporting local businesses guidance.
3. To buy sustainable products which are environmentally friendly see the sustainable products catalogue section.
4. If you want to know which goods and services are best targeted for sustainability initiatives use the sustainable procurement spend analysis, this highlights key categories and suppliers to be considered when thinking about sustainable buying (this requires logging in to the secure area of the website).
5. To consider equality and diversity in procurement use the procurement E&D toolkit. It supports buyers in addressing equality issues in individual contracts through pre-qualification, contract terms and contract monitoring information.
6. Other information includes guidance on fair trade, apprenticeships, ‘quick win’ specifications and managing demand.

Embedding sustainable procurement

For those procurement activities which Procurement Lincolnshire leads on, it will automatically review (in conjunction with participating partner authorities) the opportunities for pursuing sustainable procurement objectives. Experience suggests that the most successful sustainable procurement initiatives tend to focus on addressing a small number of issues (e.g. apprenticeships; fair trade in catering supplies; or encouraging local business) rather than trying to tackle too many issues within an individual contract.

Certain categories of contracts (e.g. construction, catering, waste, transport) involve specific sustainability issues but sustainable procurement is relevant in any procurement to a greater or lesser extent. Anyone involved in procurement should be thinking about putting sustainability into action. However, it is important to bear in mind that achieving value for money remains critical. Additionally, procurers need to be mindful of relevant legislative constraints (European Union procurement regime).

Colleagues involved in leading procurement activities in their own right are encouraged to review the Procurement Lincolnshire website to assist them in taking forward the sustainable procurement agenda. For further information and assistance please contact your procurement resource.