Sustainable Procurement Impact Assessment

Background

Procurement Lincolnshire and the eight partner authorities are fully committed to sustainable procurement. In order to support procurers and commissioners in this regard, Procurement Lincolnshire has adopted an impact assessment which allows sustainability impacts to be taken into account throughout the various stages of the procurement cycle.

Purpose of the impact assessment

Whilst the tool is described as an “impact” assessment, it should be considered as a prompt to consider “opportunities” for more sustainable procurement. This tool has been adopted to provide those involved in procurement decisions with a framework within which to pursue options for more sustainable procurement.

Where and when to use the impact assessment

Whilst, in principle, the tool can be used for any procurement decision, it is envisaged that it should be used for all larger contracts and for those purchases which may have a particularly high sustainability impact regardless of their value. Procurement Lincolnshire will use the impact assessment for all contracts which it leads on.

It is important to note that the tool should not be considered in isolation - adoption of any of its recommendations or prompts must be consistent with the EU Treaty and the EU Public Procurement Directive. If you are in any doubt regarding this legislation please follow the links in the ‘Websites’ tab to relevant guidance on this subject or contact Procurement Lincolnshire for further advice.

The impact assessment can be applied to both goods and services, however, impacts (or opportunities) are equally applicable for works contracts. To use the impact assessment, you should work through the various questions in turn, consider how they apply to your particular procurement and assess the scope for taking account of the tool’s recommendations. Finally, you should record the changes you have made to your procurement by thinking more sustainably.

Stages of the procurement cycle

The impact assessment provides pointers as to which stages of the procurement cycle are relevant to implementing more sustainable solutions. The stages indicated are not intended to be prescriptive, but are included with a view towards compliance with the EU procurement regime. Relevant stages should be considered within each individual procurement. The stages are as follows:

• Pre-procurement
  - Identifying the need and managing the demand
  - Consider tests of affordability and cost effectiveness 
• Specification
  - Core requirements and technical specifications
  - Performance and functional specifications 
• Selection
  - Pre-qualification questionnaires
  - Grounds for exclusion 
• Award
  - Value for money
  - Award criteria that support sustainable solutions 
• Contract management
  - Contract performance and feedback
  - Use experiences to inform future procurement 
• Informally outside of the procurement process
  - Voluntary adoption by suppliers of sustainability principles
  - Working together for mutual benefit

In any procurement, the greatest scope for introducing sustainability is at the pre-procurement stage.

Conclusion

Adoption, and use, of this impact assessment tool is a key step towards Procurement Lincolnshire and the partner authorities embracing sustainable procurement. Whilst it should be used to support sustainable procurement decision making, it does not supersede the need to consider value for money nor does it relieve procurers of their obligations to comply with the EU procurement regime.