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Areas of activity

Sustainable procurement

The Sustainable Development team works closely with the Council’s Procurement team, providing information on the latest developments in Sustainable Procurement and encouraging the Council to adopt more sustainable procurement practices.

What is sustainable procurement?

Sustainable procurement aims to integrate environmental considerations into all stages of the purchasing process with the goal of reducing impacts on human health and the environment.

It involves incorporating a number of considerations, including buying only what is needed, taking a lifecycle perspective of the costs and impacts of products and services, attempting to trigger innovation, and assuming the full responsibilities of the consumer. Sustainable procurement is also called eco-procurement, green purchasing, environmentally friendly purchasing and affirmative procurement.

Why is sustainable procurement important?

Public procurement can make a significant contribution to achieving Sustainable Development. Estimated to be in excess of £40 billion a year, local government expenditure on goods, works and services has significant economic, social and environmental impacts. This includes, for example, 2.8 million computers and monitors purchased each year by public authorities in the European Union. Switching public demand away from the conventional EU mix of electricity to green electricity would save some 60 million tonnes of greenhouse gases alone.

Local communities will directly benefit from the Council having a sustainable procurement strategy. For example:

• Cleaner public transport improves local air quality
• Reduced use of toxic chemicals for cleaning provides a healthier working environment
• Better use of tax payers' money: the careful analysis and management of procurement practices improves purchasing decisions, increases efficiency and allows environmental benefits to be realised without additional cost.

In 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg committed public authorities to 'promote public procurement policies that encourage development and diffusion of environmentally sound goods and services' (Implementation Plan , paragraph 18).

The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister / Local Government Association National Procurement Strategy for Local Government (2003-06) aims for authorities to be realising economic, social and environmental benefits for their communities through their procurement activities by 2006. By 2004 the ODPM / LGA expects that sustainability will be built into all corporate procurement strategies.

In addition, European environmental legislation is becoming increasingly demanding - anticipating this and acting now to set up sustainable procurement activities means that the Council will be well prepared to comply with future legislation.

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