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Chief Executive Statement on Sustainable Procurement:
We are committed to Sustainable Procurement. Approximately £150bn, equivalent to around 13% of the UK's GDP, is spent by the public sector each year on goods and services. This has huge impacts in terms of the economy and the environment. We spent £132m in 2014-15.
Sustainable Procurement or 'Procuring the Future' can be defined as a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.
Sustainable procurement should consider the environmental, social and economic consequences of:
-design
-non-renewable material use
-manufacture and production methods
-logistics
-service delivery
-use
-operation
-maintenance
-reuse
-recycling options
-disposal
-suppliers capabilities
Sustainable procurement is about:
-getting lasting value for money
-avoiding or reducing environmental damage
-delivering social and economic benefits locally
The types of practical benefits from sustainable procurement include:
-health benefits from more sustainable food
-lower emissions and air pollution levels from more sustainable vehicles
-less waste going to landfill
Focusing public spending on sustainable goods and services is also an important catalyst for local job creation, sustainable innovation and market development.
