Sustainable procurement policy

The Council recognises it has a vital role in furthering sustainable development, through its procurement of buildings, goods, works and services. Procurement decisions have a major socio-economic and environmental implication, both locally and globally, now and for future generations. The Council will therefore strive to:

People, education and awareness

• Educate, train and encourage internal purchasers to review their consumption of goods and services, reduce usage and adopt more environmentally friendly alternative products.
• Communicate the sustainable procurement policy to all staff, suppliers and stakeholders.

Policy, strategy and procurement process

General:

• Promote and embed best practice for sustainable procurement.
• Work in partnership with other south east region councils to maximise sustainable procurement gains.

Environmental products:

• Consider the costs and benefits of environmentally preferable goods, suppliers and services.
• Wherever possible and practicable, specify a requirement in line with nationally or regionally agreed minimum specifications.
• Where such exact specification is not possible, offer a facility for suppliers to submit offers for environmentally friendly alternatives.

Environmental construction, biodiversity & recycling:

• Set targets for carbon management, building research establishment environment assessment method (BREEAM) and sustainable construction, refurbishment and maintenance.
• Fulfil obligations under the biodiversity duty as part of sustainable development plans.
• Investigate opportunities for recycling, reduced usage, bulk delivery and better packaging.

Socio-Economic:

• Fully support the Council’s commitment to the small business friendly concordat and VCS (Voluntary and Community Sector) compact.
• Ensure that where appropriate and allowable, sustainability criteria are part of the supplier evaluation process and are used in the award of contracts.

Engaging suppliers

• Communicate the Council’s sustainability objectives to our suppliers.
• Encourage and persuade suppliers to adopt environmentally friendly processes and supply environmentally friendly goods and services as part of their corporate social responsibility.
• Address barriers to the Council doing business with small business and voluntary sectors.

Measurement and results

• Comply with all legislation relevant to sustainability.
• Collaborate with south east region councils to meet the targets of a joint action plan.
• Support achievement of local council targets for sustainability improvement.