These are exciting times to be working in procurement and supply chain management. For too long, procurement has been treated as the poor relation amongst its counterparts – not least in local government. But the scene is changing. Procurement is beginning to be seen as lying at the heart of local government’s purpose – to deliver more sustainable communities. The local government scene is now dominated by Local Strategic Partnerships, Local Area Agreements and Sustainable Community Strategies, where the opportunities for excellence in both procurement and commissioning are just starting to be exploited.
At the same time, sustainable procurement has leapt up the agenda of many local authorities and their potential partners across the public sector. This should come as no real surprise since sustainable procurement is about delivering a wide range of corporate objectives. For local authorities, it’s about delivering on the sort of objectives that tend to keep chief executives awake at night – sustainable communities, local employment and regeneration, diversity and equality, waste and increasingly, climate change. For those who have woken up to the potential, sustainable procurement is already regarded as a route to delivery of these objectives. Others are beginning to see the opportunities.
Why now?
So,why now? Back in June 2006, a business-led Sustainable Procurement Task Force, chaired by Sir Neville Simms, chair of International Power, produced a set of recommendations to government in a report called ‘Procuring the Future’ (an interview with Sir Neville Simms is contained within this edition). This addressed the whole of the £150bn the UK public sector spends every year. Councils in England account for some £40bn of this figure. In March, UK central government responded to the Task Force recommendations by publishing a Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, putting an emphasis on climate change and natural resource protection.
Local government has been consulting on its own response. The Improvement and Development Agency has worked with the Regional Centres of Excellence (where the North East Centre leads on sustainable procurement) to develop the response.
Many commentators have been quick to point out that the draft response from local government maintains the balance of economic, environmental and social considerations which are fundamental to sustainable procurement.
Health/social care response
Intriguingly, the response from the health and social care sector shows a similar balance. Positively, many chief executives are recognising the benefits that can be delivered when sustainable procurement is taken seriously. In fact, most local authorities are doing something – although they may not badge their activities as sustainable procurement.
Some good examples were identified by the Task Force and others are mentioned in the local government response. For example, Newport’s southern distributor road improvement project used around 98% recycled and secondary aggregate. The use of recycled material resulted in direct cost savings in construction of £1,034,135, avoided landfill costs of £941,360 as well as reduced carbon emissions and particle emissions. Whilst Stockport Council has taken an innovative approach to combating social exclusion by setting up a Social Enterprise company.
Of course, some parts of the public sector are doing more than others – and the Sustainable Procurement Task Force wanted this practice to become the norm rather than the exception. So it developed its own set of building blocks on which public sector organisations can develop their own unique approaches (see box below for practical advice on this).
