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Sustainable Procurement

What is Sustainable Procurement

Sustainable Procurement is 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 to not only to the procuring organisation, but also society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.

Sustainable Procurement Task Force definition 2006

The 11.5 square miles constituting the London Borough of Haringey is home to 220,000 people from a range of ethnic backgrounds. Almost 200 languages are spoken within our borders making us one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse places in the country. Haringey Council is responsible for ensuring the varying needs of these peoples are catered for. Despite the many different requirements, a common concern is the environment in which they live and work. A healthy natural environment is essential to promote well-being, and therefore we are committed to understanding and managing the environmental and social impacts of our operations.

Procurement has been traditionally regarded by organisations essentially as a clerical function concerned with transactional and tactical order placement, fulfilment, and inventory control and invoice reconciliation. It was not regarded as of a central importance to the delivery of organisational objectives.

Not only has this perception changed in the last 20 years to afford procurement a more integral role in the workings of organisations, but has even charged procurement with the job of delivering efficiency and sustainability where other organisational functions are unable to make significant inroads. Procurement is a function which can ensure energy and material efficiency of products, both fiscally and environmentally, and has direct consequences for people involved in or affected by manufacture, use and disposal.

We spend around £400m per year with our suppliers in an effort to improve Haringey’s infrastructure for our residents. However, the procurement function clearly has a further role to play in delivering environmental and community benefits. In this section you will find documents and links which together outline our approach to sustainable procurement.

Haringey Council Sustainable Procurement Portal

In this section you will find everything there is to know about Haringey Council's Sustainable Procurement approach. However, if you are left wanting more information, our Sustainable Business Manager will be happy to field your questions. He can be contacted as below:

Ben Brown
Sustainable Business Manager
Tel: 020 8489 2132
Email: sustainable.procurement@haringey.gov.uk

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General Policies

Haringey Council Sustainable Procurement Policy and Strategy

In 2008 the Council developed a strategy to deliver sustainability benefits through its procurement. The document looks at key objectives across the three pillars of sustainability – environment, community and economy and examines how these fit with wider council and public sector priorities. The strategy commits the Council to achieving Level 4 of the Sustainable Procurement Task Force Flexible Framework – a checklist of requirements that embed sustainability in organisational procurement processes – by 2012.

Haringey Council Sustainable Procurement Action Plan

To ensure that the objectives of the Sustainable Procurement Strategy are met, the Council has developed a series of actions which need to be undertaken.

The Action Plan has been developed to reflect the Sustainable Procurement Task Force Flexible Framework Checklist Template.

Despite the fact that Haringey needs only to achieve 70 percent of the Flexible Framework to meet Level 4, it has actions in place that will allow the Council to reach Level 5, ensuring we achieve best practice in the field.

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Specific Policies

WWF Silver achiever for sustainable timber 2012

Sustainable Timber Policy

In 2000, the UK Government timber procurement policy was announced, requiring central government departments in England to buy wood and wood-based products from legal and sustainable sources by the 1 April 2009. Haringey Council recognises the risks to the environment and communities of purchasing unsustainable timber and has therefore taken the decision to develop its own policy. It is applied to all construction, civil engineering and furniture contracts. Haringey Council recently achieved the WWF Silver Pledge – only the second local authority in England to do so, which demonstrates the Council’s commitment to delivering the policy. We are now aiming for gold. The policy is available in the attached files section below.

Fair Trade Resolution / Sustainable Food and Drink Policy

In March 2003 Members unanimously passed a resolution to improve the purchasing and provision of Fair Trade goods in the borough. Haringey became a Fair Trade Borough in early 2011 to coincide with the targets in the Sustainable Food Strategy. The Fair Trade Resolution has since been integrated into a wider Sustainable Food and Drink Policy, which will be applied to all future food and drink contracts with the aim to achieve the equivalent of the Food for Life Bronze Standard (please see the external links section). The resolution and policy are available in the attached files section below.

Support to Business

Haringey Council provides a number of workbooks to help businesses complete the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, which forms part of many tendering processes.

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Tools

Sustainable Procurement Booklet 1 – Generic

As per the requirements of the Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, the Council has now issued sustainable procurement guidance which equips both Council Officers and suppliers with information on how to specify, bid and evaluate sustainability requirements at both pre-qualification and tendering stages. The Generic booklet provides template specifications that can be used (subject to requirements) on all Council contracts, and also example bids. Key focal points include:

  • Providing and evaluating sustainability policies and Environmental Management Systems in pre-qualification questionnaires;
  • Including sustainable transport and community cohesion and involvement (Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), supported businesses).

The booklet can be downloaded from the attached files section below.

Sustainable Procurement Booklet 2 – Food and Drink

The second booklet in the sustainable procurement series provides guidance on how to specify, bid and evaluate sustainability requirements in contracts concerned specifically with the catering, food and drink market. Like Booklet 1, this contains template specification and example bids, specifically concerning:

  • Organic, fair trade and local produce
  • Quality and nutrition
  • Energy efficiency of white goods (fridges, dishwashers etc)

The booklet can be downloaded from the attached files section below.

Government Buying Standards

The Government Buying Standards, formerly known as the Quick Wins List, are a set of environmental specifications across several product areas which are mandatory for Central Government and encouraged for adoption by local authorities. The list can be used by buyers and suppliers to ensure minimum environmental standards are achieved. Please see the external links section below for further information.

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Key Partners

CompeteFor

From 2011, most Council procurement opportunities will be published through the CompeteFor web portal (see external links section below). This decision was taken to ensure that transparency of Council procurement is maintained and to ensure that procurement is carried out consistently and as cost effectively as possible. Registration is free and bidders will only have to input their data once after which they will be able to apply for any number of opportunities.

Council officers are required to use the CompeteFor portal for

  • sourcing suppliers for all requests for quotation (used for lower value contracts).
  • advertising all opportunities over £20,000 (except construction)
  • undertaking pre-qualification questionnaires for all supplies and services tenders (used for higher value supplies and services contracts).

All current and potential suppliers who have not already done so are therefore advised to visit the CompeteFor website (see external links section below) and complete the registration process.

Opportunities will continue to be advertised in the OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) when required. Opportunities are also still being advertised on the Council Contracts page of this website.

Please note that tenders for construction works will not be advertised on CompeteFor. If you are interested in tendering for construction opportunities, please email cpg@haringey.gov.uk for further information.

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Winning the Contract

Learn Direct's free online course provides an introduction to the public sector, explains the procurement process and offers practical advice to help you identify new business opportunities. As well as details on the newly launched, free, online procurement portal "Contracts Finder", this course has information on apprenticeships, forming a social enterprise and useful resources with helpful hints and tips on drafting and submitting bids (see external links section below).

Attached Files

The following links are not part of the Haringey Council website. Please read our legal disclaimer before using these links

Page Last Updated: 20 May 2013

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