Sustainable procurement

1
Sustainable procurement
Dr Alistair Bromhead Health, Safety and
Environmental Consultant www.bfmenvironment.co.u
k
2
Sustainable procurement

• a process whereby organisations meet their needs
  for goods and services 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.

3
UK EU initiatives

• UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan
  
• E.g timber policy
• Forward Commitment Procurement model
• HMPS mattresses
• EU Commission Green Public Procurement (GPP)
• Procurement criteria for furniture
• 50-100 target by 2010
• http//ec.europa.eu/environment/gpp/toolkit_en.htm
  

4
UK manufacturers experience

• Many tender documents
• Ill informed questions
• No VOCs or formaldehyde
• No preservatives
• Always avoid hardwoods and tropical woods

5
NHS Scotland

• Do you as an employer / company recognise and
  accept a responsibility for providing a safe and
  healthy environment in accordance with the
  requirements of current and future environmental
  legislation? yes/no
• Do you utilise recycling methods so as to
  minimise the impact of pollution and on
  non-replenishable resources? yes / no

6
PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd
7
Main findings

• Stage 1 recognition of environmental issues
• Stage 2 environmental criteria included in
  tender documents limited action on the results
• Stage 3 Questions are asked and actions are
  taken on the basis of the answers.

8
Project outputs

• Guide to environmentally sound furniture
• Brief questionnaire for potential suppliers
• Extended questionnaire
• http//www.bfmenvironment.co.uk/Sustainable_consum
  ption.htm