In recent years public sector buyers have taken social and environmental issues into consideration before deciding on which suppliers to award contracts to. This shift means that economic and qualitative factors are no longer alone at the forefront of decision makers’ minds.
If your business wants to tender for public sector work and doesn’t have an environmental and sustainability policy in place, it may be time to create one.
Learn more about environmental issues in procurement and the policy you should have in place below.
Procurement is changing
The Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) is urging public sector buyers to consider social and environmental issues when purchasing goods from the private sector.
On its website, the organisation gives an example of the types of question, outside of the commercial arena, that buyers should be asking before they choose suppliers:
“Where does the wood come from that we make our paper out of; how environmentally friendly are our contractors and suppliers; and are we benefiting our local economy in the wider sense when we procure?”
What is an environmental and sustainability policy?
Moving forward, public sector organisations will be reviewing bidders’ environmental and sustainability policies before deciding on a winning contractor.
Public sector bodies want their suppliers to promote responsibility for the environment and communicate their environmental and sustainability policy at all levels within their workforce.
This policy should also include details on how your business is trying to reduce its use of energy, water and other resources and minimise waste by reduction, re-use and recycling methods.
Get ready to tender
If your business is getting ready to tender, make sure that you include details about your environmental and sustainability policy within your bid.
Not ready yet?
You can find opportunities by registering for free to Supply2Gov. This will give you access to tender opportunities as well as access to our ‘Ready to Tender Checklist’, which will help you cover all the bases when it comes to public sector procurement.