Commitment to Sustainable Procurement
Date: Wednesday 16/12/09
Be Birmingham launch Sustainable Procurement Compact
The combined impact and reach of the bodies represented on partnerships – spanning the public, private and voluntary bodies – means they have enormous potential to contribute to the local economy and cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The double targets now looming of cutting local government expenditure by 10-18 per cent in the next few years, and reducing CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, will require coordinated action across society and close collaboration between local government and all its partners.
Be Birmingham (the Local Strategic Partnership) has grasped the nettle with a Sustainable Procurement Compact, the first in the UK. The idea has now taken root in the south east region, on the Isle of Wight.
The Be Birmingham compact is a commitment by all partners to join forces and harness their buying power to benefit all the citizens of Birmingham. The procurement expenditure by Birmingham City Council is estimated at approximately £900 million annually; and the combined procurement budgets of the Be Birmingham partnership amount to about £6 billion annually. These budgets bring with them the power to transform markets and make a major contribution to driving the way in which the local economy develops.
The Compact was launched on 12 March, when it was signed by twelve partners including Birmingham City Council, the Birmingham East and North Primary Care Trust, the Government Office for the West Midlands, the West Midlands Fire Service, and Jobcentreplus. More organisations have since registered interest in joining the Compact.
The Compact is a voluntary commitment, has no contractual status and is not legally binding. It is in effect a day-to-day tool to help achieve the objectives set out in Birmingham’s Sustainable Community Strategy. Procurement officer Heather Pearce, says ‘There’s a lot of focus on the Flexible Framework and we have formed three subgroups: culture and training; toolkits and knowledge; and monitoring and evaluation. The main obstacle is that procurers don’t know how to do it sustainably, so we are launching training in the new year. We focus not just on the environment but also on the social and economic impacts of procurement.’
The Isle of Wight’s Sustainable Procurement Project, being funded by the PtP Central Fund, forms part of the Eco Island Transformation programme, driving out inefficiencies in council supply chains. The combined annual spend of public sector partners on the Island is estimated at £1 billion. A set of Guidelines with ‘ready to use’ specifications for tender documents will be produced by a consultant and project management will be by the Island’s Rural Community Council. The Isle of Wight Council will provide support by offering training and employment opportunities to local businesses and islanders. Principal Officer Jim Fawcett says ‘This builds on existing good practice and will extend the work of the South East Sustainable Procurement Project by connecting all Island Strategic Partnership member organisations. We will be taking a broad view of sustainability to ensure the project maximises social, economic and environmental benefits.’
