Memorandum submitted by the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (SP 10)
DEFRA'S
ROLE AS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
CHAMPION
1. Defra champions sustainable development
nationally and internationally. It works with other government
departments to seek to embed sustainable development into all
areas of business, including the way in which departments manage
their land and buildings and purchase the goods and services they
need. It has secured the commitment of all government departments
and their executive agencies to publish their own sustainable
procurement strategies this year.
2. Defra has taken the lead for government
in co-ordinating preparations for the new UK Sustainable Development
Strategy to be published in March. In consultation, stakeholders
have said that the Government should do better to exemplify sustainable
procurement in practice. We accept this challenge and the new
Strategy will chart the way forward.
DEFRA'S
ROLE ON
SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
3. The October 2003 joint statement on sustainable
procurement by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs and the Chief Secretary committed the Government
to sustainable procurement. It followed on from the report of
the cross-government Sustainable Procurement Group established
by the Secretary of State and the Chief Secretary. The report
set out how central government procurement can and should support
sustainable development and how whole-life costing and the principles
of sustainable development are consistent with value-for-money
and EC procurement rules. Both Defra and OGC officials were involved
in the work of the Group, which was chaired by Dr Clare Poulter,
Deputy Chief Executive of OGC.buying solutions (OGC.bs).
4. At the same time, OGC and Defra jointly
published revised guidance on Environmental Issues in Purchasing
and Ministers committed government departments to apply minimum
environmental standards in new contracts when purchasing certain
types of product, the so-called "Quick Wins" list.
5. Since October 2003, Defra's contribution
to sustainable procurement has focussed on:
— setting targets within the Framework
for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate ("the
Framework");
— exploring the scope to expand and
keep updated the current list of products meeting minimum environmental
standards;
— promoting the Public Sector Food
Procurement initiative;
— supporting the Government's commitment
to purchase timber from legal and sustainable sources;
— exploring, through the joint Defra/DTI
Environmental Industries Unit, the potential for public procurement
to bring innovative environmental goods and services to market;
— developing the evidence base to identify
future sustainable procurement priorities; and
— working with the EU on plans to encourage
environmentally sensitive procurement, in particular in relation
to environmental technologies, through an EU-wide benchmark target.
FRAMEWORK FOR
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
ON THE
GOVERNMENT ESTATE
6. Defra has been the lead department in
drawing up the Framework. The Framework was completed in October
2004 with the publication of sections on estates management, procurement
and social impacts.
7. The procurement section of the Framework
takes forward the recommendations from the Sustainable Procurement
Group report. The key commitment on procurement requires all government
departments and their executive agencies to draw up a Sustainable
Procurement Strategy, or review that already in place, by 1 December
2005. The departmental strategies must put in place (alongside
other requirements) systems to take account of government-wide
initiatives, which include the commitments on the minimum environmental
standards ("Quick Wins") products, on food and on timber.
Other sections of the Framework address other aspects of sustainable
procurement, for example the purchasing of renewal energy, and
the replacement of ozone-depleting fixed refrigeration, air-conditioning
and fire protection equipment.
8. Defra has monitored performance against
Framework targets in the annual Sustainable Development in Government
reports. In 2004, for the first time, the report was based on
an independent analysis by external consultants. The report and
departmental returns to the questionnaire are available online.
The returns relate to the financial year April 2003 to March 2004
so that only limited information is available in relation to the
October 2003 and more recent procurement commitments. The returns
show that most departments have begun to implement the "Quick
Wins" list.
9. In consultation with government departments
and other interested bodies, Defra is undertaking a review of
the Framework during 2005 to seek ways to strengthen performance
in all operational areas, including procurement.
MINIMUM ENVIRONMENTAL
PRODUCTS LIST
10. The October 2003 products list is published
online on the OGC.bs website. The Government is committed to keeping
the list under review and to widen its coverage over time. Defra
is undertaking this work which will be managed as part of a wider
Sustainable Consumption and Production agenda to raise eco-design
standards.
11. Work is already underway to extend the
list in 2005 to 50 products. Candidates for the list include a
variety of products such as office computers, photocopiers and
other office equipment, paper, refrigerators, lighting, air conditioners,
paints, detergents, hydraulic fluids and lubricants.
12. This activity is supported by the Market
Transformation Programme (MTP) and links with wider product policy
measures such as European mandatory labelling, standards and industry
voluntary agreements, and with the innovation initiatives below.
The overall aim is to establish an integrated approach for setting
and raising product eco-design standards in line with the Government's
policy objectives for climate change, waste, water and hazardous
substances. MTP will help to establish areas where procurement
could make an effective contribution to delivering those standards.
PUBLIC SECTOR
FOOD PROCUREMENT
13. The Public Sector Food Procurement Initiative
(PSFPI), launched in August 2003, is co-ordinated by Defra and
a cross-government implementation group. It is designed to encourage
public sector bodies to procure their food in a manner that promotes
sustainable development and encourages more small and local farmers,
producers and suppliers to compete to supply them with food.
14. Key government departments have produced
action plans for implementing the initiative and local authorities
are being encouraged to follow suit. A national conference was
held in November 2003 to raise awareness. This was followed in
2004 by regional workshops, guidance on best practice and the
establishment of mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing performance
across government. Defra has contributed funds towards regional
pilot projects. These will encourage more small and local suppliers
to compete to supply the public sector with food and catering
services.
15. Defra has worked with DfES and the Department
of Health on the Healthy Living Blueprint for Schools and Food
and Health Action Plan. The Department has helped farmers and
growers meet PSFPI requirements by, for example, publicising the
grants and support available to producers) and it has liaised
with various trade and NGO stakeholders.
16. Defra has also developed a communications
action plan to help forge a closer relationship between key departments
on promotional activities. It has collaborated with the major
food service companies to establish their role in implementing
this policy and has liaised with the Devolved Administrations.
PURCHASE OF
SUSTAINABLE TIMBER
17. Defra has been responsible for taking
forward the Government's commitment of 2000, to seek actively
to procure products made from timber that has been legally harvested
and grown in a sustainably managed forest or plantation.
18. In January 2004 Defra published revised
timber procurement guidance for central departments. This includes
an explanation of the constraints that EU public procurement directives
have had on implementing this policy. Defra has also commenced
development of the planned Central Point of Expertise on Timber
(CPET) which should accelerate progress and encourage the wider
public sector to follow central government's lead. Phase 1 assessed
five major forest certification schemes and was completed in November
2004. Defra is now working to set up the second phase of the CPET
which will provide a helpline service for public sector buyers
and their suppliers. A pilot scheme is currently in operation.
INNOVATION
19. The Government is also looking at how
public procurement can be used to drive markets for innovative
environmental goods and services. Through the Environmental Industries
Unit, Defra and DTI are working on a "Forward Commitment"
project with the Environmental Innovations Advisory Group that
aims to demonstrate how public sector purchasers can draw environmental
innovations into the market through the procurement process. In
order to encourage action in the UK public sector, we are looking
to:
— work with a government agency or
department to produce a model for replication in other parts of
the public sector; and to
— develop a training programme covering
the key issues purchasers need to consider when making purchasing
decisions on environmental technologies, products and services.
EVIDENCE BASE
20. Research for Defra, looking at the ways
of and factors influencing consumer behaviour in support of our
environmental goals, has shown that achieving change requires
a sophisticated approach, and that policy plays a vital role in
shaping the social context in which consumers act. One of the
key components is Government setting a good example. The research
has found that public sector consumption constitutes a significant
proportion of total consumption; that it can play a significant
role in stimulating markets for sustainable products and services;
that it can provide valuable lessons to policy-makers; and that
government policies and practices send important signals to people
about priorities.
21. Defra has also commissioned a study
to look at the evidence base for sustainable procurement to inform
the department's future priorities for public procurement. The
research is seeking to determine when and in what areas public
procurement is an effective and efficient tool for delivering
sustainability outcomes. In particular the research aims to:
— identify and provide an overview
of the evidence of what approaches to sustainable procurement
have worked and why, and the barriers that may exist, or have
been overcome, in implementation;
— examine the experience of UK Government
sustainable procurement by reviewing the environmental and other
outcomes that are likely to be delivered, and the net costs and
benefits of these policies;
— identify in what product/service
categories public sector procurement is most likely to be able
to influence directly the market-place through the scale of its
purchasing power, and where that power is concentrated;
— identify in what product/service
categories public sector procurement is most likely to influence
corporate and household consumer behaviour through leading by
example; and to
— identify what outcomes the UK Government
should be aiming to achieve and the costs and benefits of different
options.
The research is being carried out by Green Alliance
and should report by April 2005.
SUSTAINABLE PROCUREMENT
WEBSITE
22. The Sustainable Procurement Group recommended
that OGC, OGC.bs and Defra should collaborate on drawing together
advice and best practice into a single web-based tool to support
sustainable procurement. Defra has worked with OGC on the "sustainable
solutions" pilot website, which combines detailed sustainable
procurement advice for buyers. OGC.bs is responsible for overseeing
this service, and Defra will continue to work with OGC.bs on it.
23. Defra also has plans for a new service—Environment
Direct—which will give all consumers information about the
effects which different consumption choices have. The department
has done some initial feasibility work and will be consulting
on how to take it forward. If there is broad agreement, it is
hoped to have a service up and running in 2006. Defra will be
working with OGC on Environment Direct and will make appropriate
links between the new service and the "sustainable solutions"
website.
EU INITIATIVES ON
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
24. In partnership with the European Commission,
the UK is leading work under the Environmental Technologies Action
Plan (ETAP) to encourage public procurement practices that support
environmental goals, especially the development and deployment
of environmental technologies.
25. The UK would like to see the average
level of "green" public procurement achieved in the
European Union in 2010 equal to that currently achieved by the
best performing Member States. Defra is supporting the Commission
in an EU-wide study to define and measure EU environmental public
procurement, and to identify and assess current EU-wide best practice.
Initial results are expected in October 2005. The evidence will
provide a basis for discussion with Member States of any possible
future EU target, and inform development of national action plans
where they are not already in place.
15 February 2005
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