Memorandum submitted by the Environment
Agency
SUMMARY
The issue of sustainable procurement is rising
in profile and the output from the last Environmental Audit Committee
inquiry has assisted this progress. Since the last inquiry the
Sustainable Procurement Task Force has been established and many
of the issues being considered by this EAC inquiry are being addressed
by that group.
— Targets are necessary but not sufficient.
Targets need to be an integrated part of an organisation's Environmental
Management System. A focus only on procurement will not deliver
the desired outcomes.
— Minimum standards for sustainable
procurement need to be set.
— Departments should be incentivised
to implement sustainable procurement practices.
— Departments should publish an annual
report describing progress against the delivery of their environmental
targets including those on sustainable procurement.
— Plain English guidance on sustainable
procurement is required. Guidance should be graduated with simple
tools for those starting out and more advanced techniques for
those aiming at excellence.
— The perceived barriers within Government
Accounting need to be identified and addressed.
— The Office of Government Commerce
need to take the lead on sustainable procurement. Until this happens
sustainable procurement could be seen as a fringe issue.
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Environment Agency and its predecessors
have been practising environmental and more recently sustainable
procurement for the last 12 years. We have invested in the development
of tools and techniques to support sustainable procurement and
this has been shared widely across public and private sectors.
The Environment Agency is taking an active role in the newly formed
Sustainable Procurement Task Force.
2. ANSWERS TO
SPECIFIC COMMITTEE
QUESTIONS
2.1 Is setting targets for sustainable public
procurement enough?
2.1.1 Targets are necessary but not sufficient.
They need to be an integrated part of a departmental/organisational
Environmental Management System (EMS). The EMS ideally should
be accredited to ISO14001. When an organisation establishes an
EMS, it identifies it's key impacts, determines the targets to
be achieved against each impact and then puts in place actions
to deliver these. In most organisations the procurement of goods
and services will encompass many of the highest impacts.
However, procurement cannot deliver sustainability
in isolation. It needs organisation-wide commitment and leadership
from the top. An EMS gives structure to this. Without some form
of wider organisation management system, procurement will fail
as it is effectively working alone without wider organisational
buy-in. Targets are necessary but need to be part of a wider delivery
context.
2.2 Should there be more stringent requirements
on departments with regard to how they carry out sustainable procurement
activities and how they are reported?
2.2.1 Minimum standards need to be set.
Support then needs to be provided including tools, processes and
training. Effective reporting and monitoring is then required
to ensure actions are implemented.
2.2.2 We believe each department should
publish an annual report detailing the progress made in delivering
the departmental sustainability targets, including those on sustainable
procurement. Departments should either re-state targets or set
new targets for the coming year. It would then be possible to
consolidate this information across all government departments.
2.2.3 The Environment Agency recognises
that incentives, capacity building, skills and training are currently
being examined by the newly formed Sustainable Procurement Task
Force of which the Environment Agency is a member.
2.3 How best can the performance of departments
and local authorities be measured with the aim of allowing proper
comparisons between them?
2.3.1 If performance is to be compared then
the targets and measures must be set on a consistent basis. Initially
targets could be input-based measures eg number of sustainability
risk assessments completed as a percentage of contracts awarded
or value spent on "OGC Quick Wins" or supplier sustainable
improvement activity etc. These should move to an output base,
eg carbon dioxide reduced or waste minimisation. The Sustainable
Procurement Task Force is currently examining this issue.
2.4 How can the SDiG questionnaire be improved
to provide more meaningful results?
2.4.1 As highlighted by the National Audit
Office review the questions in SDiG need to be more specific with
less scope for interpretation. Questions need to focus on actions
such as percentage of sustainability risk assessments as a percentage
of contracts let etc. All of these areas will need thorough definition
to avoid the different interpretation that different departments
have applied to the current SDiG questionnaire.
2.5 Should there be improved guidance for
departments on how to improve procurement practice, including
risk assessment?
2.5.1 Yes. A lot of guidance is available.
But it is fragmented and not in simple plain English that is easy
for buyers and others to understand.
2.5.2 A plain English set of tools is needed
aimed at different audiences involved in the procurement process
or policy setting including Senior Managers, Specifers, Buyers
and Suppliers. The tools should be based on a graduated approach
with simple tools for those starting out and more advanced techniques
for those aiming for excellence. These tools need to be supported
by training and an implementation regime to ensure relevant people
know what to do. Management then need to demonstrate commitment
to sustainable procurement in the individual departments.
2.6 If so, who should be responsible for providing
it?
2.6.1 The Office of Government Commerce
(OGC) take the lead on procurement policy across Government. OGC
should therefore lead on sustainable procurement. If they do not
then sustainable procurement could be seen as a fringe issue.
2.7 Where are the examples of best practice
within the public and private sector from which government departments
can learn?
2.7.1 The Environment Agency, through specialist
independent consultants, has just completed a sustainable procurement
benchmarking exercise. The Environment Agency was examined against
a range of public and private organisations that are recognised
as best practice.
2.7.2 The Environment Agency came out best
in the UK and second overall compared to a range of public and
private organisations. The best organisation identified across
the whole exercise was the Municipality of Gothenburg (a local
authority in Sweden). Other organisations of note were B&Q,
BT, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Vodafone and London
Borough of Camden. It is interesting to note that of this review
three organisations in the top five are from the public sector.
2.8 Are the various work streams identified
by the Sustainable Procurement Task Force adequate?
2.8.1 They appear thorough. We believe the
Sustainable Procurement Task Force is being asked to answer difficult
questions in a very short time period.
2.9 What do the key components of the Action
Plan need to be in order to ensure that its recommendations have
maximum impact?
2.9.1 We believe the plan should define
the actions required to place the UK public sector as a leader
in sustainable procurement in the European Union by 2009.
2.9.2 Incentives are needed for departments
to engage in the sustainability agenda. This is currently being
examined by the Sustainable Procurement Task Force.
2.9.3 Support material and training will
be needed for Buyers, Suppliers, Specifiers etc to support them
in delivering the change.
3. CONCLUSIONS
3.1 The National Audit Office review and
the last report of the Environmental Audit Committee have sent
a strong signal that more needs to be done to deliver sustainable
procurement in practice. This focus is welcome in driving the
agenda. The Sustainable Procurement Taskforce has only recently
been established and has been given a tough task in a challenging
timeframe.
25 October 2005
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