Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities
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Councils and health authorities rise to 'green' spending challenge
Councils and health authorities in England, with a massive annual £58bn of spending power, have pledged to make the way they buy goods and services and run their premises more sustainable.
The authorities were responding to the independent Sustainable Procurement Task Force report, Procuring the Future, which aims to make the UK a leader in the European Union on sustainable procurement by 2009.
Local government (accounting for some £40 billion of procurement per year) and the health and social care sector (£18 billion of procurement) have published their own responses following consultation carried out within both sectors.
Central to the responses published today (30 November) is a commitment to mainstreaming sustainable procurement into organisational thinking, strategy and practice. In this way, the responses aim to optimise social, economic and environmental benefits from the billions of pounds local government and the health sector spend each year on buying goods and services.
The joint launch today of the two responses reinforces the strong links between local government and health communities in delivering key public services like health and social care.
Some councils are already working on ways to make their procurement more sustainable:
* Wakefield Council asks would-be suppliers what added value they could bring to the district in terms of social, economic and environmental benefits
* Leicester City Council has had an environmental purchasing policy for the last ten years. It has recently created a new post to deliver sustainable procurement for the authority through its existing EMAS environmental management system.
Bristol City Council worked with the Soil Association and Organic Networks on a meet the buyer event to establish links with local food suppliers.
Welcoming the Local Government Strategy, Communities Minister Parmjit Dhanda, said:
"With an annual purchasing bill of some £40 billion, local government is a crucial partner in delivering on our commitment to make the UK a leader in the EU on sustainable procurement by 2009. We in central government are already taking forward our own action plan on sustainable procurement. I am delighted by the enthusiasm with which local government has embraced this agenda too."
Paul Bettison, Chair of the Local Government Association (LGA) Environment Board, said:
"I urge all local authorities to give careful consideration
to these
commitments and explore how they can procure on a
sustainable basis.
Councils are in the frontline in the fight
against climate change and everyone needs to be doing their bit to
make sure that they are acting in a green way."
The Health and Social Care Plan undertakes to set out how, in the next five years, the health and social care sector in England will use sustainable procurement, not only of equipment and supplies, but also buildings, facilities and services, to achieve improved health and well-being for the people, the environment and the economy.
Health Minister Ivan Lewis said:
"Procurement is a key area for the delivery of sustainable development. With the Health and Social Care Action Plan we have a document which provides a route map across the whole health and social care sector. "
Notes to Editors
1. The independent Sustainable Procurement Task Force, chaired by Sir Neville Simms, published its report, Procuring the Future, in June 2006 - see http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/government/task-forces/procurement/index.htm
2. In March 2007, the Government responded to the Task Force report by publishing The UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan - see http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2007/070305b.htm.
3. The Local Government Sustainable Procurement Strategy is accessible at: http://www.lga.gov.uk/Category.asp?lsection=761. Enquiries should be directed to the Local Government Association (LGA) on 0207 664 3187.
4. The Health and Social Care Plan is available at http://www.pasa.nhs.uk/susproch. Enquiries to 0118 980 8635.
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