Introduction
1.1 Wealden District Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and Biodiversity Crisis in 2025. It recognises the vital role in furthering sustainable development, through its procurement of goods, works and services. The Sustainable Procurement and Social Value Policies have been brought in to go alongside the introduction of the Procurement Act 2023 and the Climate Change Strategy and Action plan adopted.
1.2 Our procurement decisions have a major socio-economic (e.g. creation of employment and training opportunities) and environmental implication, (the need to reduce CO2 emissions and the amount of waste going to landfill as an example), both locally and nationally.
1.3 The Council wishes to promote the adoption of more sustainable practices and procedures amongst the wider business community.
1.4 The Council is therefore committed to ensuring the goods and services it purchases:
- Are manufactured, delivered, used and disposed of in an environmentally and socially responsible manner and
- Deliver long term value for money for the Council and the public sector as a whole.
1.5 Obtaining value for money when procuring goods, works and services is not just about obtaining the lowest price. Consideration of environmental factors needs to be undertaken at an early stage in the procurement process as a key element of the wider ‘value’ that can be obtained.
Benefits of Sustainable Procurement
2.1 Adopting a consistent approach to the environmental implications of procuring goods, works and services can have the following benefits:
- Long-term efficiency savings.
- Support/Achieve the Council’s Net Zero ambitions.
- Mitigate and adapt to Climate change.
- Address the Nature / Ecological Crisis
- More efficient and effective use of natural and local resources.
- Reduction in harmful impacts of pollution and waste.
- Reduction of the impact of hazardous substances on human health and the environment.
- Provide strong signals to the sustainable products market.
- Represents the Council’s commitment to sustainable development in the local community and local economy.
Scopes and Aims
3.1 The scope of this policy covers the Councils’ expectations of prospective suppliers in procurement activities performed by the Council. This includes commissioning, procurement and contract management.
3.2 This policy aims to minimise any negative effect and promote positive environmental impacts, where possible, within the Councils’ supply chain. This may be done by:
- Engaging with the market to identify opportunities and encourage innovative solutions.
- Evaluating environmental implications and their relation to Council targets in commissioning, design and procurement processes including qualification and evaluation of bidders.
- Building environmental commitments and targets into relevant supplier contracts, these may include carbon focused outcomes that align with the Councils’ carbon targets for example.
- Monitoring and measuring supplier performance against contractual environmental commitments; and
- Seeking opportunities for continuous improvement with suppliers throughout the life cycle of the contract.
3.3 This Sustainable Procurement Policy is part of a wider Procurement Strategy. It is complementary to the Council’s social value practices within procurement. Please refer to the Councils’ websites for developments in this area.
Define the need for your procurement
4.1 Commissioning and pre-procurement guidance from Sustainable Procurement Delivering Local Economic, Social and Environmental Priorities LGA Toolkit:
Is the procurement really necessary? For example, can the requirement be provided by:
- repair or refurbishment of owned products in lieu of new?
- reusing assets or sharing assets?
- through alternative low carbon or zero carbon services?
4.2 Do you need to own the product, or can the required function be provided through an alternative business model such as lease, hire, rental, or a service that provides the same or better environmental outcomes?
4.3 Have all relevant internal stakeholders been involved in early consideration, such as heads of service, budget holders, finance, climate change team, specifiers, end users and others, including subject matter experts?
4.4 What are the intended outcomes from the planned procurement – functional, technical, performance, end-user requirements? Consider:
- Any that relate to energy demands,
- the manufacture, use, maintenance and disposal of relevant products to be procured or used in service delivery.
- Any that relate to climate adaptation.
4.5 What are the Council’s climate change, cost savings and other goals? E.g. energy ambitions, carbon reduction goals, cost savings, renewable energy targets, biosecurity and biodiversity ambitions, waste and others?
4.6 Have all relevant whole life (life cycle) costs been considered? Including:
- any that relate to energy.
- the manufacture, use, maintenance and disposal of relevant products to be procured or used in service delivery.
- any that relate to climate change adaptation measures.
4.7 Utilisation – who will use the product or service (and how effectively will it be utilised and maintained and at what cost)? To
- enable energy efficiency and, where relevant, reduction
- be better utilised to avoid further acquisition.
- prevent risks to biosecurity and biodiversity, including appropriate management of waste.
4.8 What are the risks to supplies and services from climate change – local and wider supply chains? Some of the climate change effects are happening now but others will take time to manifest themselves. Ensure that risks are considered during the lifetime of the contract in question so that it is core to the subject matter of the contract.
4.9 Is there an opportunity to further mitigate local climate change impacts, reducing adaptation risks and requirements?
4.10 How does this link to wider considerations of supply chain resilience, including local supply?
4.11 At what procurement stages can adaptation be considered?
4.12 What is the extent to which the contracting authority can prescribe adaptation measures?
4.13 Does the planned procurement (works, goods or service):
- Involve the use of products and services where there are risks regarding food sourcing, health and welfare of animals, plants and people?
- Involve the use of materials or products and generation of waste that may be hazardous and potentially cause pollution to air, land and water if not managed appropriately?
- Involve the use of materials that may be derived from unsustainable or illegal sources?
- Involve interaction with protected sites or species or otherwise potentially impact on biodiversity in service delivery?
Market engagement and collaboration
5.1 Have you engaged with the market to set out your climate change, biodiversity / biosecurity, energy, air quality and/or carbon objectives?
5.2 How capable is the market in delivering these ambitions? The maturity of the market regarding energy efficiency and reduction can vary across Categories.
5.3 A request for information (RFI) or market engagement event may be helpful to better understand market capability and maturity.
5.4 Is there an opportunity for innovative solutions, which may be essential to enable the transition to ‘net zero’?
5.5 Factor in sufficient time to conduct an effective market dialogue – communicate your intended climate change, energy or carbon reduction objectives, outcomes, timescales, and the project business case. This signals your intent to the market (as well as internal stakeholders) and provides a basis for measuring and managing overall performance.
Communication
6.1 The Council will strive to:
General
- Work in partnership with other local authorities and organisations e.g. Centres of Excellence, Local Strategic Partnerships to promote sustainable procurement and maximise sustainable procurement gains.
People, Education and Awareness
- Communicate the sustainable procurement policy to all staff, Members, suppliers, and stakeholders.
- Educate, train, and encourage internal purchasers to review their consumption of goods and services, reduce usage and adopt more sustainable products.
Goods and Products
- Consider the financial, environmental and social costs and benefits of goods, suppliers, and services.
- Wherever possible and practicable, specify a requirement in line with nationally or regionally agreed minimum specifications.
- Where such exact specification is not possible, offer a facility for suppliers to submit offers for environmentally friendly alternatives.
Utility Procurement
- To obtain the best possible contracting arrangements with the key utility suppliers for electricity, gas and water taking account of Net Zero ambitions.
Construction, Biodiversity and Recycling
- Set targets for carbon management, such as Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI) or equivalent standards and sustainable construction, refurbishment, retrofit and maintenance.
- Fulfil Council obligations under the biodiversity duty as part of sustainable development plans.
- Investigate the opportunities for the recycling and re-use of materials where appropriate.
Socio-Economic
- Fully support local Small, Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the (Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise) VCSE sector to contract with us and support their Net Zero journeys.
Engaging Suppliers
- Encourage and persuade suppliers to adopt processes, goods and services that meet Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) responsibilities.
Measurements and results
- Comply with legislation relevant to Council sustainability.
- Support the achievement of the Councils Net Zero ambitions.
- Introduce internal Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor and improve compliance with this policy
Compliance and Monitoring
7.1 Prospective suppliers may be asked to provide evidence of their environmental policy and standards at the tender stage (environmental obligations and related KPI’s will be contained clearly in the tender documentation) and contract delivery stages.
7.2 Depending on the procurement, failure to provide these may result in lost scoring opportunities or exclusion from pre-qualification or tender stages.
7.3 The Council recognise that not all suppliers will currently be able to provide data, credentials, plans or commitments to environmental initiatives due to multiple reasons, such as environmental maturity or size.
7.4 As a result, the Council will aim to work collaboratively with these organisations to understand what options may be taken to support the supplier and improve any environmental considerations, both during the tender process and progressing through the lifetime of the contract. How the Council will do this will be included in the tender documentation.
7.5 The Council will aim to set performance measures that are proportional and relevant to the contract.
7.6 Suppliers are encouraged to raise any environmental concerns, feedback, or improvement opportunities they have identified, with the respective Council.
7.7 Where viable, the relevant Council will seek to explore and action environmental improvement opportunities with suppliers.
Glossary
- Contract management – the tasks and activities which seek to ensure we receive what we have contracted to receive, at the price we contracted to receive it, taking account of agreed change and continuous improvement. Activity is focused from prior to the contract starting through to contract expiry and de-commissioning. It includes supplier relationship management and also ensures that we meet our obligations under the contract.
- Biodiversity – Biodiversity describes the variety of all life on Earth, in all its forms, interactions and interconnectedness. It incorporates all habitats and species, both rare and common, and includes genetic diversity within species.
- ESG – Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is shorthand for an investing principle that prioritises environmental issues, social issues, and corporate governance. Investing with ESG considerations is sometimes referred to as responsible investing or, in more proactive cases, impact investing
- KPI or Key Performance Indicators – agreed indicators of progress towards the intended result.
- Net Zero – A target of completely negating the amount of greenhouse gases produced by human activity, to be achieved by reducing emissions and implementing methods of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
- Officer – an employee of Wealden District Council.
- Procurement – the tasks and decisions which secure an external Provider to provide what we want, at a price that we can afford. Activity is focused on the period from prior to advertising a tender to signing the contract. It includes both competitive tenders and circumstances where we negotiate with a single supplier.
- SME or Small and Medium Enterprises – firms that employ nine or fewer staff (micro), and firms that employ 50 or fewer staff (small), and firms that employ 250 or fewer staff (medium), and with a turnover of less than £50 million.
- Supplier – a company in contract with Wealden District Council.
- Sustainability – The quality of causing little or no damage to the environment and therefore able to continue over a period of time.