Sustainable procurement

Sustainability is a broad term describing a desire to carry out activities without depleting resources or having harmful impacts, defined by the Brundtland Commission as 'meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.' Some broader descriptions also include consideration of social and economic welfare.

Sustainable procurement is the process of adopting procurement strategies and making decisions in a way that supports wider social, economic and environmental factors.

In 2006, the Sustainable Procurement Task Force defined sustainable procurement as:

Sustainable procurement assesses value for money in terms of the wider benefits to society, the economy and the environment as well as the narrower benefits of the procuring organisation. This might include consideration of lifecycle impacts, environmental impacts, social impacts, and so on. These extrinsic cost considerations are factored into decisions alongside the conventional procurement criteria of price, quality, time, and so on (see Selection criteria for more information).

Some of the advantages of sustainable procurement include:

• Long-term efficiency savings.
• A more efficient and effective use of natural resources.
• Encouraging supply chain innovation.
• Reducing the harmful impact of pollution and waste.
• Reducing the impact of hazardous substances.
• Providing an incentive to supply for the sustainable products market.
• Key part of an organisation’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

In construction, sustainable procurement might involve consideration of the environmental, social and economic consequences of: :

• Design.
• Non-renewable material use.
• Manufacture and production methods.
• Logistics.
• Service delivery.
• Building use and operation.
• Maintenance and repairs.
• Reuse and recycling options.
• Disposal.

Sustainable procurement involves close collaboration and engagement between all parties in the supply chain, and suppliers’ capabilities to address these factors should be carefully considered during the selection process.

ISO 20400:2017 provides guidance to organisations on integrating sustainability within procurement, and is intended for stakeholders involved in, or impacted by, procurement decisions and processes. (This superseded BS 8903:2010 and is current under its 5 year review process)

In 2019 the EN 15804+A1 2012 was updated to EN 15804+A2 Sustainability of construction works - Environmental product declarations - Core rules for the product category of construction products.

The sustainability objectives of an organisation should be addressed as early in the procurement process as possible. This might include:

• Identifying the business need.
• Defining the sourcing strategy.
• Identifying suppliers.
• Evaluating and awarding.
• Implementing.
• Managing performance and relationship.
• Reviewing and learning.

However, there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution and projects need to consider their unique local environmental, social and economic effects. The geographical location of a project should be considered alongside the objectives of the client and any external stakeholder requirements and the capabilities of the supply chain. Sustainability impacts and risks should be mapped against categories of supply.

By operating the business more efficiently, demand can be kept to a minimum. This requires an organisational link between the procurer and the user.

Innovation should be encouraged and a competitive, sustainable supply chain developed. If a supplier with lower sustainability credentials is selected for other reasons (such as technical capabilities), they should be contractually obliged to develop a programme of work to improve.

An impact measurement process should be adopted, that is linked to the organisation’s strategic sustainability objectives so that meaningful steps can be taken to support their delivery. The organisation should develop an impact measurement tool so that these can be monitored effectively, with the results fed back against corporate objectives. This might be done for example by adopting a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) approach.

CIRIA's Guide to sustainable procurement in construction, published in 2011, set out the following guiding principles to sustainable procurement:

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• BREEAM Responsible sourcing of materials.
• Cost led procurement.
• Environmental plan.
• Green Seal.
• ISO 14024.
• Managing the procurement process.
• Material procurement.
• Procurement route.
• Public procurement.
• Recyclable construction materials.
• Sustainable development.
• Sustainable materials.
• Sustainability.
• Sustainability in design: a corporate buzzword or the future of commercial property.
• The sustainability of construction works.
• Whole life costs.

The sustainability of construction works