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• Annex 1: Tendering for sustainable procurement

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Procuring sustainable goods and services begins with the tender process. Follow this guide when tendering for sustainable procurement:

1. Consider which products, services or works are the most suitable on the basis both of their sustainability impact and other factors, such as what is on the market, the technologies available and costs.


2. Consider economic, environmental and social impacts through the product lifecycle from waste, energy and emissions to biodiversity, health and working conditions.



3. End-of-life impacts should be factored into the procurement planning process. For example, ‘special wastes' are categories of wastes that present particular problems and need specific policies for their management. The sound management of these waste streams will usually require the relevant industry to take some responsibility for the goods beyond the point of sale, and to develop or cooperate in schemes that help reduce and better manage the waste involved. The term ‘Extended Producer Responsibility' (EPR) is commonly used to describe these schemes. Consider including EPR schemes as a requirement of potential suppliers in specifications and contracts.



4. Analyse and question demand: buying less not only saves money but reduces impacts. Determine the number of products to be acquired based on an accurate utilisation analysis.



5. Collaborative procurement: where appropriate, use or develop joint procurement arrangements with other departments and agencies.



6. Take a scientifically-based ‘lifecycle costing approach' for:
   
   
   1. Planning: developing specifications
   2. Acquisition: defined as the optimum combination of whole life cost and quality (fitness for purpose) to meet the user's requirement
   3. Operational: in use costs such as consumables, maintenance and support
   4. Disposal: cost and impact of disposal.
   
   Do not shift impacts from one stage of the lifecycle to another.

7. Draw up clear and precise functional and technical specifications using sustainability factors where possible (eg, pass/fail conditions). This is a key stage in the process and offers the most scope for including sustainability aspects. Make your specifications challenging but achievable for potential suppliers:

• Specify minimum environmental standards (as contained in this document) for features such as energy efficiency, fuel usage reduction and recycled content
• Look for examples of eco-labelling that could be used
• Build upon ‘best practices' of other government departments/organisations by using networking as a way of exchanging information
• Use performance-based or functional specifications to encourage innovative, sustainable offers
• Consider sustainable practices such as the use of raw materials, sustainable production methods (economic, social and environmental), energy efficiency, emissions, waste, "recyclability"
• If unsure about the existence, price or quality of sustainable products or services, ask suppliers to include sustainable variants in their bids.

8. Establish selection criteria that, where appropriate, include sustainability criteria to prove technical capacity to perform the contract. Inform potential suppliers or service providers that they can use environmental management schemes and declarations to demonstrate compliance with the criteria. Be aware, however, that whilst checking for environmental management systems such as ISO14001 is good practice, it doesn't necessarily guarantee sustainability.



9. Establish award criteria. Insert relevant sustainability criteria either as a benchmark to compare offers with each other (where the technical specifications define the contract as such) or as a way of introducing a sustainability element (where the technical specifications define the object of the contract in a ‘neutral' way). Use weightings in evaluation criteria and consider lifecycle costings.



10. Use contract performance clauses as a way of setting relevant extra sustainability conditions; for example, where possible insist on environmentally friendly transportation methods (see Annex 2). Ensure your contract allows for improvements/innovations to be considered for inclusion during the contract term, as technology develops, but in doing this, take care not to materially change the specification of what was originally tendered for.
    
    Always make sure that everything asked of potential bidders and their offers relates to the subject matter of the contract.
    
    NB: Ensure that sustainability contract clauses used are specifically deemed to survive beyond the term of the contract.

11. Establish a system of contract monitoring to ensure suppliers or service providers keep their sustainability promises by continuing to meet the specification(s).