Issue - meetings

RESOLVED:

1.    That Cabinet approve the Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy on behalf of Surrey County Council (SCC).

2.    That Cabinet delegate authority for approving any future changes to the Policy to the Director of Procurement in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Environment, to enable the policy to evolve and adapt to local and national developments.

Reasons for Decisions:

This policy aims to improve the environmental considerations built into the core delivery of goods, works and services that the Council procures. Having declared a climate emergency and published both the Climate Change Strategy and Delivery Plan, this policy supports the net zero targets of the Council and embeds environmental sustainability, such as increases to Surrey’s biodiversity and reducing waste, into procurement decisions to lead to a greener future for Surrey and its residents. This policy will prepare prospective suppliers for the environmental considerations and expectations that will be implemented into the Council’s future contracts. On average, SCC spends £890million through its procurement activities across an average of 6,300 vendors per annum; increasing environmental considerations across the Council’s procurement activity presents a significant opportunity to influence a reduction in carbon emissions across the county and within SCC’s own services.

As national policy and technology are rapidly changing, the policy must also be agile. Therefore, it is recommended that delegated authority be given to the Director of Procurement in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Environment, to enable the policy to evolve as needed. Review of the policy is expected to take place on an, at least, annual basis once approved or as required following local and national policy directives.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources introduced the report which detailed the council’s environmentally sustainable procurement policy. The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and made a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050. The climate change delivery plan outlined a need for procurement to strategically drive change through the supply chain and the services provided to residents. The report set out the proposed policy to improve environmental consideration in the council's procurement activities so that the council could meet the strategic priority areas for enabling a greener future and growing a sustainable economy so that everyone can benefit. The combined Orbis procurement authorities co-developed the policy with the aim of adopting it across the Obis partnership so that they could increase the effectiveness of those environmental pressures, simplify the processes for perspectives and create consistency across the whole region. The policy would be a live document that would be monitored and reviewed as and when required.

The Cabinet Member for Environment welcomed the policy and stated that it would support the council in reaching its carbon reduction target and help tackle the climate emergency. The move to become cruelty free was welcomed.

RESOLVED:

1.    That Cabinet approve the Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy on behalf of Surrey County Council (SCC).

2.    That Cabinet delegate authority for approving any future changes to the Policy to the Director of Procurement in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Environment, to enable the policy to evolve and adapt to local and national developments.

Reasons for Decisions:

This policy aims to improve the environmental considerations built into the core delivery of goods, works and services that the Council procures. Having declared a climate emergency and published both the Climate Change Strategy and Delivery Plan, this policy supports the net zero targets of the Council and embeds environmental sustainability, such as increases to Surrey’s biodiversity and reducing waste, into procurement decisions to lead to a greener future for Surrey and its residents. This policy will prepare prospective suppliers for the environmental considerations and expectations that will be implemented into the council’s future contracts. On average, SCC spends £890million through its procurement activities across an average of 6,300 vendors per annum; increasing environmental considerations across the council’s procurement activity presents a significant opportunity to influence a reduction in carbon emissions across the county and within SCC’s own services.

As national policy and technology are rapidly changing, the policy must also be agile. Therefore, it is recommended that delegated authority be given to the Director of Procurement in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources and the Cabinet Member for Environment, to enable the policy to evolve as needed. Review of the policy is expected to take place on an, at least, annual basis once approved or as required following local and national policy directives.

(The decisions on this item can be called-in by the Resources and Performance Select Committee)