Procurement and climate change
Public procurement is expected to contribute to our climate change targets, in compliance with the sustainable procurement duty. Public bodies are required to:
- set out in their Annual Procurement Strategy how they will use procurement to contribute to the global climate emergency
- report progress in their Annual Procurement Report
- report on how their procurement policies and procurement activity has contributed to compliance with climate change duties in their Public Bodies Climate Change Duty Report
The Single Procurement Document (Scotland) (“SPD”) is a standard questionnaire that potential bidders complete which allows public bodies to identify suitably qualified and experienced bidders. Standardised statements for SPD question 4C7 allow procurement officers to ask bidders to provide evidence of capability to address the climate emergency in the form of a Bidder Climate Change Plan Template at the selection stage of a procurement exercise.
Guidance for buyers can be found on the Procurement Journey.
Guidance for suppliers on how to respond to this question can be found on the Supplier Journey.
The Sustainable Procurement Tools can support buyers in embedding climate objectives into their procurements. Alongside the Tools, this platform hosts Climate Literacy eLearning and sustainable procurement guidance, including guidance on Carbon in Production, Climate and Energy, Climate Change Adaptation and Vehicle Emissions. The Case Studies library available on the Tools includes real examples of how Scottish public bodies have procured goods, services and works in a sustainable, low carbon way.
The Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland encourages public bodies to broaden their response to the climate emergency by:
- undertaking early engagement with suppliers in order to support the creation of innovative solutions capable of positively responding to the climate crises
- setting out to construct contracts in such a way as to eliminate waste throughout the supply chain
- continuing to proactively explore low-emission solutions that support Scotland’s Net Zero ambitions and the Just Transition to a circular economy