http://www.nwda.co.uk/pdf/CoordinatedSustainableProcurementNWSupplyChain

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coordinated sustainable procurement for northwest supply chain

Report of the Scoping Study: March 2007


The aim of the Scoping Study is to: Develop and evaluate an appreciation of the context of Sustainable Procurement (SP) work across BREW Partners and other partners and agencies, within the NWDA and with reference to the NWRA; and to produce recommendations for the future development of SP application within the provision of business support to the private sector. The objectives are to:

contents:

Identify priority areas for future SP activity in the NW

Executive Summary

one

Defining the Arena

two

Identify market demand

The National Context

three

Identify gaps and synergies

The Regional Context

four

Evidence Base & Consultations

five

Identify how SP activity can be delivered in a more coordinated way in the region

Analysis Challenge & Opportunity Recommendations

The methodology has been:

six seven

Appendices

Guidance from a Project Steering Group (Membership in Appendix 1) Commissioned by:

Consultations and Evidence Gathering by the Chamber Report Development Design of Dissemination Event (Organised for 27/4/07)

Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

March 2007


1. Executive Summary The purpose of the study has been to understand the current scenario of progress on sustainable procurement (SP) in the region; and to recommend how further progress may be made in a coordinated way. The arena of the study is explored: the linkage to the RES and to the wider agendas of the environment and of corporate social responsibility. The definition of SP contained in the national Sustainable Procurement Action Plan is recommended for adoption. The national context is examined, showing that there is strong leadership from central government with important support from the Office of Government Commerce, the Environment Agency, and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS). An overview of the regional context shows strong commitment from the leadership of NWDA and NWRA, and valuable work in progress at the NW Centre of Excellence and the Strategic Health Authority. The ‘knowledge base’ of the region is seen to be in good shape, with much expertise and specialist guidance available. There is however a risk that the very range of organisations involved may create confusion, particularly with pressures on the new regional Business Link organisation to seek to simplify the range of products and services which are offered to smaller businesses. A real need for a coordination role led by NWDA is identified. The evidence base assembled and the consultations undertaken by the Chamber show that there is as yet only limited penetration into the small business arena, and indeed in areas of the public sector and within the sub-regional partnerships. The recommendations are that the NW region should become a leading regional exemplar of SP application across private, public and third sector organisations by a process of active coordination to define and enable an action plan for SP implementation for the 2007/8 and 2008/9 years. The detail is expressed over 10 specific recommendations.

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2. Defining the Arena 2.1. Linkage to the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) There are self-evidently procurement implications in the delivery of every single RES action; and attention is given to sustainability in the Agency’s own procurement processes. The raison d’être and the focus of this study is driven by the need to implement two of the specific Transformational Actions. Action 23: Improve Business Efficiency and Waste Minimisation (BREW) support to business, including: Sustainable Procurement Overcoming barriers to new energy and waste technologies Reuse and recycling of materials Action 35: Develop world class management/leadership and corporate social responsibility/environmental management skills, and to contribute to: Action 24: Develop and Implement a Regional Climate Action Plan. It is noteworthy that Actions 23 and 24 are positioned within the Business chapter of the RES, whilst evidently having a wider resonance and context. The imperative is both strategic and immediate: the North West is predicted to run out of landfill capacity within the next 5 – 6 years.

2.2. Linkage to the Global Sustainability Agenda Sustainable Procurement sits as an important practical application area within both the continental and worldwide headline issues of Climate Change and the protection of the Environment; and the needs to seek to reconcile issues of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with those of business efficiency and maintaining competitiveness. Links to, and resonance with, these huge strategic issues abound in the literature and in the ever-growing body of academic work on the subject; and for the development of awareness and delivery materials we will need to look closely at the EC and the International Communities and to international exemplars of research and best practice.

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2.3. Drivers in the Areas of Sustainable Development & Procurement Whilst the focus of this study is on the needs and opportunity issues for the NW region, we must note the interrelated impact of the several drivers which impact the arena, not least because their rate of change is very great, viz: • • • • •

Technology Regulation Environmental Understanding Economic Implications Societal Awareness and Pressures

The dynamics, which impact and are seen to impact on every single procurement decision, from the individual to the national and the immediate to the strategic, are complex, subtle and subject to change as each of the above drivers comes into play. Whilst regulation is increasingly both an inevitability and a necessity in many areas (and with major differences between the public and the private and between industrial sectors) there is risk in presenting the subject in terms which may provoke suspicion that the agenda for SP is a reactive rather than a proactive one. The positioning of the work of the Sustainable Procurement Task Force is discussed below; but after analysis of our consultations we feel it appropriate to adopt and commend for practical use in the region the definition presented in the Task Force proposals: Sustainable Procurement is a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy, whilst minimising damage to the environment.

The SPTF footnote to the definition is also of value for reference: Sustainable Procurement should consider the environmental, social and economic consequences of: Design, non-renewable material use; manufacture and production methods; logistics; service delivery; use; operations; maintenance; reuse; recycling options; disposal; and suppliers’ capabilities to address these consequences throughout the supply chain.

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3. The National Context 3.1. Sustainable Procurement Task Force (SPTF) & Action Plan (SPAP) The business-led SPTF was set up in 2006, with membership drawn from business (major suppliers to government and representatives of best private sector practice) and NGOs, Trade Unions, professional bodies (including CIPS) and the Sustainable Development Commission. The UK Government SP Action Plan, signed jointly by DEFRA and the Treasury, incorporates the Government response to the report of the SPTF, and commits that government should use its massive buying power to make progress towards the goals of the Sustainable Development Strategy. The SPTF report assumes that adoption and improvement of public sector and government SP practices will engage and influence the private sector by setting examples in leadership and delivery and by catalysing change through its supplier relationships. Its headline recommendations are: • • • • •

Government should Lead by Example Government should Set Clear Priorities Central Government should Raise the Bar The Public Sector must Build Capacity Government should Remove Barriers to SP

These actions by public sector organisations are to be underpinned by three building blocks viz: 1. The Flexible Framework (Please refer to Appendix 2) 2. Prioritisation of Spend 3. Toolkits National public sector spend is assessed at £150 billion pa, of which £60 billion is identified as directly influenced by central government and large proportions of the balance of £90 billion falling within the spheres of Health and Local Government – these sectors are to offer responses to the Action Plan in the summer of 2007. For local government the RCEs are to produce the draft response, under the lead of the NE RCE. A simple pro rata calculation for the NW region yields figures of £7.5 billion and £19 billion. In discussion of raising the bar and of building capacity CIPS are identified as having the capability of producing training Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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content to enable greater professionalism in SP. CIPS (members of the Task Force) have committed to extend their curricula from 2008/09 to include SP. The SPTF Report and the Action Plan are major contributions to the SD and SP arena, and have created significant impetus for the subjects. The conclusions of Working Group 3, Engaging the Suppliers, established by the SPTF, chaired by Claire Garrett of BT, are positively appropriate to the objectives of this Study. It is significant however that few of our consultees had heard of the Task Force and its work, the exceptions all being within public sector contacts. We address later, under the heading of Challenges, the question of how to add momentum to the ‘roll out of the message’ to the bulk of the private sector.

3.2. Office of Government Commerce (OGC) The momentum for year-on-year efficiency improvement across government and in the wider public sector was created subsequent to the Gershon review published in July 2004. Under the heading of ‘Efficiency Programme Guidance’ the OGC now addresses the SP policy agenda and explores the extent to which this can be pursued within the external constraints: “OGCs role is to advise departments how, or if, they can pursue sustainable procurement in line with Government VfM policy and EU rules.” The response to this challenge is positive: “OGC has been clear that sustainable procurement and efficiency should be mutually reinforcing.” The reforms introduced in January 2007 in the Transforming Government Procurement Report have given the OGC new powers and tasked it to drive up standards and procurement policy across central government. As this development is explicitly related to the work of the SPTF, the OGC Sustainability Policy is worth quoting in full: OGC Sustainability Policy This Sustainability Policy applies to all of OGCs activities, products and services. All staff in OGC will follow the principles of this policy and supporting guidance to assist OGC meet its sustainability objectives. OGC will develop, implement and maintain an action plan in response to the White Paper Securing the future - delivering UK sustainable development strategy. It will cover a range of issues including procurement; travel; management of the OGC Workspace and Government Residual Estates; and OGCs Impact on Society. OGC is committed to seeking continuous improvement in its performance on sustainability that is consistent with the need to provide value for money for the taxpayer by: Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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1) Ensuring all its customer-facing products and services are developed to facilitate the UK sustainable development strategy wherever appropriate; 2) Reducing the levels of both direct and indirect pollution associated with OGC activities, including adapting its domestic Travel and Procurement practices to ensure sustainability targets are met in OGC operations. 3) Establishing sustainable development as a clear feature of OGC decision-making; 4) Encouraging the spread of sustainable technologies and services in the public sector; 5) Setting and monitoring relevant, measurable sustainability objectives and targets, and report progress regularly; 6) Maintaining an Environmental Management System (EMS) across its estate, including the residual estate to: a) Monitor and review progress in reducing consumption of resources; b) Meet all relevant environmental legislation and statutory regulations, Sustainable Development on the Government Estate requirements; and official codes of practice; c) Specify that contractors do the same when working on OGC premises or projects; d) Maintain links to the cross-Government Property Benchmarking initiative; 7) Educating, training and motivating staff to work in an environmentally responsible manner and to play a full part in developing new ideas and initiatives; 8) Communicating openly and proactively with staff about environmental policies and best practice, and co-operating with others in the public and private sectors at home and abroad to develop and promote environmentally sound practices; 9) Encouraging manufacturers, suppliers and contractors, through appropriate specifications, to develop and supply environmentally preferable goods and services, in line with the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. OGCs Director of Customer Systems and Services will co-ordinate and promote OGCs Sustainability Action Plan to implement the above policies and report annually on progress to Ministers and senior management, publicising developments both internally and externally. This policy is supported by the OGC Board and is consistent with the Government's commitment to sustainable development and the requirements of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate.

Against this background of very clear policy commitment, OGC offers a substantial range of advisory resources to central government departments, including approaches to programme and project management, toolkits for planning and control, and support for training of specialist procurement staff.

3.3. Environment Agency (EA) The role and work of the EA clearly positions it in the transition and translation space between the world of government and regulation and the world of business. The EA’s long-term objective statement is also worthy of quotation: Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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A 'Greener' Business World LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE: Industry and businesses will value the services provided by a rich and diverse natural environment. In the process, they will reap the benefits of sustainable business practices, improve competitiveness and value to shareholders, and secure trust in the wider community.

The outcomes we will help achieve: All business activities will have environmental concerns at the heart of their thinking and operations. The adoption of sustainable production and consumption practices will be the norm. Industries will exercise stewardship over their products to ensure that they are compatible with sustainable development. Risk and incentive-based charging schemes will reward reduced risks to human health and the environment and encourage effective environmental management. The public will use its purchasing and investment powers, and its opinion, to influence industrial performance in terms of human health and the environment. Through the public being better informed and involved, there will be greater general approval in the regulatory process and public confidence in it.

What we will do: We will work to simplify and improve the regulatory process for business, improve access to environmental information for business and the public, and promote the prevention of pollution and minimisation of waste in industry.

In the EA’s ‘NetRegs’ activity there is a huge amount of environmental guidance for small businesses in the UK, very clearly ordered both by business type and by environmental topic. The point is clearly made that EA’s approach combines assistance to comply with legislation; to protect the environment for the essential long-term societal benefits of doing so; and to offer to the business sector the prospect of saving money by identifying ways to use resources more efficiently. The EA’s website and other publications signpost the enquirer to the advisory resources and material available from both UK and European sources, again including the provision of frameworks and toolkits. These links embrace the activities of the national levels of operation of the BREW partners and many others, with clear linkages to regional activity. In the definition of projects such as SCPNet there is clear recognition that delivery in the field requires the linkage of the EA, the RDAs and the Assemblies to deliver evidence for sustainable consumption and production and to offer advocacy, tools and training.

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3.4. CIPS (The Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply) CIPS was established in 1932, and was awarded its Royal Charter in 1992 in recognition of its status as a centre of excellence and support for the profession. It seeks continuous improvement in the standards of procurement professionals by its professional qualifications programme and by providing public access training programmes and a comprehensive range of learning resources. Qualification levels include Certificated, Diploma and full Member (MCIPS) levels. CIPS has publicly stated that it acknowledges the importance of the Sustainable Procurement Task Force definition on Sustainable Procurement. It believes it will encourage both public and private sector procurement professionals to gain a greater overview of the in-depth requirements of this bewildering topic. In a recent survey during November 2006 undertaken by Supply Management, the official magazine of CIPS, a staggering 83% of professional buyers admitted the profession lacked a clear understanding of the subject. The rationale for this deficiency was that the concept of Sustainable Procurement immediately raises barriers towards its implementation and development within organisations; these include the perceived higher cost of more sustainable products and services and the up stream and down stream integration of systems and procedures. These barriers are then reinforced with the general misconception that the subject is predominantly saturated with environmental themes and regulation and, more importantly, risk. CIPS recognises that the biggest challenge for procurement professionals and their associated organisations is change. Often organisations have a negative perception that sustainable procurement is unaffordable; this is one of the biggest hurdles for the profession to overcome. Therefore two fundamental elements have to be dealt with head on by both organisations and the procurement professionals they employ: these are change management and the adoption of change. Once organisations and individuals alike accept the wider context of change, their views on the perceived barriers can be challenged and the appropriate response sought. In the Sustainable Procurement Action Plan of March 2007 CIPS states that it will expand its qualification coverage of sustainable procurement with a further review to ensure there is appropriate coverage of the subject in the next syllabi due in 2008. CIPS have also been commissioned by OGC to deliver the forthcoming ‘Public Sector Faculty’ for procurement staff. There has been little mention of placing emphasis on targeting procurement professionals within the private sector. Gerard Chick, Head of Knowledge Management at the Institute, Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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comments “CIPS will continue to work with procurement professionals, academia and other stakeholders in developing further the debate that will help to provide a clear understanding of sustainable procurement and its implications�.

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4. The Regional Context 4.1. Introduction England’s Northwest has a £98 billion economy with 6.8 million people and 230,000 companies. Public Sector expenditure is £48 billion. The GVA per head is 12% below the England average, resulting in an output gap of £13 billion, of which £10 billion reflects our lower productivity (GVA per employee). Whilst the region has closed some of its performance gaps in recent years, forecasts indicate tough challenges in the next few years. The RES states a commitment to sustainable economic development, in line with the Government’s ambition of enabling all people to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life for future generations. The Northwest is determined to become a champion for climate change activity and sustainable consumption and production and launched its Climate Change Action Plan in November 2006, looking at the opportunities as well as the threats which the overall climate change scenario represents. Section 2.1 above has positioned this scoping study in relation to the detail of the RES. In September 2004 a previous and important scoping study was carried out for NWDA by Sustainability Northwest (SNW). This addressed the ability of public sector procurement to advance sustainable development in the region, and made a series of positive recommendations in this regard, including that NWDA should associate itself with the drive to raise the competitiveness of the region’s businesses in terms of their ability to supply the public sector market The present study complements this previous work and seeks to address the wider context of the SP messages across the spectrum of public, private and third sector markets.

4.2. Environment Connect Environment Connect is the regional identity for the action programme for BREW in the region. The BREW partners offer a range of services and support to help companies increase resource efficiency, reduce waste sent to landfill and develop new innovative technologies in the environmental technology area. The table below gives an elementary overview of the very significant expertise and capabilities of the BREW partners and others who are active in the region.

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Lobbying for Sustainability

Recycling & Waste Management

Public Sector Procurement

Construction Training

Energy & Carbon Management

Environment al Management

Corporate Social Responsibilit

Management Training & Qualifications

Procurement Consultancy & Training

Procurement Advice & Workshops

Partner

BITC Carbon Trust Construction Centre for Innovation Centre of Excellence East Lancashire CC Envirolink/Remade Envirowise Enworks Groundwork Liverpool CC NISP WRAP Sustainability NW St Helens CC

Data Source: Proformas and marketing literature NB: It is possible that some organisations’ proformas or public information understate the full range of their activities; it will have to be decided whether adding any extended, or perhaps less core data, increases duplication or displays useful additional capacity.

4.3. The North West Centre of Excellence Complementing the focus of Environment Connect in offering services to the business sector is the work of the NWCE addressing the public sector. The NWCE is an active change agent in supporting local authorities in the northwest to achieve modern, efficient services. Procurement is identified as a key business priority and is seen to embrace: Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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• • • •

Long-term and sustainable management of regional and sub-regional third party spend Short to medium term procurement opportunities Developing a picture of the procurement landscape E-procurement (including e-auctions and procurement cards).

There is explicit commitment to helping North West businesses to benefit from the efficiency improvement work of local authorities. A substantial amount of work has already been undertaken with north west authorities on Purchase Spend Analysis to enable local authorities to analyse their spend, both by category and by supplier, and this work clearly can be a valuable bridge to engagement in SP dialogue with supplier businesses. The North East RCE holds the national lead role for the SD area within the RCE network, and has published the report of the LM3 project on assessment of the actual and potential impact on public sector procurement mechanisms on effectiveness in Northumberland, which has achieved widespread currency within the local authority sector. A Sustainable Procurement Work Stream Proposal (building on the recommendation in the government SP Action Plan which highlights the potential of the network of RCEs) is presently before the NWCE’s Procurement Programme Board and, if supported, will clearly have an important potential for collaboration with SP work coordinated by NWDA.

4.4. The North West Regional Assembly (NWRA) The NWRA is presently active in several areas related to SP: NW Sustainable Procurement OpenStrategy Pilot lays the basis for a regional strategy for sustainable procurement. This involves testing a new technique for partnership working – OpenStrategy® NW Cleaner Safer Greener OpenStrategy has the remit to enhance collaborative working on the Cleaner Safer Greener agenda, working with partners such as the NW Liveability Foundation. NWRA EMS (Environmental Management System) is currently being implemented – this will include targets and objectives around sustainable procurement. The aim is to achieve ISO14001 accreditation for the organisation. Three regional strategies: RSS (Regional Spatial Strategy), RHS (Regional Housing Strategy), SES (Sustainable Energy Strategy). Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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NWRA provides the secretariat function for the NW ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) Forum. Its aim is to share and disseminate good practice and regional ESD activity along the four Securing the Future priorities. It works in both the formal and non-formal education sectors. There are also RTAB and inkind support to ENWORKS and NWRA SEEP Group, NW Equality & Diversity Group. SD Skills provides training and enabling in the use of tools for sustainable development, e.g. Integrated Appraisal Toolkit (IAT), the NW Sustainability Checklist for Developments (SCD) and Planit-nw. Guidance and advice are available on sustainability aspects of activities, programmes, policies and tools in the North West. Specific tools include: Integrated Appraisal Toolkit (IAT); the NW Sustainability Checklist for Developments; North West Best Practice Design Guide.

4.5. NWDA Involvement with SP NWDA has two aspects of SP application in development: SP for the Agency’s internal adoption and thereby communication to partners; and SP in external commissioning. For internal organization it is producing an SP Action Plan, and intends through a fast-track process to achieve ISO 14001 within 6 months. This process will facilitate and clarify areas of complementary working on SP issues as between Corporate Resources, Operational Programmes and Internal Services and Support. It appears likely that management of the key area of ‘specification’ (which is the point of interface to supply partners to the Agency) will settle in the Project Review Group within Operational Programmes. (See also Section 5.3.9)

4.6. The Potential Role and Capacity of NW Business Link The new one-stop regional Business Link service, replacing the five sub-regional Business Link organisations, becomes operational from 2/4/2007. The new regional service will focus on the provision to SMEs of information, diagnosis and brokerage services to meet identified needs, with the brokerage function making customised linkage to the sources of specialist services and products. Business Link will be a vital channel of communication to the SME community, but it is important to note that this will be as an advisory network rather than a delivery partner.

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The front-line face of BL in the region will be its 170+ brokers; and integration of advice to the business community will be aided by the integration of the Skills Brokerage offering the ‘Train to Gain’ service within the network managed for the region by NWDA. In noting that the brokers will be advisors rather than delivery providers we should note also that they will be structured as specialists by sector. To avoid confusion, in noting that a priority sector for the NW is Energy and Environmental Technologies we should identify that this is an approach for targeting companies active in this sector and not as such a programme for the wider awareness of the application of those technologies. Business Link has boundary constraints (size, sector etc) on the organisations with whom it works. Additionally the Government’s BSSP (Business Support Simplification Programme) has as its objective to reduce the number of business support schemes nationally from approximately 3000 today to no more than 100 by 2010. The implications here are that for the region to make use of the potential of the BL network, to serve as a guidance channel for SP, the ‘Knowledge Platform’ accessible to the BL brokerage network will need to include carefully structured material on SP, with BREW partners and others identified as sources of specialist advice and support. BL must however be identified as a communication channel with, rather than a delivery partner to, the SME community in the region.

4.7. Community Communication and Engagement. The vast majority of the region’s 6.8 million people are consumers exercising choice at the point of purchasing goods and services, and over 40% of them are employees, working in the public or private sectors. In either role or both, they are able to exercise stakeholder pressure on the region’s businesses to show increasing commitment to corporate social responsibility in general and in matters of sustainable development in particular. With both NWDA and NWRA stressing their commitment to the Sustainable Development agenda and to providing public information about the issues, programmes and progress made within it, the dimension of public awareness and growing consumer pressure is one of which both political and business leaders looking at SP should be aware. The Sustainable Development Commission has a formal role as UK Government ‘watchdog’ reporting to the Prime Minister. I Will if You Will is the report published in May 2006 on the work of the Sustainable Consumption Roundtable jointly hosted by the SDC and the National Consumer Council, which Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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interestingly held its major consumer forum event in Manchester, and the relevance to business is well captured in the quotation from Neil Carson, CEO of Johnson Matthey who were participants in the SPTF: This report highlights that consumers are increasingly looking to government and business to help them live more sustainable lives and make better choices about the products and services they buy. The job for the business community then is to satisfy this consumer need and to provide clear and practical guidance to government on the steps required.

There is no doubt that from processes of direct public consultation and from the views and concerns of elected politicians there is likely to be both ‘top down’ and ‘bottom up’ pressure for the leaders of the business sector to be active in facilitating sustainability in general and increasingly in attended to SP activity within their own organisations.

4.8. The Contribution of Academia There is doubtless expertise in aspects of the overall sustainability within every one of the region’s HE institutions, with very many senior academic staff engaged in each of research, teaching and participation in external task groups with an overall knowledge transfer imperative. Lancaster University hosts a research-oriented 5-star environment department and, within the LEAD programme hosted by the business school, has done relevant work on SME engagement. Both Manchester University and MMU are active in the research and communications areas and, with Salford, are members of the National Centre for Business and Sustainability which was established by the Co-operative Bank and which is closely allied with Sustainability North West. In addition there are specialist contributors to the sustainable agenda: these are Dr Alan Carroll, from MMU Business School, (a member of the project Steering Group) and Dr Paul Cousins from Manchester Business School. Our region is of course the overall lead region for the Northern Way Leadership Academy, with Leeds University within the Academy’s development leading on Sustainability. Outwith the NW region, the Centre for Research in Strategic Purchasing and Supply (CRiSPS) was established at the University of Bath. Since its foundation in 1994, following the inauguration of the first UK CIPS Chair in Purchasing and Supply Management, CRiSPS has been a leading academic research centre in its field, in a global context. Members of CRiSPS are strategic advisers to a range of government departments and agencies. These include: HM Treasury (Office of Government Commerce), the Department of Trade and Industry; the Office of Science and Technology, Partnership Sourcing Limited, the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (a major sponsor of work in CRiSPS). North West NHS PASA has participated in courses from CRiSPS affording them a greater understanding of Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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how to integrate issues of sustainability in practice. In forward programmes within the region it will be important to seek support from and engagement of the academic community. The important paper Mission Zero from Dr Alan Carroll is attached as Appendix 3 to this report.

4.9. CIPS Regional Activity During the 2006 CIPS Branch convention the Institute accepted that it had predominantly focused its training and development programmes in the South of England to the detriment of the North. CIPS recognised the importance of addressing the disadvantage this posed and would be taking direct action to rectify the situation. The East Lancashire Chamber which is the host of the North Lancashire Branch of CIPS and also an Accredited CIPS Study Centre has consulted with CIPS to identify numbers of procurement professionals across both public and private sector organisations. Figures show that there are only 1659 fully qualified CIPS procurement professionals (MCIPS) across the geographical footprint of the North West: 995 individuals with organisations who have studied but not reached full MCIPS status, and 588 currently studying either through College or private tuition. There are approximately 27,300 organisations/businesses with an employee headcount in excess of 25. Making the assumption that businesses with this basic profile will have meaningful spend, then only 6% employ a MCIPS practitioner. It is important to stress that being professionally qualified is not a prerequisite of becoming a good procurer, and it is accepted that experience is equally significant. However, it is important to recognise the broader purchasing and supply processes perspective of structured disciplined training and also the development and application of specialist expertise in different parts of the supply processes, especially on the subject of Sustainable Procurement. Undoubtedly there is an extremely strong case to ensure that the levels of competencies within the sphere of procurement embracing the topic of sustainability are pursued and delivered. The existing CIPS Level 3 course (A Level equivalent) discusses environmental factors affecting purchasing at local levels, nationally and internationally. They include:

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• • • • • •

Environmental policy Pollution, removal of rain forests, contamination of rivers, discharge of effluent Issues relating to environmentally friendly practices Reducing and disposing of waste in the purchasing function Legislation on emissions Kyoto agreement and its impact upon commercial operations

As individuals progress through higher levels they encounter modules on CSR, Risk Management and Supply Continuity. However each level can take months to complete. To get to full MCIPS (Degree level) takes approximately 3 years. Therefore an all encompassing one or two day SP course embracing these afore mentioned elements would be ideal. The Chamber is actively exploring collaboration with CIPS with advice and input from North West academia to create a dedicated stand alone module on Sustainable Procurement. This module would be put before the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply for consideration of full CIPS endorsement along with appropriate certification and recognition towards Continuous Professional Development (CPD) recognised by CIPS and employers’ organisations.

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5. Evidence Base and Consultations 5.1. Introduction 5.1.1. Approach Adopted As a key element of this scoping project the Chamber has used the skills and data resources of the Supply Chain team within its Commercial Division, and has used questionnaires and survey forms (see Appendix 4). The Chamber has also undertaken a substantial process of consultation with regional and sub-regional partners and contacts. These special activities have complemented the body of evidence available on the internet and from other public sources.

5.1.2. Limitations of the Statistical Evidence Base With SP being only recently introduced as a discrete policy concept, data has not generally been kept for that specific purpose. The Sustainability NW scoping study on Public Sector Procurement: Sustainable Development 2004 commented specifically on the paucity of data. While so far still the case, that position will, to an extent, change during 2007 with the local authorities, through the Flexible Framework and the National Health Service/Strategic Health Authority through the Sustainable Development Toolkit each establishing their special profiles and patterns. If the other end of the process, waste, is considered, it should be noted (source Environment Agency/landfill operators) that there is no data collection of sources of origin of waste from industry to landfill.

5.1.3. Constraints of Prioritising by Sectors The tables below show the national public sector priority spend areas (SPTF) and the priority RES sectors.

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PUBLIC SECTOR PRIORITY SPEND AREAS (NATIONAL) • • • • • • • • • •

Construction Health and Social Work Food Uniforms, clothing & other textiles Waste Pulp, paper and printing Energy Consumables (office machinery & computers) Furniture Transport (business travel, motor vehicles)

Source: SPTF

RES SECTORS 55% of GVA Biomedical Energy & Environmental Technology Advanced Engineering Food & Drink Digital & Creative Business & Professional

52% of Employment Logistics: Maritime, Distribution, Aviation Construction Visitor Economy Retail (Public Sector) Care & Healthcare

Source: RES The national sectors are identified by their established pattern of spend. The regional sectors have been targeted for their growth potential. A simple read across from these tables to prioritise SP activity by sector is infeasible: to do this with confidence we would need to know the extent to which the NW matches the national profile - i.e. whether are we a net importer or exporter of spend by sector. The RES growth sectors are assumed to be able to operate in open international markets - their growth potential might be constrained by a requirement to focus more locally, whether for sales or spend. It is therefore recommended that the Northwest does not create a new set of sectoral criteria for SP but uses the national data to identify opportunities for suppliers and the RES priorities as those areas where SP can be designed into developments. Many of these sectors, and their supply chains, are already being supported (Aerospace, Automotive, Food and Drink etc), which should facilitate Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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the introduction of SP principles. It will be valuable to use the excellent contact network of the Agency’s Cluster specialists and Cluster partners as an access channel for the promotion of SP awareness with the NWDA target growth sectors. The special position of Construction is noted, particularly as it is the main source of landfill. However, the sector is becoming highly regulated and the universal requirement for 'Site Waste Plans' means the compulsory introduction of further discipline. Our consultations with both contractors and housing market renewal pathfinders reveal an increasingly structured approach to supply chains and sub-contractor development, which again facilitates the introduction of SP. There is much current activity, with the relevant challenges and constraints facing the sector being largely capacity (skills) and the maximisation of local content. Here and elsewhere we identify the value of generally-applicable cross sector themes of addressing issues of leadership and management development, clarity of specification processes, raising of the skills levels of the staff engaged in procurement and communication through the supply chain.

5.2. Evidence Base: SMEs A Private Sector Questionnaire was completed by a sample of 100 companies from across the Chamber network. The objective set was to establish the awareness of SP; the extent of analytical understanding of the company’s purchasing spend and supplier base, and to identify the level of interest in SP related issues. The responses received from these companies offer a useful range of indicative findings. 39% of the responding companies had a dedicated purchasing specialist, although only 29% had trained or qualified staff (‘trained or qualified’ translated into 8 qualified to MCIPs, 6 to CIPS below Member level, 2 whose companies have achieved ISO 14001, 1 to ISO 5000 and 1 to ‘level 3’). 44% of responses stated that they had heard of Sustainable Procurement, but only 10% knew of the SP Task Force and 9% of the SPTF report. Unsurprisingly, virtually all purchasers (97%) state that ‘business interests’ are the primary benefit consideration in their procurement, but 65% claim to consider environmental impact and 63% take local community considerations into account (although additional comments on the returns suggest that this latter may refer to purchase of relatively minor consumables rather than anything Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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more sophisticated). The need for improvement in purchasing and procurement was widely accepted. Our questionnaire sought to test the level of recognition of agencies with the following results: Groundwork The Carbon Trust Business in the Community The Regional Centre of Excellence Envirolink WRAP Envirowise ENWORKS Sustainability NW Remade The Construction Centre of Innovation NISP

82% 65% 49% 42% 42% 23% 22% 19% 9% 7% 7% 4%

It is of interest that an additional sample of 31 local CIPS students showed very little additional awareness of SP and of the work of the SPTF. Whilst almost all (29 of 31) of their companies have a dedicated purchasing department (predictable when the students are being released for CIPS training) only 48% had heard of SP, only 16% had heard of the SPTF, and none of the publication of its report, i.e. negligibly dissimilar from the larger sample.

5.3. Consultation Process Reflecting its involvement with regeneration issues and programmes, the East Lancashire Chamber has long been extremely active with partners in the public and third sectors in the County and more widely in the region, in contrast to the more usual Chamber of Commerce profile of close identity with the private sector. Using this contact network, meetings were held with over 40 partnerorganisations (see Appendix 5), and these discussions are summarized under the following sub-sections: 1. Sub-Regional Partnerships 2. Local Authorities 3. NHS Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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4. Universities 5. BREW Partners 6. Chambers of Commerce and Business Intermediaries 7. National and Regional Government; SPTF Members and Advisors 8. CSR and Third Sector 9. NWDA, Business Links, NWRA 10. Private Sector

5.3.1. Sub-Regional Partnerships All of the SRPs were consulted. (Cumbria was currently reorganising, having recently strengthened its Vision organisation, and accordingly was only able to give a partial response.) However, there was general overall conformity. The SRPs have prepared sub-regional economic strategies which consolidate into the RES. The SRPs’ strategies do not just list the programmes that the RDA fund but are a representation of all of the major activities that collectively sum to reduce the NW’s economic gap. The SRPs are currently also establishing a co-commissioning role with the RDA and accordingly could be sharing specification responsibilities. The Partnerships review their plans on an annual basis with the Agency, and these are already subject to Sustainable Development proofing. It is recommended, given their co-commissioning role, that the SRPs’ annual business plans and sub-regional economic strategies address Sustainable Procurement. It is a moot point whether the SRPs follow the RDA’s lead and obtain a standard recognition, e.g. ISO 14001, which would obviate the need for further proofing (but which might be seen as an unnecessary level of regulation), or whether they rely on passing scrutiny at the point of annual review (see below on the role of the RDA).

5.3.2 Local Authority Sector (LAS) The local authorities will be responding collectively to the National Sustainable Task Force Report through the North East Centre of Excellence by mid-year. The NW Centre of Excellence expects the North West local authorities to have reached Flexible Framework level by the end of 2007; this will provide a complete database of the areas and patterns of expenditure. The possibility for tensions between the Gershon review and SP will alternatively have to be managed at individual local authority level: crucially it will be the Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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elected leadership of these authorities who will set the Council’s vision and position – which in turn must be embedded and converted into specifications. There are huge disparities between local authority performances where date is available, with for example neighbouring authorities displaying half/double variations of local sourcing. Similarly, interpretation of the European OJEU requirements re economic value appears to vary significantly. The work of the Northwest Centre of Excellence is clearly of great strategic value to the NW Region and should be encouraged; this should include targeted development of the civic leadership on Sustainable Procurement. In parallel with the SPTF recommendations, it is also evident that the level of professionalism in purchasing will also need to be improved. While CIPS are engaged nationally, the NW would benefit from a stronger CIPS relationship intra-regionally. While the continuing development of collaborative hubs, for example ‘the Vault’, is to be encouraged, there needs to be reconciliation between bulk-price optimisation, SP and SMEs’ ability to participate faced with the barrier of higher value contracts.

5.3.3. NHS Authorities The NHS is identified within the SPTF Report as a key player. The Regional Strategic Health Authority (SHA) has taken a lead in sustainable development and has worked closely with the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). The SHA is itself not a purchaser; procurement is carried out by the Primary Care Trusts and other budget-holding health agencies. Total expenditure of health is of the magnitude of £9.6 billion, equivalent to 10% of the entire NW economy. Accessibility for SMEs, with a further pressure from Gershon, remains a major issue and opportunity. Initiatives like the NW NHS Supplies Bureau could provide part of the answer if rolled out regionally; this allows for development as well as providing information and direct support to improve the quality and delivery of their businesses to benefit the NHS.

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The Department of Health has an executive agency, NHS PASA, which was established in April 2000 and is centrally government funded. Over the past five years it has delivered national savings of over £1 billion – “money that can be spent on direct patient care.” Among its key tasks, it is expected to (a) provide strategic guidance on procurement, (b) promote sustainable procurement. Since 1 October 2006 a contract has been awarded to DHL to manage the supply chain services that were previously internally managed and part of PASA. This new service is known as NHS Supply Chain. NHS PASA has redefined its objectives, including supporting the roll out of collaborative hubs. At the time of preparing this report it still remained that the organisation structure for NHS PASA and for collaborative hubs in the NW were under review. Reverting to the SHA there is another important dimension from a regional perspective. In contributing to the recommendation to make the NW a leading region on SP, the SHA is already blazing a trail. It has and is developing R&D programmes on SP, including an Interreg 3 project at the Wirral, which has Europe-wide resonance, and has placed SP at the heart of its generic R&D activity. It advises that following on from collection of full purchasing data from its constituent Trusts and Authorities, projected for mid 2007, it will identify 10 high impact changes. The SHA is on the National Sustainable Development Task Force and engages with academia in the NW. While the RDA and SHA already meet, we would recommend that the SHA is represented directly on a putative regional SP Forum.

5.3.4. HE and Academic Institutions The contribution of academia is described above in Section 4.8. Despite the good offices of the North West Universities Association (NWUA), universities do not operate to a hierarchical model; each department and/or professor is often autonomous. One mechanism that has been trialled to make the link between the NW universities and the activities of the NWDA and its partners has been the NW Regional European Programme (NWREP) within the Objective 2 2000-2006 programme. Should that programme, or its equivalent, be available from 2007 onwards, we would recommend that SP be integrated and a specific project introduced. Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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It is also the case that both universities and colleges are major funding recipients, budget holders and purchasers in their own right; both capital and revenue. We have not had sufficient time to explore this facet of the prospective contribution of the academic sector to SP but would hope/expect to see similar corporate development as is emerging in local authorities and the NHS. This may deserve further investigation going forward.

5.3.5. BREW Partners See also 4.2 ‘Environment Connect’ NWDA coordinates the national BREW programme in the region and a BREW Group (Appendix 6) oversees its delivery. The Group were involved in the design and commissioning stages of the Scoping Study and have received preliminary feedback. The focus of BREW activities has predominately been on resource efficiency and waste minimisation, rather than specifically addressing SP. The delivery organisations on the Group are a mix of public and private (although they are all heavily publicly funded) and national and regional. The offer sees the addition of the development of new technologies in the environmental arena to the resource and waste advisory capability. There is significant collective expertise within the partners, but there is both duplication and some competition within the individual constituent members. As the practicalities of SP are introduced it will thus be important to ensure that the effect is to build upon the offer to clients and not simply create a new area for duplication (particularly if funding is involved). In general, besides the technical-commercial elements of procurement lying outside the Groups specialist knowledge (‘it’s only shopping’!) so there is also no individual CSR specialist organisation on the Group. The BREW Group is therefore an important component in, but not the full answer to, how the NW should organise itself to manage SP. There are also some potentially difficult financial constraints on some of the Partners with central government funding post-April and post- Comprehensive Spending Review being uncertain – and that includes the BREW core itself.

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5.3.6. NW Chambers Network Chambers were identified by the original BREW partners as a prospective partner and conduit to the private sector. The individual Chambers in the NW are committed to joint working (eg the regional UKTI contract) and are organised on a regional, sub-regional and local basis and cover the whole NW. While having 16,000+ members, Chambers routinely deal with a much wider section of the business community, for example being frequently engaged on publicly funded universal access business support services. Chambers are currently delivering CSR (per Responsibility NW), Supply Chain (LEGI), Meet the Buyer, carbon reduction programmes (Trafford Park) and other relevant programmes. East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce is a branch and study centre for CIPS. Added to this, Chambers are active at regional/sub regional and local level on European Funding, RES, Climate Change, Environment, business competitive programmes, SRPs, LSPs, LAAs and most other networks. They also interface routinely between the public and private sectors. Relationships with other private sector intermediaries, including the NW Business Leadership Team (NWBLT), the Institute of Directors, Federation of Small Businesses, Federation of Private Business, Asian Business Federation, Private Sector Partners, Confederation of British Industry etc, are worthy of further exploration. The NWBLT is a regional forum that ‘engages major business leaders to help address the economic, social and environmental challenges that face the NW’. The organisation consists of Senior Executives who represent 30 major private sector companies. Their CEO also heads the NWRA committee that scrutinises the NWDA’s performance). They are members of BiTC, Sustainability NW and Responsibility NW. They have recently commissioned a year long study into how NWBLT can best contribute to the Climate Change challenge.

5.3.7. National & Regional Government, SPTF Members & Advisors National Government has formally submitted its response to the Task Force report; local government is to follow mid-year. It would appear that Regional Government (GONW) has a translation and coordination role for national policies, including an overview of the Business Support Simplification process. GONW also has a role in the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) and similar Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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programmes whose aims in part parallel those of SP, for example linking economic activity and opportunity with societal needs (and vice versa); these are significant discretionary budgets. In the consultation process we have undertaken, whether speaking to Universities, OGC, DTi, CSR organisations or stakeholders in general, Barbara Morton’s name has almost invariably been mentioned. She has been a correspondence member of the Steering Group for this project and far more significantly, has been an adviser to Defra for the National SPTF. If the NW is to maintain its position as a leading region then such an authority among our midst should be closely involved and supported. The 2 members of the Task Force itself that we have spoken to confirm that the principal task of producing a report and recommendations having been completed, the Group will now become virtual and would only be reconvened on an ‘as circumstances require’ basis.

5.3.8. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Third Sector Organisations Our consultation in these areas revealed the wide spread of interpretation within the overall concepts of CSR; from the higher-level ‘mission and values’ aspects to the more detailed processes of integration (often referenced as ‘embedding’) into the specification of products and services, upon which procurement is based and which can be measured e.g. by reduction achieved in carbon consumption or output to landfill. The principal dedicated Agencies and programmes active in this area within the region include BiTC, Responsibility NW (a partnership), Sustainability NW and NWBLT There is a benchmarking tool available – the CSR Index - which 200 companies have adopted nationwide. The Co-op, here in the NW, is the top scoring organisation. Particularly pertinent to this Study, BiTC is running a national campaign of Responsible Supply Chain Training with a target of 800 companies (equating to 100 in the NW) which aims to provide a competitive edge. A NW Regional Leadership Board is being introduced to oversee the programme. Responsibility NW delivers through other agencies; for example Liverpool Chamber is currently trialling and developing some elements of the programmes within the business community, including holding workshops in the style of a CSR Academy, and Barbara Morton has also delivered some ‘Masterclass’ sessions on SP. There is valuable work in the LEAD and KnowledgeLink programmes at Lancaster University, which engage SME managers with CSR concepts and their Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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application. There are also private sector ‘exemplars’ like Booth’s Supermarkets, the Co-op, BIRSE, George Wimpey and many others and their supply chains; ENWORKS; NWRA’s Open Strategy.

5.3.9. NWDA, Business Link, NWRA. The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) is coordinating for the English RDAs on the issue of SP. There is a cross-RDA procurement group (primarily targeted at price optimisation) and an SP leads’ group. Contact with EEDA suggests that they are as yet some way from being ready to publish proactive guidance in any detail: they regard NWDA and Yorkshire Forward as the most advanced of the RDAs. All RDAs are going through formal or informal accreditation (ISO 14001, EMAS) and are committed to carbon neutrality by 2010. The NWDA is apparently the only RDA without a dedicated general budget for supply chain support. For the commissioning and delivery of NWDA funded or monitored programmes, it would appear easier for administration and for consistency of standards if suppliers were also ISO14001 registered. The RDA already conducts a Sustainability check, so adding SP to the criteria in a single, continuous framework would be straightforward. This would be particularly obvious for the potential co-commissioning arrangements with the Sub-Regional Partnerships (SRPs). However some of the SRPs and their constituent partners have a wide range of activities which are funded by the RDA and may have concerns about perceived enforced regulation (particularly those with a strong private sector bias?) This is an area for further exploration. In terms of the overall impetus for SP development within the Agency, the most natural fit may be for its ownership to lie within the Sustainable Development section of the RDA. That it must relate to the Business Productivity and Competitiveness section is unquestionable, however in general that department has the focus which its title conveys and is associated with specific projects that require relatively immediate and directly measurable returns. These are also desirable disciplines for SP but there are a whole range of other sciences and factors, including societal and environmental, to be reconciled. The NWRA sees itself with an influencing role on the balance between the RDAs business competitiveness and productivity role and the wider politics of the Region which include Climate change, natural resources and assets and societal factors (including ‘inclusion’). Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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Of particular relevance to SP it may provide the forum and guide and influence the local political leaders who will be required to translate possibly disparate national departmental policies into robust specifications for purchasing and commissioning at a local level within the public sector.

5.3.10. Private Sector The short timescale for this study precluded large-scale sampling of and liaison with the private sector in the region; but the experience of our immediate evidence-gathering together with the wider Chamber contact network of private business prompts a range of observation: The Private Sector has a number of roles in the context of SP: 1. Exemplars - As exemplars, whatever their primary commercial or ethical motive, are valuable to the rest of the private sector. The Region already has excellent examples in Co-op, Booths, BIRSE and many others. 2. Suppliers to the Public Sector - As suppliers to the Public Sector, they are potentially the most easily influenced – as the SPTF recognised. However there are reservations about the preparedness of companies, and particularly SMEs to access public contracts – the prognosis therefore cannot simply be regulatory or dictatorial. 3. Suppliers to the Private Sector and Consumers - As suppliers to the private sector and consumers. The majority of the economy (even in the NW and other parts of the North) is not public sector. There are significant gains to be made in this area which is rather out of the scope of the SPTF’s recommendations. There are some further considerations here, for example are sub-contractors to a prime whose customer is part public sector reliant (e.g. BAE) subject to behaving like a direct public sector supplier themselves? 4. Deliverers of SP Support Programmes - There are many companies in the NW who provide commercial services in areas that contribute to SP, for example in energy saving, or leadership training. Is their contribution, or the purpose of subsidy properly understood? It is noted that the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA) under their ‘Action of Energy’ banner, use BREW funds to work with a North West SME in a pilot for energy spends of less than £50k per annum. 5. Customers of SP Support Programmes - As customers/ beneficiaries of SP programmes. Most companies, and particularly SMEs, concentrate their Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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efforts on wealth creation and the bottom line and are often conservative. Persuasion to change their culture and market position requires a selection from simple-to-understand propositions, role models, supply chain influence, customer attitudes, etc. Our survey revealed a willingness to learn and a reasonable degree of self-awareness of support that was required.

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6. Analysis, Challenge and Opportunity 6.1. Analysis It will be apparent from the foregoing sections of this report that there is at the national level clear definition of the issues relating to Sustainable Procurement within the wider field of Sustainable Development; and that action to implement best practice in this area has strong commitment from central government, advised by business leaders from the private sector as well as by experts in the public sector and from academia. It is also evident that many major organisations in the private and the third sectors are committed to the agenda, with roll-out being most advanced in those sectors which are already impacted by legislation and regulation, and those which find significant parts of their market share in supply to the public sector. There is a complementary ‘bottom up’ growth in public awareness of the connectivity between the overall agendas of the environment and of corporate social responsibility with the commitment of business to implement the principles of sustainability into the practice of sustainable procurement. Our evidence base and consultations undertaken for the study suggest that the messages – both of the importance of SP and of the opportunities to take effective action about it – are not yet reaching the smaller companies in the region, nor indeed the smaller units of the public sector; and have not yet reached the crowded and complex agendas of the sub-regional partnerships. At the NW regional level, our scoping shows: a) that there is clear endorsement in the RES and commitment both from the leadership of NWDA and NWRA to support action programmes in the SD and SP field. b) that the knowledge bases to underpin the programmes of communication and action planning are in excellent shape and in strong hands; but that the inherent complexities of the subject are compounded by the number of organisations active in the field, with the specific applications of technology to product improvement liable to confuse the wider SP messages. c) that the NWCE and SHA is leading valuable work within the public sector to deepen understanding of and evidence base for supply chains; and this Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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is complemented by awareness in the health and education sectors (which will be reinforced when these sectors’ national response to the work of the SPTF is published later this year). d) that there is commitment to produce modules of awareness-raising and applications training material from the leading professional institution in the field, able to access the professional community in the field of procurement; and that experts in the academic community are keen to engage and assist.

6.2. The Challenges 6.2.1. The Linkages with Corporate Social Responsibility CSR is, perhaps inevitably, a somewhat semantic and nebulous area, particularly within the smaller companies of the private sector, even where they are active in the supply chains of the public sector or of large industry ‘Primes’ whose engagement with CSR is clear. There is a real risk that the necessary connections are yet to be made between the overall concepts of CSR and explicit commitment to the areas of SD and SP. It will be important for future activity in the promotion of SP commitment in the region to address this need for connectivity (embedding) and to present the case that the totality of CSR embraces the process of drilling down from the overall concepts of values to which the organisation commits to the detail of operations. This is perhaps best illustrated by using the George Wimpey organisation as an exemplar; as construction is self-evidently a sector with major and long-term implications for both the physical and the social/community environment, and for the production of waste material in both CO2 and physical form. The statement of the Group’s CSR framework proceeds from the high-level reference to ethics, values and governance as underpinning elements to all aspects of the business to identify 6 specific core areas of focus viz: • • • • • •

Health & Safety Environment Supply Chain Management Community Employees Customer Care

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Under the ‘Environment’ heading there is specific reference to waste management, to land use remediation, to sustainable solutions and to progress towards zero carbon housing. Under the ‘Supply Chain Management’ heading is reference to control over specifications and standards and to local, regional; and national sourcing initiatives (in that order!). When linked with other areas of the full statement, including stakeholder engagement and community consultation and commitment to fairness in relations with sub-contractors as well as customers and staff, this is a most valuable template to illustrate the linkage from CSR to SP.

6.2.2. The Key Concept of Specification. It is self-evident that where, within a procurement process, there is a specification of the exact requirement desired by the buying organisation, there is the opportunity to look for the application of sustainability criteria as well as the other dimensions of performance and price, with the correct guidance and tuition a disciplined approach can be adopted to be more proactive, especially on key strategic items, by enhancing the dialogue between customer, specifier and supplier. Reference back to Section 2.3 above (the definition of SP adopted for this report) will show that the challenge for the progressive achievement of sustainability is that of empowering the buyer to apply these criteria. Insofar as the buyer is a busy professional operating in many areas of procurement, there is the clear implication of wider culture change within the organisation than merely that of the training within the purchasing function. For success in the ongoing adoption and application of SP, each of specifiers, buyers and suppliers will need to adopt changes in their operational culture and their decision making. There is also what may be termed the ‘macro’ level of specification, i.e. that the whole of an organisation, regardless of sector, may wish to position itself in its operational marketplace so that the products and services which it offers to its customer are designed and developed in accordance with a strategic commitment to sustainability. This is a key challenge to leaders and leadership development and training programmes. With the ever changing landscape of new regulations, corporate social responsibility and consumer expectations, there could be no better time for progressive North West business leaders to seize the opportunity. The exemplar company in the paper by Dr Carroll previously quoted (www.interfaceglobal.com) is one such – an international supplier of floor coverings which, having committed itself from the top of the company to a ‘mission zero’ target, has achieved both growth and improvement in profitability Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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over many years now. It again follows from the foregoing that the target of SP awareness programmes will be the CEO of the organisation as well as the head of purchasing; and that the latter will not succeed in applying an SP strategy to procurement specifics without the understanding and support of the former. The challenge is indeed to achieve the full integration of both top-level sustainability strategies and for those to translate through into procurement operations. A recent consultancy report by the AT Kearney consultancy on the position within 25 North American Fortune 100 companies, whilst revealing that a growing proportion of these majors will choose not to continue working with suppliers that do not meet sustainability criteria, showed also that 58% of the companies surveyed had a sustainability strategy at the corporate level, but only 38% have adopted a formal strategy for the supply management department. SP is thus very much a huge challenge in terms of organisational culture change.

6.3. Need and Opportunity In common with other aspects of the environmental and climate change field, the need may well be strongest where the awareness is lowest, so that the vocabulary of ‘identified need’ should be used with care. Our consultation with BAE Systems, one of the majors in our region, and a recognised ‘prime’ in the terminology of supply chains, reveals their understanding that SP, in common with previous big issues in aerospace of compliance with standards, is the type of issue which takes a long time to permeate the entire supply chain. Unless the issue has the enforcement of regulation, the central example of and pressure from the prime on its immediate contractors needs to be reinforced from other sources if the ‘trickle down’ process through the supply chain is to be accelerated. Our consultations clearly suggest that there are very many smaller companies, and indeed smaller units within the public sector, who will welcome and be assisted by a programme of awareness-raising and training which: a) addresses the full range of SP issues from the corporate through to the forensics of procurement, which is designed and promoted to the organisation as a whole, and which positions SP within both the CSR and the Environmental contexts b) is made available to them in modular form and with ease of local access c) has the participation of the recognised professional institution so that it has appeal to their own professional staff Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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d) has clear endorsement from their customer base (whether consumers or elsewhere in the supply chain) so that there is positive reinforcement within the training delivery process.

6.4. Indicative Timetables There are a number of significant milestones which will influence progress in developing SP in the NW region: March/April 2007

NWDA receipt of Scoping Study

Summer 2007

Response by the RCE to the SPTF Report

Summer 2007

SHA completes the regional baseline for NHS spend

Autumn 2007

Comprehensive Spending Review (inc guidance on SP)

End 2007

RCE/LAs have complete content of Flexible Framework

Spring 2008

ERDF funding becomes available

These milestones are significant enough to influence the preparation of a detailed plan for SP development activity in 2007/08 and 2008/09.

6.5. Forward Actions/Further Research The remit of the study was for a major review and to identify the major issues and forces affecting SP. The recommendations that follow in the next section are therefore based upon and flow from these major issues and policy examples and set out how the Region should organise itself to respond. However, had the brief encompassed a greater degree of operational detail, or had time allowed, then other factors could also have been added to the influences and ‘Indicative Timetables’ above. Examples of other areas for research could include: • •

Investigation of the behaviour of other significant public budget holders, e.g. Police, Fire Service Assessing the implication of the Flexible Framework for SMEs in the North West

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• • • • •

More detailed understanding of the functions of purchasing and specifying in SMEs and the requirements and process for change. Extended engagement with the larger private sector corporates and identification of further exemplars/role models. A statistical assessment of the impact of UK Government and other national agencies centralised purchasing in the NW (eg what proportion of national contracts are won by NW organisations?). The response of SMEs and large companies to Climate Change (persuasion or regulation?). Together with the Environment Agency, establish the sources of industrial landfill.

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7. Recommendations The aim of the Scoping Study has been to provide an evaluation of the context of current work on SP within the region, and to produce recommendations for future development for business support to the private sector. The objectives were to identify priority areas for future SP activity in the region, to look at need, gaps and synergies, and to suggest how future activity on SP can be delivered in a more coordinated way. We believe that the recommendations below address the aim and objectives, and offer a clear foundation for NWDA to coordinate within an action plan framework which will be of real benefit to the NW region in future. In many cases, the specific recommendations, and their implications for resources, are driven by the sheer magnitude of the opportunity. 1. NWDA to endorse the adoption for general use in the region of the SPTF definition of Sustainable Procurement. 2. Endorse the aim of making the NW a leading region in the application of SP across all sectors of the economy. 3. NWDA to establish a structure to coordinate the application of SP within the region, i.e. to establish a Regional Forum which is: a. b. c. d. e. f.

Private Sector chaired supported by an expert advisory group determines priorities for support oversees creation of an appraisal process undertakes Monitoring and Evaluation of progress has a dedicated officer administrative function

It is further recommended that responsibility for SP should reside within the RDA’s Infrastructure and Development Department: Sustainable Development Section, while the RDA’s Enterprise, Innovation and Skills Department should also be represented. 4. Populate the Business Link Knowledge Platform with SP Guidance in a form consistent with the Business Simplification process. 5. Engage the Sub-Regional Partnerships to commit support for SP via the review process of their annual action plans. Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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6. Develop a leadership strategy for SP application targeted at the SME and third sectors at CEO/Board level and embracing the issues around the role of specification. 7. Commission CIPS, with advice from academia, to produce awareness and training modules on SP theory and practice for inclusion in the CIPS process of CPD. 8. Develop an awareness programme for the business community on the benefits of SP, including deploying private sector intermediaries and their networks. 9. Develop funding support for and leverage on the SP programme via the 2007-2013 ERDF programme. Seek additional and/or complementary sources of funding and share resources with other major public budget holders. 10. Make and publish action plans for 2007/08 and 2008/09, prepared within the framework of the indicative timetable below, which should include: • • • •

provision for the private sector to have development programmes which track the implementation of the Flexible Framework in the public sector workshops for buyers to review issues of sustainability versus immediate business reward workshops for specifiers to enable them to address issues of sustainability in their guidance to buyers tailored ‘Meet the Supplier’ events in which specifiers and buyers together access knowledge of new sustainable products & services

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APPENDIX 1 Membership of the Project Steering Group Michael Damms East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Chambers of Commerce NW Stewart Maloney East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, MCIPS Reg Dyson East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, MCIPS Todd Holden ENWORKS Mark Turner Groundwork, Merben Dominic Lee NHS Dr Alan Carroll Manchester Metropolitan University, FCIPS David Kemp Envirolink Martin Toomey RDA (Observer) MCIPS Melanie Hart RDA and Vicki O’Kelly (Observer) Rebecca Kitchingman GONW Matthew Wilkinson NWRA (Observer) Barbara Morton Sustainable Development, (correspondence/virtual standing member of the Group)

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APPENDIX 2 Flexible Framework People

Policy, Strategy & Communications

Procurement Process

Foundation Level 1 Sustainable procurement champion identified. Key procurement staff have received basic training in sustainable procurement principles. Sustainable procurement is included as part of a key employee induction programme. Agree overarching sustainability objectives. Simple sustainable procurement policy in place endorsed by CEO. Communicate to staff and key suppliers.

Embed Level 2 All procurement staff have received basic training in sustainable procurement principles. Key staff have received advanced training on sustainable procurement principles.

Practice Level 3 Targeted refresher training on latest sustainable procurement principles. Performance objectives and appraisal include sustainable procurement factors. Simple incentive programme in place.

Enhance Level 4 Sustainable procurement included in competencies and selection criteria. Sustainable procurement is included as part of employee induction programme.

Lead Level 5 Achievements are publicised and used to attract procurement professionals. Internal and external awards are received for achievements. Focus is on benefits achieved. Good practice shared with other organisations.

Review and enhance sustainable procurement policy, in particular consider supplier engagement. Ensure it is part of a wider Sustainable Development strategy. Communicate to staff, suppliers and key stakeholders.

Augment the sustainable procurement policy into a strategy covering risk, process integration, marketing, supplier engagement, measurement and a review process. Strategy endorsed by CEO.

Review and enhance the sustainable procurement strategy, in particular recognising the potential of new technologies. Try to link strategy to EMS and include in overall corporate strategy.

Expenditure analysis undertaken and key sustainability impacts identified. Key contracts start to include general sustainability criteria. Contracts awarded on the basis of valuefor-money, not lowest price. Procurers adopt Quick Wins.

Detailed expenditure analysis undertaken, key sustainability risks assessed and used for prioritisation. Sustainability is considered at an early stage in the procurement process of most contracts. Whole-life-cost analysis adopted.

All contracts are assessed for general sustainability risks and management actions identified. Risks managed throughout all stages of the procurement process. Targets to improve sustainability are agreed with key suppliers.

Detailed sustainability risks assessed for high impact contracts. Project/contract sustainability governance is in place. A lifecycle approach to cost/impact assessment is applied.

Strategy is: reviewed regularly, externally scrutinised and directly linked to organisations’ EMS. The Sustainable Procurement strategy recognised by political leaders, is communicated widely. A detailed review is undertaken to determine future priorities and a new strategy is produced beyond this framework. Life-cycle analysis has been undertaken for key commodity areas. Sustainability Key Performance Indicators agreed with key suppliers. Progress is rewarded or penalised based on performance. Barriers to sustainable procurement have been removed. Best practice shared with other organisations.

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Engaging Suppliers

Key supplier spend analysis undertaken and high sustainability impact suppliers identified. Key suppliers targeted for engagement and views on procurement policy sought.

Detailed supplier spend analysis undertaken. General programme of supplier engagement initiated, with senior manager involvement.

Targeted supplier engagement programme in place, promoting continual sustainability improvement. Two way communication between procurer and supplier exists with incentives. Supply chains for key spend areas have been mapped.

Key suppliers targeted for intensive development. Sustainability audits and supply chain improvement programmes in place. Achievements are formally recorded. CEO involved in the supplier engagement programme.

Measurements & Results

Key sustainability impacts of procurement activity have been identified.

Detailed appraisal of the sustainability impacts of the procurement activity has been undertaken. Measures implemented to manage the identified high risk impact areas.

Sustainability measures refined from general departmental measures to include individual procurers and are linked to development objectives.

Measures are integrated into a balanced score card approach reflecting both input and output. Comparison is made with peer organisations. Benefit statements have been produced.

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Suppliers recognised as essential to delivery of organisations’ sustainable procurement strategy. CEO engages with suppliers. Best practice shared with other/peer organisations. Suppliers recognise they must continually improve their sustainability profile to keep the clients business. Measures used to drive organisational sustainable development strategy direction. Progress formally benchmarked with peer organisations. Benefits from sustainable procurement are clearly evidenced. Independent audit reports available in the public domain.

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APPENDIX 3 MISSION ZERO? On the Way to Sustainable Procurement Dr Alan Carroll FCIPS MCILT MIOM ILTM AMIEA Programme Leader Logistics & Supply Chain Management Address: Division of Business Information Technology & Management Science, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School, Aytoun Campus 206B Aytoun Street Manchester M1 3GH United Kingdom Email: a.w.carroll@mmu.ac.uk Tel: (44) 0161 247 3894

Introduction Sustainable procurement has a key and critical role to play in sustaining the supply chain as an end-to-end entity; however it generates a number of conflicting issues, social, environmental and economic, which tend to deflect decision making within organisations and businesses away from the strategic to the functional ‘solution’. The term functional is not intended here to be disparaging or dismissive, it begins the journey to full sustainable supply management in which procurement must play the major role. However what has been termed the ‘Mission Zero’ (www.interfaceglobal.com) vision for total end to end product and service sustainability, by and from business as integral to positive brand management and consumer concerns, requires a new way of thinking that conflicts with contemporary business training and thinking which is quite rightly focused on margin. The intention of this paper is to examine the potential conflicts involved in a ‘Mission Zero’ vision for sustainable products and services, define a strategic, tactical and operational procurement approach to the vision and compare the resulting model with current organisational and business practice. From this should emerge a sustainable procurement framework that will enable organisations and business to analyse and evaluate their product and service processes and make some positive decisions that will enable them to begin the journey to ‘Mission Zero’ thinking and application. Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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Means and Ends The economic and commercial history of the UK is crowded with good intentions, from government legislative action and business decision making. This achieved unpredictable and usually negative results, because of the imposition of general rules, which did not account for circumstances and the complexity of detail surrounding them. This suggests that a degree of impartiality is required for the examination of the concept of sustainable procurement, a position which the Chamber should take as a business developer, rather than those involved in commercial operational activity, and also rather than Government, whose decision making can be tempered by concepts of detached imposition in the view of the operational users. UK procurement managers, by and large, don't know how to manage; not just in manufacturing, but in the service industry, in education, in health care, and in government at all levels. That is not because managers are incompetent or inefficient, but because they are trained. They are taught how to manage in school, college, university and by experience and professional training in-company ex-company. They were taught in certain ways; they have learned in certain ways; and they are comfortable with their skill sets, which tend to drive them so that they think quantity/linear. What they were taught, what they learned, what they and their organisations are comfortable with doesn't work. It used to, in a systemic Taylorist industrial mass production context, but it doesn't anymore in a volatile product and systems context where a global supply chain has to balance rapid response to customer demands with a host of ethical, environmental, social and statutory requirements along the length of the chain. 21st century procurement requires a systems approach for 21st century supply management and sustainable procurement requires a detailed ‘systems-plus’ approach viz: Linear Quantitative Static Fragmented (Standard procurement practice) Best Cost or price

V

Non-linear Qualitative Dynamic Holistic (Sustainable procurement practice) Total Acquisition Cost or price

This will require a procurement systems analytic approach that is exhaustive, an ‘end to end’ product or service life cycle approach incorporating the total acquisition cost, meaning the costs not just of the economic analysis (best cost or price), but the whole cost model, incorporating environmental, legal and social criteria down through the supply chain tiers. This will pose operationalisation Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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problems for companies and procurement personnel, not least in the analytic skill sets required. Currently many companies subscribe to functional sustainability doctrines that apply waste and recycling activities to their business operations, but in an administrative methodology that meets basic corporate social responsibility guidelines and fails to engage with the relationship issues that a total acquisition cost approach to sustainable procurement requires. In many cases this can be confirmed simply by asking what business case has been developed and how much budget has been allocated specifically to the procurement operation for sustainable procurement/supply management development. The Total Acquisition Cost Model The difficulties of operationalisation of a total acquisition cost model should not be underestimated. The cultural shift in organisational thinking that will be required poses one of the primary barriers to development of a model that will engage suppliers and buyers at every tier level in a positive commitment to end to end sustainable performance that may not offer them a concrete incentive to participate. The drive will have to come initially from the prime buyer, hence the criticality of the role of organisations such as the Chamber in promoting and leading the development of sustainability in the procurement discipline. This should be by the delivery of programmes of best practice and codes of conduct for the procurement chain that are anchored in sustainability criteria and reach to all levels of the chain of custody for product and service development and delivery, particularly SMEs. A simple evaluation framework that can be used for practical development sessions in sustainable procurement is suggested below: Product/ Service

Number of Supplier Tiers upstream

Distributor Tiers downstream. incl disposal

Custody Chain transparency?

Verified to Tier levels ...?

Procurement Key Performance objectives in TAC

Cost to?

The framework is designed to encourage procurement personnel to evaluate their procurement chain, upstream to raw materials suppliers and downstream to final disposer. Transparency analysis will encourage development of methods for transmission of custody data that will encompass the whole procurement chain Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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stage by stage, verifiable and emphasising the sustainability criteria at each stage, with the opportunity to consider, agree and apportion costs of sustainability application at each stage. The emphasis is on developing an ‘end to end’ view that also emphasises the complexity that may offer obstruction to achievement of a fully functional sustainability strategy for procurement, but at best begins the development of a sustainability culture within organisations centred upon the procurement function. Conclusion The development of sustainable procurement as a code of business conduct at all levels requires the concept of ‘Total Acquisition Cost’ (or ‘Total Life Cycle management’). The concept will emphasise the necessity for the development and inclusion of procurement personnel as lead ‘sustainable auditors’, with skills that will give them the confidence and ability to apply innovative and testing relationship developments throughout the whole supply chain that will ultimately enhance corporate performance within the total social, economic and environmental context of its business operations.

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APPENDIX 4 PRIVATE SECTOR QUESTIONNAIRE (Optional) Company Name ……………………………………………………………

1. Do you have a dedicated purchasing specialist?

YES

NO

YES

NO

2. Do you have staff trained or qualified in purchasing? YES

NO

or purchasing department?

3. If so, what professional qualifications are held (eg MCIPS, ISO 14001)? …………………………………………………………………………. 4. Have you heard of Sustainable Procurement?

YES

NO

5. Have you heard of the Sustainable Procurement Task Force?

Or its report?

YES

NO

YES

NO

The Report defines Sustainable Procurement as a process whereby organisations meet their needs for goods, services, works and utilities in a way that achieves value for money on a whole life basis in terms of generating benefits not only to the organisation, but also to society and the economy whilst minimising damage to the environment. 6. Which of the following do you consider when procuring goods, works, services? Please tick all that apply. Benefit to your local community Business Environmental Impact 7. Can your purchasing procurement be improved?

YES

NO

8. If the answer to question 7 was ‘Yes’, do you have a view on the kind of business support you would require to improve your procurement processes? YES

NO

Briefly explain/comments/observations ………………………………………………………………………………… Coordinated Sustainable Procurement for Northwest Supply Chain

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AGENCY RECOGNITION QUESTIONNAIRE Name of Organisation

Aware of

Unaware of

Business in the Community The Carbon Trust Construction Centre of Innovation Regional Centre of Excellence Envirolink Remade Envirowise ENWORKS Groundwork NISP – National Industrial Symbiosis Programme WRAP – Waste and Resources Action Programme Sustainability NW

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APPENDIX 5 CONSULTEES 1.

Sub-Regional Partnerships

2.

Local Authorities

3.

NHS

4.

Universities

5.

BREW & Environmental

6.

Chambers of Commerce & Representative Intermediaries

7.

National & Regional Government

8.

CSR

9.

RDAs/ NWRA/ Business Link

10.

Private Sector

Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance Lancashire Economic Partnership Mersey Partnership Manchester Enterprises Cumbria Vision Blackburn with Darwen Lancashire County Council Cumbria County Council Regional Centre of Excellence NHS Lancashire & Cumbria SHA MERBEN Manchester University Manchester Metropolitan University Lancaster University WRAP NISP ENWORKS Envirolink The Carbon Trust Environment Agency Envirowise Groundwork Cheshire Chambers Enterprises Ltd Greater Manchester Cumbria St Helens Liverpool NW Business Leadership Team GONW OGC DTI SPTF BITC Sustainability NW Responsibility NW NWRDA EEDA (East of England) NWRA BL FRC Group BAE Neale’s Waste BIRSE Elevate

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APPENDIX 6 BREW NORTH WEST The Carbon Trust Envirowise NISP (National Industrial Symbiosis Programme) The Environment Agency Envirolink NW WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) ENWORKS Government Office North West North West Development Agency

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BIBLIOGRAPHY (abbreviated) 1. Procuring the Future: Sustainable Procurement National Action Plan: Recommendations from the Sustainable Task Force, 2006 2. Securing the Future: UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, Incorporating the Government response of to the report of the SPTF, 2006 3. The ability of public sector procurement to advance sustainable development in the Northwest: a scoping study by Sustainability Northwest for The Northwest Development Agency, 2004 4. London Sustainability Exchange: Achievements and Future Plans, annual report 2007 5. Rising to the Challenge: A Climate Change Action Plan for England’s NW 2007-09, NWDA 6. The role of risk in environment-related supplier initiatives, by Paul D Cousins, Richard C Lamming, Frances Bowen, 2004 7. Mission Zero? On the way to Sustainable Procurement, Dr A W Carroll, 2006 8. Professional Development of Purchasing in Organisations: Towards a Purchasing Model, Prof Dr Arjan van Weele 9. Sustainability Appraisal of the Lancashire Sub-Regional Action Plan, 2006 10. John Rowan and Partners Waste Round Table, 2006 11. Centre of Excellence Business Plan 2006/08 12. Increasing resource efficiency, reducing carbon emission, WRAP Business Plan, 2006-08 13. George Wimpey Plc, Corporate Social Responsibility Report 2006, Building a Sustainable Future 14. Cost Savings Analysis Report, for Elevate East Lancashire, by Value Works, 2005 15. Northwest Regional Economic Strategy 2006-2009, NW Regional Housing Strategy and NW Sustainable Energy Strategy 16. Healthy Futures: Are you a good corporate citizen? Sustainable Development Commission, 2006 17. Signposts to Sustainable Communities: Sources of Expertise, RENEW NW, NWUA 18. Leading Enterprise and Development: report of the design and delivery of a programme to engage and motivate small businesses in leadership and management development, 2007 Lancaster University Management School 19. Sustainability Trafford, Summer 2006 20. Sustainable Procurement Work Stream Proposal, Neil Hind 21. Efficiency Programme Guidance, OGC 22. Environment Agency: NetRegs 23. Sustainable Procurement Action Plan, 2007, CIPS 24. Green Public Procurement, European Commission DG Environment

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Report prepared for: Northwest Regional Development Agency By Chamber of Commerce East Lancashire Red Rose Court Clayton Business Park Accrington, BB5 5JR

01254 356400 www.chamberelancs.co.uk

In accordance with the environmentally responsible approach, this document is digitally printed on Xerox paper from sustainable resources

PDF copies obtainable from www.chamberelancs.co.uk


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