Sustainable Development & Procurement
The public sector in Wales spends up to £4bn to procure goods and services for its residents and visitors. This spending power can be used deliver sustainable development outcomes by:
- mainstreaming sustainable procurement principles and use the leverage of the welsh public sector to produce better long-term decision making and delivering economic, environmental and social benefits;
- promoting the sustainable procurement programme of training and support, achieve a high level of sign-up and use the sustainable procurement assessment framework and the sustainability risk assessment templates for goods and services to track progress;
- making public sector contracts more accessible to smaller, more local suppliers, and to supported enterprises through the implementation of the business procurement taskforce action plan;
- encouraging the consideration of social issues through projects such as community benefits, food nutrition and fair trade; and
- encouraging the consideration of environmental issues through projects to reduce consumption and improve resource efficiency.
Find out more about sustainable procurement here
Building Sustainable Development into Food Contracts
Commitment to Sustainable Food Procurement: Cardiff Council
Cardiff City Council recognises the key role that procurement plays in promoting, supporting and implementing the guiding principles of its Sustainable Development Policy. The purpose of this Commitment is to:
- Build sustainable development into Cardiff Council food contracts;
- Promote collaboration between Cardiff Council and other public, NGO and private sector bodies with food procurement interests;
- Improve the quality and nutritional value of food purchased by Cardiff Council.
Fuel Poverty
Fuel poverty has a direct connection to sustainable development through its detrimental effects on social, economic and environmental well-being.
Poor home insulation and use of energy has a direct impact on the:
- climate and environment; and
- financial circumstances of individuals and families, especially poor households.
Cold and damp home environments have evidenced direct impact on:
- health, especially that of children and older people; and
- education – children and young people are less likely to achieve good results whilst living in badly heated homes.
The WLGA has worked with the National Energy Action (NEA) on fuel poverty. Initially on the ‘Heat is On’ pilot project with two local authorities to use the scrutiny function to review fuel poverty. Click here to view the ‘Heat is On’ report.
The WLGA has also worked with the NEA Cymru to put together a resource sheet on fuel poverty. 'Fuel Poverty – A Guide for Local Authorities’ is available to view here
For more information contact: Tim Peppin