Green task force targets procurement shake-up

Major changes to the way the public sector procures its services are on the cards following the formation of a sustainable procurement task force, led by former Carillion chairman Sir Neville Simms.

The task force, which met for the first time this week, will draw up a national action plan by 2006, aimed at making the UK a leader in sustainable public procurement in Europe by 2009.

At present, only 20% of the UK’s £125bn annual public spend is green, compared to a European average of 40%. The taskforce’s challenge will be to find ways to bring all government departments’ and local authorities’ green buying up to the level of Sweden and Denmark, where it is around 50%.

Speaking exclusively to CJ last week, Sir Neville, a leading private sector exponent of sustainable development, said the construction industry showed little commitment to sustainable procurement.

“There are very few converts to the sustainable agenda in the construction industry. Carillion is way ahead of the crowd. When I was chair of the Major Contractors’ Group, it was clear we were bringing fairly reluctant horses to water,” he said.

However, contractors that continue to ignore the move to sustainable procurement do so at their peril, Sir Neville warned. “All businesses that want to supply to the government are going to be affected by this. Some may say they just won’t supply to the public sector, but when you think that the government has a £125bn annual spend, that is a lot of work to lose out on.”

The government’s sustainable procurement programme will encompass environmental, social and economic targets. Sir Neville said sustainable procurement would not increase capital costs.

“When health and safety measures were introduced, lots of people predicted costs would go up but in reality these measures save money.”

Government suppliers will also be expected to deliver sustainable social benefits, by providing, for example, adult literacy schemes or additional funding to local schools, to improve the local community’s long-term opportunities.

Sir Neville added: “It is vital that the task force delivers not only a plan of action, but also commitment on the part of those responsible for specification and delivery.

“I want our work to lead to major changes in both public and private sector procur-
ement behaviour – which will contribute to delivering the government’s sustainable development goals.”